Le secret des sept cités

If you want to know about the founding of the city I consider the most beautiful in America, San Diego, than Seven Cities Of Gold is the film for you. It's a reverential account from a historical novel with the central figures Gaspar DePortola the soldier/conquistador who took care of the military end of things and Father Junipero Serra who handled the spiritual details. His mission which became the center of San Diego was the first of many he would found in the conquest of California.

Anthony Quinn is Portola and he's certainly my idea of a Spanish conquistador. He's a believer, but has more faith in his ammunition and artillery than in the maxim of the Lord will provide.

The figure of Father Junipero Serra is a controversial one in terms of the damage he did to the Indian culture. But the Catholic church in the Spanish and Portugese conquests also had a role in blunting somewhat the impact of the gold hungry conquistadors, it did shield their converts from the seamier depredations of European society. Serra who is played by Michael Rennie is done in the same saintly manner that Rennie played St. Peter in The Robe and Demetrius And The Gladiators. By all accounts Serra was a spartan figure for a priest.

Jeffrey Hunter plays a new young Indian chief who is not crazy about these people invading his neighborhood. That concern is heightened exponentially after his sister Rita Moreno is despoiled by one of the Spanish soldiers looking for a little action. In fact it throws the fate of the whole expedition in doubt.

Richard Egan is the despoiler who has some big decisions to make. Egan who was a serious Catholic in real life makes a decision commensurate with his real faith.

Real historians might have trouble with Seven Cities Of Gold. But as entertainment, especially if one is Catholic, this should please you.

It's an inaccurate story of the Franciscan missionary Father Junipero Serra (Michael Rennie) toward to California, self-titled as New Spain at its time in charge of famous Captain Gaspar de Portolá (Anthony Quinn), at behest of Viceroy of Spain, both must pioneering such place starting by San Diego Bay, aiming for stablish Christian settlements at baja California and aftermaths reaches in northernmost San Francisco, the picture focuses this first leg only, exposing the unavoidable conflict with the native along the journey.

Meanwhile Captain Gaspar ought locates the legendary Seven Cities of Gold as overriding task, thus Father Junipero keep in San Diego with the Lieutenant Mendoza (Richard Egan), in the meantime the Father tries interacts with reluctant natives just getting smallest strides with the upcoming Chief Matuwir (Jeffrey Hunter), although the love affair between Lieut. Mendoza and Matuwir's sister Ula (Rita Moreno) on tragic outcome, just throw it all away, shuddering the still flimsy interplay among so differing ethnicities.

For dramatic purposes the picture points out a probable holiness of Father Junipero at least in four occasions, also his endurance when all hopes already running out, he still believing in something will coming from the sky, nicknamed by the natives a Grey Robe, Michael Rennie delivers all he could to portraits nearly perfect the famous Father Junipero Serra, that has been beatified in last Century, aside some flaws it has plenty enjoyable, sadly it never came out officially in Brazil.

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First watch: 1985 / How many: 3 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7.5.

There's a mixture of interesting drama and camp in this story of Spanish conquest over California Native Americans. Egan and Quinn play Spanish officers who are on the lookout for the title cities, but who are saddled with priest Rennie who is along for the ride to build a mission. The men don't see eye to eye on how to handle the "Indian problem" and this lends itself to some nice discussion of and demonstration of the tactics used to control them. Eventually, the human elements of both the "whites" and the Indians begin to blend, but not without difficulty and eventually with great sacrifice. Contemporary audiences will be surprised that Egan is top-billed over Quinn and has the more substantial role. Even though Quinn is the authority figure in charge, the story is more about Egan. Quinn is believable as a Spaniard (as he was as so many other nationalities in his career!), but Egan is about as Spanish as William Bendix!! His flat American accent and obviously non-Latin coloring create a sensory paradox when he is onscreen. Rennie is also far from Spanish, but manages to pull it off better with a less distinct accent. All three male leads do a decent enough job acting-wise, but never really catch fire. The only other performers of note are Hunter and Moreno as natives. Hunter gives his usual impassioned performance (unfortunately covered in war paint most of the time) in one of many roles that were beneath his ability. Moreno gets very little to do, but tries to inject some emotion into the proceedings. While the Cinemascope lens captures some awesomely beautiful scenery, it also keeps the actors at a distance. Time and again, dramatic and emotional moments are played in practically long shots! There are very few close-ups in the movie. The two most beautiful cast members (Hunter and Moreno) get nothing closer than a two-shot. This puts a sort of wall up that detracts from the emotional investment in the story. Then there's the camp factor. It begins immediately with a hilarious voice-over that exclaims how accurate the story is and that the only change that was made is that the "words will be set in English." PLEASE! Moreno and Hunter, while compelling performers, are given ridiculous wigs and clothing to wear. Attempts at humor, handled adeptly by Hunter, seem to add a corny aspect to the otherwise serious film. There's a bizarre interlude with Egan and Rennie finding shelter in a sandstorm. The sword-and-sandal crowd may find themselves trying to spot Egan's winky as it veers to the left in his clingy green trousers (with oh-so-festive red cummerbund.) In all, it's a pretty, sometimes engaging movie, but rather silly at times and lacking any real emotional resonance.

