California Conquest

Plot synopsis:
Don Arturo Bordega (Cornel Wilde) is part of the old Spanish nobility, and a vocal advocate for California'a annexation by the United States. On his way to a secret meeting in support of that goal, he is attacked by bandits led by José Martínez (Alfonso Bedoya), but narrowly escapes. The planned "guest of honor" at the secret meeting to which Bordega is en route, is none other than then-U.S. Army Captain John Charles Fremont. Martinez's thugs attempt to assassinate Fremont while he is traveling to the same meeting, but succeed only in lightly wounding him. It is subsequently revealed that the corrupt Brios brothers, Ernesto (Eugene Iglesias) and Fredo (John Dehner) have paid Martinez to violently oppose the movement advocating American annexation of California, as part of their unscrupulous plot to deliver California to the imperial domain of the Russian Czar (in exchange for a promise to appoint first Ernesto, and later Fredo, as the Russian colonial governor).
Martinez's men violently seize a quantity of rifles from gunsmith Sam Lawrence (Hank Patterson), in order to arm a force in support of the Russian conquest of California. This invokes the wrath of his beautiful daughter, Julia (Teresa Wright), who winds up joining Arturo Bordega in his mission to infiltrate Martinez's bandit group, in order to foil their part in the nefarious scheme. Martinez is eventually killed by Julia Lawrence (and Ernesto Brios is slain by Bordega in a duel), during a period in which they learn the nature of the Brios' plot. Arturo Bordega and Julia Lawrence eventually travel to Fort Ross, where they are able to capture Fredo Brios (as well as a fictional Russian princess, Helena de Gagarine, and a high-ranking Russian army officer), and otherwise manage to thwart the treasonous conspiracy. During the course of their travels together, Bordega and Lawrence fall in love, and the film concludes with their stated intent to marry, and "have 14 children."

Tags: violence, action, historical fiction

Review:
"Historical" Piece - rule over California. California Conquest tells the story of the battle for rule of what will eventually become a state, when gold is found here later. Teresa Wright does a good job as the daughter of a settler who is determined to get her married off to famed explorer John Fremont. As someone else has pointed out, what a mishmash of crappy accents that come and go, and about half the actors just mumble for some reason to the point of distraction. Cornel Wilde is Arturo Bodega (Bordega ?), fighting off the interloping Russians, but he sounds like a European. We get the usual amount of swordfights, gunfights, and oat burning horse chases. Some great outdoor photography, presumably California. Several of the scenes are very dark, and its hard to see what is occurring; not sure if its just bad lighting, or film degradation. There is the usual climactic battle of good versus evil at the very end. Entertaining, but Teresa Wright is the only shining star in this one.Directed by Lew Landers, who had a long history in Hollywood; acc to wikipedia, he acted in two shorts around 1914, when he would have been about 12. He disappears for 15 years (war? working?) Then he pops up as crew on one film, and disappears again for about five years. Then starts a long career as director in 1934, and had been directing for almost 20 years when this film was made.. Defeating the Dialogue Directors. Cornel Wilde does a Mexican accent. He does a really bad Mexican accent with an often wooden delivery. For me that trumps every other aspect of this movie, which is supposed to be about California in the 1840s and jockeying between Mexico, the U.S. England and Russia to control it, but seems to be about Wilde getting into sword fights, breaking into peoples' hotel rooms to rob them and wooing Teresa Wright.It even makes Teresa Wright seem like a bad actress. She had been nominated for two Oscars a decade earlier and had won one, and was a wonderful actress, but her delivery, which was just right when speaking with Gary Cooper or Joseph Cotten, well, here it makes her seem as if she thinks that Cornel Wilde is slightly deaf or stupid.There are other aspects of this movie one might consider, I suppose, but I find it impossible to concentrate on them enough to offer them for your consideration. Let's simply note that this movie was decent enough to keep me watching to the end and that's why it's not an absolute bomb. But it's not worth your time to look at it.. "The Czar has no territorial ambitions". California Conquest was a film of its times at the height of the Cold War and the McCarthy period when some in Hollywood felt it was their duty to show the Russians for the grasping imperialists they were even before Karl Marx drew breath. Cornel Wilde plays a California Don already looking forward to statehood with USA and Teresa Wright is the daughter of an American settler in California who has a dry goods business.I'm of the opinion that a lot of Hollywood players to make themselves blacklist proof did films like California Conquest. Wilde himself was a person of no political leanings that I've discovered took a film like this so that no one would question his patriotism in those times. As history records the last Russian settlement in California closed up shop in 1841 that being Fort Ross which was mentioned here. It is here though that Ivan Lebedeff and Lisa Ferraday are the Czar's agents weaving a plot to bring all of California into the Russian fold. As their agents they have Alfonso Bedoya bandit leader in the Gold Hat tradition and the ambitious John Dehner who is setting himself as a Quisling.No mention here of the Mexican War to come or of that phrase that had a lot of currency back in those days about American 'Manifest Destiny' to spread from the Atlantic to the Pacific and if you don't agree too bad.Don't get me wrong there were some good anti-Communist films of the time. California Conquest just isn't one of them.