Le signe des renégats

It's 1825. California is a territory of the new Republic of Mexico. It is under constant threat from pirates and bandits. Marcos Zappa (Ricardo Montalban) escapes from pirates. He is captured and taken to meet Don Pedro Garcia who wants to be emperor of California. He is given a proposition.

There's swashbuckling. There's banditry. It's a Latino soap melodrama. It's color but of a poorer quality. I can do without the soap which is a lot of boring standing around and talking. I can do with better swashbuckling. It needs better action. This tries to be Zorro at times but it doesn't have the flair. It's a B-movie.

Unlike decole's comment I was fascinated by this movie. The highlights of the movie is the dance of Ricardo with Cyd CH. I find this dance to be the MOST SENSUAL dance I have ever seen on the screen, and this is even more impressing and exciting then ANTHONY DEXTER's dance " LA COMPERSITA" in VALENTINO. RICARDO MONTALBAN does use several ( not enough as far as I am concerned) opportunities to showoff his AMAZING awesome sexy body , but when he dances with Cyd the sensual dance, after being " seduced" by her, he is well dressed as a distinguished Spanish Gentelman. THe posters and L.Cs of the movie showed RICARDO fighting, and dancing , shirtless in some very irritating poses but actually these scenes are rare and therefor I was some disappointed, because my expectations were higher. BUt, remembering that it was filmed in the beginning of the 50th, even those shirtless pix were a venture. I highly recommend MARK of the RENEGADE, mainly for the dance and for the magnificent appearance of RICARDO MONTALBAN who is an Excellent Latin LOVER ( and hunk ) mosh

It is set in 1825 in the Spanish California , an undercover pirate who has a facial scar called Marcos Zappa (Ricardo Montalban who usually appears bare-chested ) is blackmailed by the crooked Pedro Garcia (Gilbert Roland) to expose a tough rival . He plans to have Marcos seduce and marry Manuela (Cyd Charisse) , the daughter of his contender, Jose De Marquez (Antonio Moreno) . But Manuela is already engaged to be married to Miguel De Gandara (Armando Silvestre) . Meantime , Anita Gonzales (Andrea King) is jealous of the Marco's attentions for her , as she carries out a merciless vendetta . Later on , the cunning Pedro in order to facilitate his own ascension to power intends to expose Marquez in a scandal and implicating to shirtless Marcos in the mess .



Adventure movie plenty of noisy action , thrills , spectacular dancing and moving swordplay . Director Hugo Fregonese does a good job of capturing the sunny environment , including marvelous ccalifornia landscapes , as well as breathtaking duels , go riding and gorgeous scenarios . It is glossy and sleek ; in spite of efforts towards authenticity , the film falls short on a real recreation of the Spanish California . Stars Ricardo Montalban who plays a rugged pirate forced to a dangerous asignment and his nemesis , Gilbert Roland , as a traitor with extreme ambition whose schemes result to be emperor of California . Here Ricardo attempts to win the heroine's ,-gorgeous Cyd Charisse- , hand in marriage from her betrothed engagement . Cyd plays spendidly as Manuela who is attracted to Marcos/Montalban but not sure if she should trust him . Both of them perform an impressive and overwhelming dancing that turns out to be the highlight of the movie . The main star Ricardo was hired by MGM where he routinely ignited "Latin Lover" sparks opposite such prime female stars as Cyd Charisse, Shelley Winters, Anne Bancroft, Pier Angeli, Laraine Day and Esther Williams . Montalban starred a lot of films of all kinds of genres , Noir , Musical , Western , Wartime , thriller , such as : Mystery Street , Neptuno's daughter , Beyond the wide Missouri , Battleground . And adventures as : Semiramis, The Saracen blade , The Son of the Sheik, El Zorro , The Black pirate , among others . His most famous role was as Khan in ¨Star Trek 2 , the wrath of Khan¨ . Fine acting all around, especially from the support cast that included some of the best secondaries of the period as J. Carrol Naish , George Tobias , Antonio Moreno, Backus , Andrea King , Robert Warwick , Robert Cornthwaite , Armando Silvestre . It packs a colorful and shimmering cineenmatography in Technicolor by Charles P. Boyle . Thrilling and atmospheric musical score by Frank Skinner .

