Ramona

"Ramona" seems as far as a fairy tale ;the splendor of the technicolor and Loretta Young's luminous beauty add to its obsolete charms.The screenplay is melodramatic with an over possessive mother character that should have been more developed. Indians,particularly the male lead ,doesnot seem very authentic ,but who cares?Aunt Ri is a colorful character who resembles the old lady(Edna May Oliver) who takes in Fonda and Colbert in John Ford's "drums along the Mohawks trail" .She steals the show with her crude thinking: "they are not heathen people ,therefore they are nice people",and she prevents the final from completely falling into the mushy trap.The very end is rather implausible and was probably added to secure a -relatively- happy end.

What really amazing is how the quality of the colors has successfully resisted to the passing of time.

I have read the novel "Ramona" a few times, and it seems something was lost when the book was translated into film. First of all, the story takes place in the Spanish colonial days of California, and this is why the Native Americans are speaking with Spanish accents. The "gringo" white people (Americans) are seen as the villains because they mostly are Protestant and are moving into a predominantly Catholic area and are claiming land that had been granted to Spanish settlers by the King of Spain. There was this same ill feeling about gringos or "white settlers" when Texas was in the process of separating from Mexico and becoming part of the United States.

As for Ramona's being a half-breed, the novel explains she is the child of the Spanish rancher and his Native American girl friend. The rancher brings her, as an infant, to the hacienda, and the rancher's wife agrees to bring up her husband's illegitimate daughter as if the child were her own or at least her social equal.

I am not sure of Loretta Young's heritage, but I believe she was a devout Catholic and perhaps was of Latin descent. It so happens her sister Georgiana was married to Ricardo Montalban, so Miss Young was associated with Latin Americans in her private life. Mr. Ameche was an Italian-American and no doubt Catholic, so he fit into this story of Spanish-colonial California very well.

I hope this explanation has helped some reviewers better understand the background of "Ramona." One of my favorite scenes is the priest coming to bless the flock of sheep and crops each spring. It is reminiscent of the same blessing in "The Thorn Birds" and the annual "Blessing of the Fleet" in the Gulf Coast area of the United States.

While Loretta Young and Don Ameche get top billing, there is no question that the real star of "Ramona" is the "new perfected technicolor" as the film's poster declared in 1936. The film was the 4th to be shot in the "perfected" 3-strip color process.

"Ramona" does looks beautiful. Its the slow-moving plot that really does the film in. I've seen travelogues from the period that have more to hold a viewer's attention. Basically, the story revolves around a taboo romance between Young (a beautiful Spanish girl) and Ameche (the friendly Indian). The most interesting aspect of the plot is the fact that the white settlers are portrayed as the villains, grabbing the land and possessions of the peaceful Indians...an unusually politically correct position for a mid 1930's movie.

If you're a fan of Loretta Young, Don Ameche, or beautiful technicolor, "Ramona" is worth a look...at least once. Repeat viewings could be painful.

Ramona from 1936 is a remake of a 1928 film starring Delores del Rio and Warner Baxter. Del Rio was undoubtedly more suited to the half-Indian Ramona than Loretta Young in a black wig, but Young of course was still very beautiful.

The 1936 version is in color and costars Don Ameche in a Johnny Belinda wig as the Indian, Alessandro, with whom Ramona falls in love.

Ramona lives with her aunt, Senora Moreno (Pauline Frederick) who took her in after Ramona's mother died. Her son, Felipe (Kent Taylor) is in love with Ramona, but his mother is determined that they not marry.

When an Indian ranch owner, Alessandro, appears on the scene, he and Ramona fall in love, and we learn why Senora Moreno did not want her with Felipe. Ramona's biological mother was a squaw.

She and Alessandro marry and have a baby as Alessandro works their ranch. The white man comes and drives all the Indians off their property. The traveling family is taken in during bad weather by a woman, Aunt Ri (Jane Darwell).

When the baby becomes ill, Alessandro leaves to get a doctor.

I did not think I would like this story, but one becomes involved in the plight of Ramona and Alessandro. I was distracted by Ameche as an Indian, but he had a gentle, soft voice and was so dignified in the role, you went along with it. Young was very sweet and sympathetic.

A little trivia. Filming was delayed due to Young being under severe stress and overwork. The truth was, she was having Clark Gable's baby. I actually had the pleasure of knowing her daughter. She was a lovely woman.

Back in the 1930s and 40s, Hollywood was extremely insensitive (and stupid) about casting folks for minority roles. However, that was the time and you just need to keep your politically correct instincts in check when you watch this one! Imagine.....Loretta Young playing a woman who is half American Indian and half Mexican! While this sounds dumb, understand that the likes of Rock Hudson played Indians in films--or Don Ameche cast as a full-blooded native like he is in "Ramona"!! As for J. Carrol Naish--like Anthony Quinn, he played just about everything (except blacks) in films--so it isn't surprising he's in this one playing a Mexican. Plus, frankly, he's played so many nationalities, most everyone at the time had no idea what his heritage really is!! But Loretta Young and Don Ameche--with their lovely American diction (especially Ameche, who is practically the epitome of politeness and class)!!! What were the executives thinking (or smoking)?! "Ramona" must have been a prestige picture for 20th Century-Fox, as it is filmed in beautiful 1930s-style Three-Strip Technicolor--a HUGE expense at the time and something reserved only for the best films. In fact, it was the first such film made by the studio.

When the film begins, Ramona is in love with a cultured man from a very good family. So does she....or so she thinks. Eventually the truth is discovered--she's a half-breed! And she's forced to leave her home by some real jerk-faces. But before she goes, her native friend (Ameche) tells her that he's loved her--and she is thrilled, as she loves him, too. So, they run away together and get married. However, their life is tough, as folks are quite prejudiced towards them--throwing them off their farm. Can they somehow find a place that will accept the strangely cultured couple--and their new baby?! Overall, I'd say the writing isn't bad (but it is a bit schmaltzy) and the film manages to be watchable in spite of some terrible casting.

By the way, if you want to see other films with equally ridiculous casting, try finding "The Conquerer" (with John Wayne as Genghis Khan and red-headed Susan Hayward as his bride, Bortai)--or most any Charlie Chan film.