This is a rather rare film produced by 20th Century Fox and never aired on French channels during the seventies. At least, I don't remember it. Never released on DVD or either VHS in France; and only VHS in certain European - Spain - countries. No DVD release in the UK nor USA. Very strange for a 104 mn Twentieth Century Fox production, starring Anthony Quinn. A true mystery, why such a film is so rare? Why? Because of a rights owner issue? It doesn't make sense and doesn't deserve it. I first thought it was a Conquistadore film, as were for instance AGUIRRE - twenty years later, I know - or even Carlos Saura's ELDORADO. But no, it concerns Spanish in California during the eghteenth century searching gold. Good film, in the pure Hollywoodian tradition. Robert D Webb was a director for Fox and was involved with many good westerns and adventure movies with much budgets and strangely B films castings. Very strange.

Although coming from a different stable (Twentieth Century Fox as opposed to Universal), this historical epic is in the same vein as the contemporaneous KISS OF FIRE (released just a fortnight after this one and my review of which can be accessed elsewhere) but emerges a decidedly more satisfactory movie. For one thing, to the common Spaniards vs. Indians scenario this adds both mythical and mystical elements that render the mixture a thought-provoking one. The former is represented by the ultimately fruitless search for the legendary titular golden kingdoms while the latter applies to Michael Rennie's fine portrayal of crippled but single-minded Jesuit missionary, Fr. Junipero Serra – a real-life figure who was recently beatified by The Vatican and is on his way to becoming a saint!

Despite boasting a notable cast and being a major Hollywood studio 'A' production, this offbeat and worthwhile adventure seems to have literally fallen through the cracks of time because, 14 years into the format, there is still no sign of it ever getting released as a legitimate Widescreen DVD nor, apparently, has it ever been shown on the "Fox Movie Channel" because the copy I landed was sourced from a serviceable but washed-out pan-and-scan VHS! This state of events does not do justice to Lucien Ballard's De Luxe cinematography but, on the other hand, neither exactly does the pedestrian direction from Robert D. Webb – also a previous winner of the Best Assistant Director Oscar for IN OLD CHICAGO (1937) – to its colorful subject; nowhere is this more evident than during a fanciful and thoroughly unexpected sequence (a Bunuelian moment if ever I saw one!) in which The Holy Family unaccountably offer hospitality to Rennie and Richard Egan when they are dispersed in a desert storm!

That the film still remains a superior product (despite bogging down somewhat during the indigenous scenes) is down to the cast: apart from Rennie's monk, as already mentioned, there is top-billed Egan as the hot-headed but, ultimately, self-sacrificing lieutenant of the Spanish conquistador heading the expedition led by Anthony Quinn; the latter, then, is remarkably restrained but undeniably commanding, and well on his way to acquiring star status for himself (which he had mostly enjoyed abroad up to that time!), and also on hand are Jeffrey Hunter (making a belated entry – completely covered in paint, and wigged- out, at that! – as the new Indian chief) and Rita Moreno (as Hunter's sister and Egan's tragic love interest). Incidentally, not only had director Webb already worked with Hunter on a fine Western WHITE FEATHER (1955; where he also portrayed an Indian!) and would soon do so again on the even better THE PROUD ONES (1956)...but, given this film's religious overtones, it is telling that all 4 leads here had been or would subsequently be involved in Biblical epics! Interestingly, Edward Dmytryk was originally announced as director on this one with Cameron Mitchell in the lead; besides, the actual crew members included assistant cameraman Jorge Stahl Jr. (he would be Luis Bunuel's cinematographer on his delightful jungle adventure DEATH IN THE GARDEN the following year) and co-director(!) Rene' Cardona (best-known as the prolific exploitation film-maker behind such infamous fare as SANTA CLAUS {1959} and NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES {1969})!