ilbarone139 Why did they NOT follow utilizing Gilbert Roland as Villa. Many motion pictures used English & American actors to Portray Germans, Chinese, Mexican & Italians; this has to be one of biggest mistakes; especially with Gilbert Roland whom is a Better Actor than Beery and is Mexican.. Every Movie/T.V. Gilbert was in even in minor roles He stole the Movie. His actions are Unique and done without hesitation.. His Many actions, (Not unlike G.Raft flipping a coin), are very memorable and are his alone. He always incorporated into his acting Kissing his Mothers' ring he sometime wore as Necklace.. The inscription is MEMORABLE; Last words dying Mom said to Him...The movie itself filming appeared numerous stock footage. Joseph Schildkraut, German Born another good actor portrayed General Pascal with conceivable accent, whom Took Over and then murdered Madero (Fictional), Fay Wray had small part and was Good. Ironically better role although was expanded later in her King Kong Venture. Her Character's husband Don Phillpe portrayed by Donald Cook whom has a striking resemblance to Great Character actor Victory Jory whom later delivered the coup de grace. I preferred the subsequent picture whereby Gilbert Roland portrayed another general whom aided Villa in the revolution also staring Rory Calhoun, and Shelley Winters.. Now last NOT lease the Wonderful scene stealing Leo Carrillo, later renown as Pancho, Cisco Kids companion, which ran number of years and Carrillo started them at age seventy. Not only True Mexican he and his Paternal family are Mexican Aristocrats and owned Land Grants which is substantially California today. His Father was Police Chief and Mayor of Los Angeles..Unfortunately this film did Not make box office receipts beyond its' budget and these were days prior to Video sales and foreign distribution. Even though much fiction and have viewed it several times including this morning on TCM. You will enjoy.

wes-connors After witnessing his father being whipped to death, grown-up Mexican bandit Wallace Beery (as Pancho Villa) becomes his country's revolutionary war hero. Boozy reporter Stuart Irwin (as Johnny Sykes) and peace-loving liberator Henry B. Walthall (as Francisco Madero) are important allies. Nurturing a taste for ladies and liquor, Mr. Beery marries Spanish spitfire Katherine De Mille (the real-life daughter of director Cecil B., as Rosita Morales). Later, Beery is tempted to add beautiful Fay Wray (as Teresa) to his harem.The Mexican armies sing "La Cucaracha, la Cucaracha!" while future "East Side Kid" David Durand plays the bugle.Beery's vanquished rival Joseph Schildkraut (as General Pascal) suffers a torturous fate, but dastardly Donald Cook (as Don Felipe) gets a last shot. MGM production values are high for this hammy, heavy-handed star vehicle, wisely introduced as "fictionalized." With "box office" Beery at the helm, "Viva Villa!" was a hit. It won critical acclaim at Venice, where Berry was the festival's "Best Actor". In a brief scene, the real-life son of early movie idol Francis X. Bushman plays a nerdy newspaperman ("Wallace Calloway"). ****** Viva Villa! (4/10/34) Jack Conway ~ Wallace Beery, Stuart Irwin, Henry B. Walthall, Donald Cook

bkoganbing I'm still not clear on how MGM got away with this film. Pancho Villa had only been dead for 10 years and his famous raid on Columbus, New Mexico almost 20 years. Surely not enough time for people to have forgotten Villa or what he did.But the most famous thing he did, raid into the USA and provide a pretext for intervention into Mexican affairs, is completely forgotten by this film. The Villa we see here is a lovable lug of a guy, a typical Wallace Beery part who gets his social conscience awakened by Francisco Madero and gives up banditry to become a revolutionary.If you're a big fan of Wallace Beery and liked him in such films as Min and Bill and Treasure Island than Viva Villa is simply an extension of the characters he played there. Actually I think the most interesting character in the film is that of Francisco Madero. Henry B. Walthall's performance is the best and I wish Walthall had starred in a film where he was the central character. Madero was as you see in the film a man of high ideals, betrayed and assassinated by his supporters. But it was hardly Pancho Villa who took vengeance on his betrayers. After long time Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz was overthrown in 1911 and then Madero assassinated in 1912, Mexico fell apart much like the former Yugoslavia did almost 20 years ago. Civil war raged there for a generation. Eventually it united under the PRI party which elected all of its presidents until Vicente Fox.I've never really liked this film, it stray so far from the facts it's laughable. The players go through their familiar roles and it's a good cast that Howard Hawks later Jack Conway put through their paces. Of course the most famous story coming out of this film is about Lee Tracy getting blotto and going out on a balcony and raining on some Mexican soldiers. Got him fired from the film and Stu Erwin got the break and Tracy's part as the newspaper reporter who popularizes Villa.If in fact you consider it a break Erwin got to be in Viva Villa.

gerrythree Viva Villa was a hard luck movie. Filmed in part on location in Mexico City, during production, a plane carrying movie footage to Culver City crashed, requiring reshoots of the lost material. Wallace Beery, always an obnoxious star, demanded extra salary before he would appear again in the lost scenes. Lee Tracy, who originally played the part of the newspaper reporter, while on location was accused of getting drunk and urinating from his balcony room onto revelers celebrating the Mexican Independence Day. Tracy's action caused a national scandal. MGM managed to smuggle him out of the country. Then Louis B. Mayer fired Tracy from MGM and also got him blacklisted. Tracy's replacement, Stuart Erwin, was terrible as the reporter. Due to the delays, Viva Villa did not get released until after July 1, 1934, the date the Motion Picture Production Code took effect. MGM had to make changes to meet new code requirements, such as a scene where Fay Wray's character is whipped. Jack Conway took over for Howard Hawks as director to finish the production, which may explain the change in the movie pacing. The movie starts off fast, with a great scene of Villa and his riders taking over a town and Villa issuing swift justice as the new judge in town. Viva Villa never maintains that pace. But,one big plus, Leo Carillo as Villa's homicidal sidekick is great.