Robin Hood of El Dorado (film)

The Robin Hood of El Dorado is a western film directed by William A. Wellman for MGM in 1936. The film stars Warner Baxter as real life Mexican folk hero Joaquin Murrieta and Ann Loring as his love interest, with Bruce Cabot as Bill Warren. J. Carrol Naish portrays Murriettas notorious nemesis, ThreeFingered Jack. The movie portrays Joaquin Murrietta as the Robin Hood of Old California in 1850, a kind, gentle man who was driven to violence. Wellman made it a hardhitting story about racial prejudice and violence by both sidesMurrietta and his Mexican band and the white settlers.

The screenplay was written by the actor Joseph Calleia, Melvin Levy and Wellman, with assistance from Robert Carson, whom MGM had assigned as his writing partner. In 1937 Wellman and Carson won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay for A Star Is Born. The Robin Hood of El Dorado was based on the biography of Murrietta by Walter Noble Burns and was MGMs attempt as a follow up to Viva Villa. The films working title was I AM JOAQUINFilm historian Frank T. Thompson writes that Wellman made a stronger statement on the subject of racism than a whole spate of later films like Gentlemans Agreement. ........

Source: Wikipedia