The Gay Amigo

There was a lot of potential for this movie.

With a very good cast and a fair-to-middling script, great desert scenery and that wonderful Cisco Kid soundtrack, this movie would have been a lot better if the copy I bought had been three or four generations newer.

Still, it had many more good points than bad.

It's a shame that some childish and knuckle-headed viewers want to make silly comments about the title, and I hope more mature and grown-up viewers will just remember the date and context -- and the English language -- and sit back and enjoy this movie.

Except for the quality of the DVD, the worst aspect was learning, right after seeing the film and coming to this site, that Fred Crane had died.

I had met him in Los Angeles while he was an announcer on the mourned and lamented KFAC, the commercial classical-music radio station.

Then I had lived about 20 miles from him in Georgia, and didn't know it!

He was a very charming man, with a beautiful radio voice and commanding radio presence.

He has only a small role in "The Gay Amigo" (just a pointless generic title, anyway), but it makes me wish he had done many more.

Before Duncan Ronaldo took over the part of the Cisco Kid, Cesar Romero, Warner Baxter and Gilbert Roland played the part in films. Because several actors played in so many movies, it's very easy to confuse this film with Romero's "The Gay Caballero" (1940) as well as Roland's "The Gay Cavalier". Sounds confusing, huh? Well, the writers certainly could have used a bit more creativity in choosing names for the pictures, that's for sure!

When the film begins, Cisco is nearby when a group of bandits are out doing their bandity things. The Cavalry is nearby and the leader mistakenly thinks Cisco is responsible for the mayhem. It turns out some American is posing as the Kid...and this is a common problem in the Cisco Kid movies--folks pretending to be him and attributing crimes to him that he didn't commit. What's also familiar is seeing Joe Sawyer in the film playing a soldier, as he also was in an earlier Cisco Kid movie, "Lucky Cisco Kid".

Compared to earlier incarnations of The Cisco Kid, the Carillo/Ronaldo films were much more action-oriented and Cisco was more of a good guy. He was NOT the great lover like some of the earlier versions. I would think that Ronaldo's sort of characterization would appeal more to kids. I thought this film lacked the fun of some of the earlier films...though it wasn't bad. Overall, mildly entertaining and VERY, VERY familiar.

By the way, the Hispanic country where Duncan Ronaldo came from was Romania!! Also, although Pancho acted a bit dopey, Leo Carillo was actually a very intelligent, cultured and patrician sort of guy...born in Los Angeles! Talk about playing against type!

One thing the Cisco Kid will not stand for is a defamation of his people. So when some Americanos dress up as Mexicans and start bandit activity in southern Arizona he springs into action.

At the same time that Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo were starting their weekly television series which I remember so well as a little kid, they also did some feature films of which The Gay Amigo is the first. The title does not refer to Cisco's sexual orientation which was straight.

At the time that Cisco discovers the masquerade the army isn't sure he's not the leader. They assign Sergeant Joe Sawyer to bird dog Cisco and Pancho. He actually proves useful, but only after Cisco thoroughly manipulates him.

There's a bit more plot than usual in this western meant for the kid trade. It still holds up well and Renaldo is one engaging fellow in the lead.

The Cisco Kid and Pancho (Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carillo) are spotted where some bandits are headed over the border. With them marked as the evil-doers, Sergeant Joe Sawyer is assigned to them while they investigate the matter on their own and Renaldo romances Armida.

It's fun to watch Renaldo subvert normal expectations with his sly and canny interpretation of a Mexican. American B westerns were rarely as cut-and-dried in their stereotypical assumptions, although their short lengths rarely gave them a chance to play with them unless it was central to the movie. Since that was the point of the Cisco Kid, like Charlie Chan, it just slipped by the audience. As usual, Cisco is a good-hearted fellow, not looking for trouble, although it continually finds him. Well, it's a living in the movies. If Pancho is not so bright, well, he's amiable enough.

This movie was contained in a Roku app of Cesar Romero movies. He's not even in it and I don't know how they made that mistake.

So on to the movie -- this is pretty typical of B and C westerns of the time. It's not especially good or bad.

The music is over powering however and doesnt quite match the scenes.