The motion picture ¨The mark of the renegade¨ was professionally directed by Hugo Fregonese , though ha some flaws and gaps . Direction by Fregonese maintains a steady pace and is partially as good in interiors as in outdoor action scenes . Hugo Fregonese is familiar remember the Argentine director for his Hollywood work , that began with One Way Street in 1950 and included some biggies such as Blowing Wild (1953), his biggest hit . Fregonese started in Argentina, and Pampa Bárbara , first version , is the first first film he directed he is listed as co- director with Lucas Demare . He had done his apprenticeship with Demare as assistant director in two previous films. Hugo was an Argentina director who emigrated to Hollywood, then became technical adviser on latino themes at Columbia Studios in Hollywood, and subsequently under contract at Universal from 1950 to 1952 filming ¨Man in the attic¨ with Jack Palance , ¨Blowing wild¨with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck , ¨Decameron Nights¨with Joan Fontaine , ¨Harry Black and the tiger¨with Stewart Granger . Spent the rest of the decade in Europe directing Euro-westerns as ¨Apache's last battle¨ , this ¨Savage Pampas¨ and potboilers as "The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse" , Terror as "Dracula vs. Frankenstein" before finishing his career back in the country of his birth . Rating : 6.5/10 , acceptable and passable . Worthwhile seeing for luxurious scenarios and breathtaking outdoors along with the wonderful dance between Montalban and Charisse .

The Universal international Pictures is kind of affiliate of Universal Studios mostly focused in B-pictures in low budges, this swashbuckler project "The Mark of Renegade" driven to Latin audience about the wealthy and coveted territory over an alleged powerful Spanish landowner who intents becomes a Imperator of the newly annexed California under the independent Mexico, then the producers allowed several actors/actress of Mexican and Spanish background as Ricardo Montalban, Cyd Charisse, Gilbert Roland among others.

The story took place on California in 19th century shortly afterwards Mexico got its independence from Spain and all landlords from California agreed to be added the independent Mexico, suddenly appears from pirate galleon landind covertly on shore the renegade Marcos Zappa (Ricardo Montalban) a branded traitor from Mexican's cause, he has to meet with a powerful landowner Don Pedro Garcia (Gilbert Roland) that works on the shadows to put in dire straits the California's farmers leader Don José de Vazquez (Antonio Moreno) in a possible marriage of his daughter Manuella (Cyd Charisse) with the Latin lover renegade the now entitled Don Marcos Zappa aiming for discredit Don José as headship, tarnish and also overthrow, thus a shortcut to settle a chaos perpetrated at his behest lead by the pirate Capt. Bardoso (George Tobias) to later he appears as savior and new ruler hereinafter, however Marcos Zappa got an ace at his sleeve.

Strong humor oriented as the illiterate Captain Bardoso often kick out of all places, also the "Butler" Luis (J. Carrol Naish) always putting Zappa in jeopardy due Don Pedro's orderings, letting the good gourmet Zappa grumpy and without appetite, in the early sequence Montalban eaten around dozen type of foods stacking dishes in contrived but funny scene, the gorgeous Cyd Charisse is a chapter apart due her unbeaten beauty, also in sexy flamenco dancing displaying her beautiful legs, Ricardo Montalban a Latin sex symbol in flamboyant Spanish outifts, usually exposing bare chest for the female audience, a cheap picture with fine screenplay, fine sword duel directed by the Argentinian Hugo Fregonese.

Resume:

First watch: 1978 / How many: 3 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7.

Gilbert Roland wants to break California off from Mexico and rule as emperor, so he blackmails branded renegade Ricardo Montalban to make love to Cyd Charisse, kill her fiance, and take off his shirt a lot in this potboiler from Universal.

Miss Charisse gets one big dance number as the high-born senorita, and it would have gotten a Kansas City burlesque house shut down. It's carefully edited, because she nominally dances it with Montalban, so large sections of it have to be reduced to clips of one second, which is all he can manage; in the words of a better remembered movie, she dances around him, and he bows. In the same way, the big sword fight between Roland and Montalban is shot with Roland facing the camera, the sword master's back to the camera, two clashes, and then switch so Montalban is facing the camera and the sword master.

All of which emphasizes the -- ahem! -- economical manner in which Hugo Fregonese shot this feature. It's pure pulp from a Johnston McCulley story, and amusing enough, and Charles Boyle's Technicolor camerawork is pleasant.