Tyrone Power was a force to be reckoned with when at his
peak. Contracted to 20th Century Fox he was their lead performer for
years. He was as adept at comedy and drama as he was the numerous swashbuckling
films he made. And at the height of his career he made this film at a
staggering (at the time) costs for production. Not only that the film runs 2
hours and 21 minutes, something unheard of at the time.
The story is quite involved and takes place in two locales.
The first is in Spain in the 1500s. There Pedro De Vargas (Power) is part of
the upper class, a nobleman well loved. Pedro is in love with a fair haired
maiden named Luisa De Carvajal (Barbara Lawrence). But Luisa has also caught
the eye of Diego De Silva, the local representative of the Inquisition. When
Pedro helps Coatl (Jay Silverheels), one of De Silva’s Indian slaves escape, De
Silva has Pedro and his family arrested and ready for questioning. His first
victim is Pedro’s 12 year old sister who dies while being tortured.
Placed in cells Pedro is rescued by Juan Garcia (Lee J.
Cobb), an adventurer friend he made earlier who lost part of his family to De
Silva as well. A sword fight with De Silva leaves him bleeding and thought
dead. While his parents head for the safety of Italy, Pedro along with Juan and
Catana Perez (Jean Peters), a young woman Pedro helped when De Silva’s men were
upon her, all decide to join an expedition to the new world. Hoping to change
their fortunes they sign on with Hernando Cortez (Cesar Romero) and his search
for gold possessed by the Aztecs.
The film shifts to their adventures there in the new world
and there are plenty of them. Between duplicitous seamen and the locals
unwilling to simply part with their treasures the lives of these three are not
easy. Added to the mix is the fact that Catana has fallen hopelessly in love
with Pedro while Juan has grown fond of her at the same time.
Pedro deals with his past when confronted by Father
Bartolome Romero (Thomas Gomez). When asked why he hasn’t shown up to mass he
confesses his past sins and the death of his nemesis De Silva. Father Romero
forgives him of his sins and makes him promise to atone for them. Which becomes
an issue when nearly a year later De Silva shows up to represent the king and
as a guest of Cortez.
Keep in mind these are the basics of the story going on
here, the bones that flesh is wrapped around. The movie is filled with romance
and adventure like many movies of the time offered. What makes the movie
special is that it is all done with such skill. Every bit of the movie comes
together to make the story come alive, especially the score by
composer/conductor Alfred Newman. Power is at his best here and Peters makes it
hard to believe that this was her first film.
Twilight Time has released the film with the cleanest
picture ever offered for this title. In addition to that they’ve thrown in a
number of extras this time around including an isolated music track, an audio
commentary track featuring film historians Rudy Behlmer, Jon Burlingame and
Nick Redman, TYRONE POWER: THE LAST IDOL an episode of the old Biography
series, TYRONE POWER AND HIS LEADING LADIES and the original theatrical
trailer. Once more Twilight Time has limited this to just 3,000 copies to pick
one up if you’re a fan.
Click here to order.
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