And as Pancho Villa…
Geeze, I really ought to do a series on Mexico and Hollywood… or just on Pancho Villa and Hollywood.
In no particular order Hollywood’s idea of Pancho Villa has been
- Antonio Bandaras — the Spaniard who is first choice for any Hollywood movie involving anyone, any time, who spoke Spanish.
- Edward James Olmos — #2 for “Hollywood Hispanics”.
- Pedro Amendáriz, Jr. — aka Pedro Amendáriz Bohr… his dad played Villa numerous times in Mexican films.
- Freddy Fender — yup, THAT Freddy Fender.
- Hector Elizondo — a New York born and bred guy with at least a Spanish name.
- Leo Carillo — who played another Pancho… the Cisco Kid’s sidekick on the 1950s television series.
- Wallace Beery — often considered the definitive Hollywood Pancho-
- and… of course — Pancho Villa.
Or … weirdest of all, Yul Brynner in the 1968 Villa Rides!.
I guess it’s your typical Hollywood version of the Mexican Revolution, which apparently wouldn’t have happened without OUR support (in this film, Robert Mitchum as a rogue airplane pilot).
I don’t know if it was the rather loose interpretation of Mexican history, the weird idea of scripting witty repartee between Pancho Villa and Rodolfo Fierro or a bald Pancho Villa that was the problem, but — despite some success in Germany and Scandinavia, and moderate sales in the United States, it was never distributed in Mexico.
The Maurice Jarre theme music is somewhat memorable however:
mexfiles.net 
Always thought Stacy Keach in all his Mike Hammer glory would have been the best guy to play Villa.
Yul Brynner does look a bit like Johnny Depp…
Of course its totally lie! Mexican Revolution was supported by rich men in México, U.S. just stopped the revolution by giving their support to Carranza, then lookin’ for Pancho Villa (Arateo Arango in his real name), as revange, Pancho Villa invaded U.S. burning a city from U.S. because they tried to stop Pancho Villa and the revolution, U.S. are squire minded…
Wallace Beery the definitive screen Villa!? You gotta be kidding! I can’t see it. Villa’s señora, my tía Luz Corral Fierro, saw the film Viva Villa and was thoroughly disgusted. Beery, aptly named, was a lush. Villa had too many enemies and responsibilities to get out of his head on booze, and my research tells me that he seemed not to miss boozing at all, enemies or no. Ironically, the vato who misguidedly translated Luz Corral Fierro’s book “Pancho Villa en la Intimidad”gave Villa a definite country honky type vernacular, actually very Wallace Beery, when Villa’s Spanish could not possibly have been so provincial and twangy. Antonio Banderas? I won’t even go there, Leo Carrillo?.too enervated; giddy, muy español, which is O.K. but he was painful to take even when I was a kid, because at that time, like now, there were too many bufoonish, criminal, degenerate, or crude ; drunken screen or radio Mexicans. I was early aware of stereotypes, and even when I was nine years old Gilbert Roland stood out to me for giving Cisco Kid a humorous and whimsical, respectable persona, he refused the ugly stereotypical roles that Hollywood offered, for which I was grateful, but it cost him employment. Freddy Fender?…well then, why not Victor Jory! Olmos yes. Pedro Armendariz, ( descendent of the Nueva Vizcayan settlers Asque-Armendariz), he would have had a good understanding of Villa’s Mexicanness, hardly an unimportant consideration. I like Depp, and believe his Villa would likely be quite acceptable. Pancho Villa actually was very quick on the draw, had to be, and an excellent shot. I aked my tia Luz who killed Pancho Villa, and she answered “Callese!”–(Hush!), a play on words on Calles, of course. I’ll bet the gringo government also was involved, what do you think? They killed Flores Magon…
For better or worse (and, you’re right… probably worse), Beery did set the Hollywood standard for PV in the movies. You’d be surprised (or maybe you wouldn’t) how many supposedly serious pieces on Villa claim he really did say “Tell them I said something important”.
I don’t know for sure that the U.S. government was involved in killing Villa, but they certainly weren’t sorry to see him dead. As to Flores Magon, I tend to think it was medical neglect. He was a little bit young to die of a heart attack, but given the medical care (or lack thereof) and bad diet of federal prisoners in the early 20th century, it’s not so far-fetched that his death was NOT intentional homicide.
Thanks for your insight/historical informe, I wouldn’t want to add outright murder to the U.S.’s list of racist, unprincipalled, and interventionist machinations, now would I ? And, Leavenworth was after all, a Federal Prison. At least in those days the perps, of high or low standing, often adhered to the dubious “ethic”, and simulated esthetic, of covering their deeds, whereas now we get open, brazen and legalistic efforts in support of torture
…(sorry about that, this site has a touchy “publish” button). I was just sayin’ that now we have “open discussion”, about whether (for example) to torture, when there are plenty of sick cops and militaroids willing to engage in it, ordered to do so or not, and that official o.k. filters down to the man on the street as well, I do not doubt. The system has it’s own ugly way of “bringing the war home”. I just this week watched on t.v. “ex-CIA” Richard Bauer thrilling the viewers about Iraq, the Saudis, Iran’s nuclear development, his personal efforts to get Saddam kiled (seventeen memo’s sent, but blocked, or ignored at he time). Describing his work as “beyond morality” and “on the cuttinging edge” of U.S. policy, and despite and because of his studied coolness, and mature demeanor, he clearly wants to be seen as James Bond, BMOC, swashbuckler, avenging angel, ultra-patriot, and perhaps Ayn Rand in male drag. He did make reference to the Agency’s unpopularity, and , obviously the audience did not need any up-down-cat -or-dog about why, that was his sub-text, an unspoken reminder, a threat, actually. I was more interested in what he did not say. He was thoroughly disgusting. But, I digress. Yes, I have encountered the “quote” about PV’s last words in print, and there is a “hip” laundromat here in town, called “Brainwash”, which has bathroom tiles emlazoned with quotatations, and that one is there, right next to Voltaire’s, General Sheridan’s and Lord Acton’s, about two feet above the tissue-roll. It has as much to do with Villa as it does with Mexicans, being part of the image which we are gratuitously handed, everywhere. As for characterizations of Villa, seen by many as culture-hero, he shares his imagen with, for example Joaquin Murieta, “Bandit-Californio” another focus of my research, whose figura historica, as retrieved from a putrefact Manifest Destiny’s intolerant glare, and virulent embrace, can be apprreciated as debased, defaced, criminalised, pathologised, vulgarised of intent, toxic as rôle-model, gerry-mandered of psyche, red-lined as myth, neutered of politica, stigmatised as leyenda/victimised as cultura, ethnic rag doll for bored vigilante spin-doctors, and therefore pox-riden blanket, for sure. Saludos.
I hadn’t checked out The Mex Files for a while, and I am totalmente impresionado ( and not a little jealous )! It’s looking hot. Don’t stop now! Saludos.