Back in 1973, the band War had a massive hit with “The Cisco Kid.” If you listen to any ’70s flashback weekend, you automatically find yourself singing along with “The Cisco Kid was a friend of mine / He drink whiskey, Poncho drink the wine.” Nowadays kids probably have no idea who the Cisco Kid is. But back in the ’50s ’60s and ’70s, the Cisco Kid and Poncho were constantly on TV. The characters were created by O. Henry for a short story. The two Mexican cowboys rode the border territory between Mexico and the USA when people didn’t care about locking it down. The duo became stars in the days of silent film. While Cisco was a bit bloodthirsty on the page; the screen version had him depicted as an Old West Robin Hood character with his trusty sidekick. Not only was In Old Arizona the first talkie western, Warner Baxter won an Oscar for playing the Cisco Kid. Cesar Romero (The Joker in Batman) took over the role for six movies. Cisco Kid: Western Movie Collection contains 13 movies made by the last two actors to play The Cisco Kid before he rode onto a long running television series.
After a four-year break, The Cisco Kid Returns (1945 – 64 minutes) rode onto the screen with Duncan Renaldo in the sombrero. Martin Garralaga plays Pancho. Things get nasty for the duo since Cisco is falsely accused of murder and his girl might end up married to another guy. Old New Mexico (1945 – 62 minutes) has Cisco back to his outlaw ways. When he and Pancho hold up a stagecoach, they take a woman hostage. Little do they know that she’s also in trouble with the law. They trio agree to a plot to help clear her name. South of the Rio Grande (1945- 61 minutes) is a bit of a musical when Cisco must take on a crook town politician in Mexico.
After that trio, Monogram Pictures swapped up the stars and brought in Gilbert Roland to be the Cisco Kid. While his name may sound like a posh English actor, Roland was born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. He was born to play The Cisco Kid. His debut in The Gay Cavalier (1946 – 65 minutes) had him doing double the work. First, he has to track down the bandits who robbed a gold shipment on a stagecoach. His other joy is to stop a woman from dumping her real love for a rich guy who will supposedly save the family’s estate. Martin Garralaga plays Don Felipe Geralda and not Pancho. This might have been confusing for audience members. South of the Monterey (1946 – 63 minutes) once more has Garralaga as different character than Pancho. This time Cisco must put an end to a land swindle run by trusted government officials. Frank Yaconelli (Dr. Cyclops) begins to play Baby, Cisco’s new side kick. Beauty and The Bandit (1946 – 69 minutes) has Cisco organize a stagecoach robbery only to get too close to his target.
Riding The California Trail (1947 – 59 minutes) has Cisco suspicious when a woman is about to marry a guy who he knows has a fiancé already. He believes there’s a plot involving her inheritance and Don Pedro (another character played by Martin Garralaga). Robin Hood of Monterey (1947 – 57 minutes) has Cisco attempt to prove innocent the son of a longtime friend that’s being held in jail. This marks the arrival of Chris Pin-Martin (Stagecoach) as the latest Pancho. King of the Bandits (1947 – 64 minutes) opens with Cisco and Pancho getting executed by the Calvary after Cisco gives his pal a goodbye kiss. But it turns out to be a dream. When they wake up, they find a “Dead or Alive” sign for The Cisco Kid. Turns out someone has been posing as him and committing crimes. He and Pancho can’t put up with that. This would be Roland’s last outing as Cisco. Chris-Pin Martin played Pancho.
In 1948, United Artists took over The Cisco Kid character and the studio changed actors. Instead of find a new actor, they brought back Duncan Renaldo and his sombrero. While he made five new feature films, only the last four are included in the boxset. Gay Amigo (1949 – 62 minutes) has Cisco and Pancho (now played by Leo Carillo) uncovers white guys faking to be Mexican banditos to mess up Arizona’s path to statehood. The Daring Cabellero (1949 – 60 minutes) has Cisco discover a town’s mayor is a wanted outlaw and he might be framing locals for his previous crimes. Satan’s Cradle (1949 – 60 minutes) has Cisco and Pancho attempt to stop a nasty scam being used to take over a town and its nearby mine. Girl From San Lorenzo (1950 – 58 minutes) has Cisco and Pancho dealing with impersonators robbing stages in the area.
This would be the last of the feature films as the duo would ride onto the new world of television. Two episodes of the TV series are included in the boxset. The moving the show to a TV wasn’t two nasty of a transition since the show was already working on a tight budget and quick schedule. Both Renaldo and Carrillo returned as the stars. The show lasted six seasons and 156 episodes and was repeated endlessly. Since it was shot in color, when stations changed over from black and white, fans finally got to rewatch the show in a new light. The movies of Roland and Renaldo were mixed into the weekend Westerns run on TV. Cisco Kid: Western Movie Collection is the perfect way to bring back that vibe as you can choose your Cisco for the afternoon. You’ll find yourself humming the War song waiting for the movie to start.
The Video is 1.33:1 full frame. While you might fear 13 films spread over 5 DVDs, most of the movie run about an hour long so the black and white image still looks nice. You get to appreciate Cisco’s riding costume. The Audio is Dolby Digital Mono. You’ll hear gunshots clearly. The movies are not subtitled.
Photo Gallery (2:09) shows off lobby cards, press photos and posters.
Biographies of Gilbert Roland, Duncan Renaldo, Martin Garralaga, Leo Carrillo, Frank Yaconelli, William Nigh are in text.
Interview with Duncan Renaldo (26:50) is a vintage interview with author Jon Tuska. He talks about how he worked at the studios. He went to Republic Pictures to make Westerns.
Interview with Duncan Renaldo and Colonel Tim McCoy (28:29) is from the previous session. Colonel Tim McCoy had starring in over 90 Westerns. This appears to be a press conference to help promote a book called The Filming Of the West by Jon Tuska. Neither cowboy star is happy with the new attitude in Westerns. The set looks like your parent’s family room in 1976 which is when the book came out.
Two Cisco Kid TV Episodes (24:13 & 24:47) star Duncan Renaldo with Leo Carrillo as Pancho. The announcer makes sure you know The Cisco Kid was the Robin Hood of the Old West. The episodes are in color.
Trailers are included for the Spaghetti Western films A Bullet For Sandoval, Any Gun Can Play
VCI presents Cisco Kid: Western Movie Collection. Starring Duncan Renaldo and Gilbert Roland. Boxset Contents: 13 movies on 5 DVDs. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: August 15, 2023.
