Sem Pudor

My Man and I (1952)

** (out of 4)

Chu Chu Ramirez (Ricardo Montalban), a Mexican immigrant, becomes a U.S. citizen and plans on living the American dream of working, making a home and being happy. He gets a job with a racist couple (Claire Trevor, Wendell Corey) but after the work is done they refuse to pay him and go as far as to falsely accuse him of a crime, which might land him in jail. This film has a good heart behind it but the screenplay just wonders around and never really focuses on anything. The film follows a pretty standard storyline, which takes away any possible drama since we can see where everything is going. Montalban is excellent in his role but it's a shame he didn't have a better screenplay to work with. Both Corey and Trevor are great as well and they come off very easy to hate. Shelley Winters plays a troubled woman who is befriended by Chu Chu. The most interesting aspect is how Chu Chu views America as a place of good and where nothing can go wrong. When he's accused of the crime he has a hard time figuring out how an innocent man can go to jail and I wish the film would have centered more on these issues. Seeing how a foreigner views America is something interesting to work with but the film goes all over the place.

First of all, I highly recommend this film.

It has a good heart. It is (very) well acted. It has an intelligent, unusual, thought-provoking screenplay. And--above all--it depicts a slice of Americana that is almost completely overlooked by mainstream US culture: the world and feelings and relationships of Mexican immigrants in the white/gringo-dominated world of southern California in the 1950s.

I'm simply blown away by the cast in this well-hidden little jewel. Wendell Corey, often a kind of honking mouthpiece of insensitivity, brings a great deal of nuance to this thankless role. Claire Trevor's portrayal is also very subtly done (though there are great parts of her role where her feelings are more-than-obvious). Shelley Winters is fantastic, and I say this as someone who finds most of Ms Winters portrayals and performances near repulsive. She is absolutely brilliant and I don't think I've ever seen this particular character-type (the cynical, emotionally destroyed, sensitive whose only recourse is alcoholism) ever more convincingly portrayed.

And then there's Mr. Rourke...uh...excuse me...Ricardo Montalban. The man who normally smirks and flexes his way through roles--depending upon his (truly remarkably) good looks and his flashing smile. I never knew there was a real actor underneath that bronzed torso. Hats off to Bill Wellman (the director)! What an incredibly understated performance! This film is worth seeing just for Montalban's astoundingly effective work.

And just a word about the ensemble acting: there are many hispanic actors in this film and, sadly, I must say that I've never seen or heard of any of them, but all the other parts are played with great aplomb. (My only minor complaint is that the producers saw fit to hire the late, great Jack Elam to play Ricardo Montalban's cousin. Why, I simply have no idea, as they used hispanic actors for all the other major hispanic roles. Oh well--he does a fine job and is almost a convincing Mexican.) The story itself is simple. I'm not going to relate it here. It seems to take a real noir turn at one point, but stick with it. The ending may be a bit too Hollywood for some, but--hey--it was 1952 and it's not Sweden and it's not Ingmar Bergman, folks.

Check it out--you won't be sorry.

Chu Chu Ramirez (Ricardo Montalban) is a proud new American citizen although he often faces racism just the same. He gets a job working on the Ames family farm. It's a small poor farm. He befriends cynical drunk Nancy (Shelley Winters). He gets into a money dispute with Mr. Ames. When Mr. Ames gets accidentally shot, Chu Chu gets the blame.

This is good although I would make a couple of changes. First, I would get rid of his friends. They do nothing great except the ending which I want to also change. He should stay with the Ames. There could be sexual tension on top of the racism. The farm would become a pressure cooker of intensity. The tension would be raised higher if Chu Chu is alone in the world. I would still keep Nancy around and quite frankly Shelley Winters' acting power. Finally, I would get rid of the Hollywood happy ending. This is still pretty good.

Don't read the online synopsis of My Man and I; it's inaccurate and will have you waiting for an event than never happens. Instead, just go into it knowing it stars Ricardo Montalban as a Mexican-American who gets some bad breaks. He's an extremely hard worker, has a constant positive attitude, and keeps a letter from the President, congratulating him on his recent citizenship, as his most prized possession. He's also pretty cute, so it's no wonder Claire Trevor makes a play for him even though her mean husband (Wendell Corey, who else?) has hired Ricardo for some farm work. An affair would get both of them in enormous trouble, so it's a good think he (almost literally) kicks her out of bed. He's drawn, instead, to Shelley Winters, a depressive alcoholic who keeps pushing him away. His charm wins her over eventually, but she's no good. Can she give up her tramp-y ways for a handsome, upstanding citizen?

I'd definitely recommend this obscure romantic drama, if only to respect its daring storyline at the time. Ricardo has two blondes fighting over a place in his bed, and in one scene, when he plants a big kiss on Shelley, she moans - what happened to the Production Code? There are some clever cuts away from the couple's smooches, like following his hat as it rolls across the floor, but I can't help but wonder if the studio thought those camera angles were necessary because audiences weren't ready for interracial kisses. In any case, this movie tried to make audiences ready, and even though it didn't do well at the box office at the time, we can still appreciate him - I mean the movie - now that the romance is no longer a big deal.

i was very surprised. the script was first rate. the story had a lot of twists and turns. seeing jack elam play a Mexican is reason enough to see this movie. was never much of a shelley winters fan but she was good. previously knew ricardo motalban as khan and the joker. he gives a very good performance but it is the script that is the key. some may call the story corny or idealistic but it still holds up today. the Mexican are portrayed very sympathetically probably much more so than the way they are perceived today. The movie is a commentary on the American dream circa 1952 but if you replace the mexicans with just about any non-elite group, including every day Americans it still is relevant