We also have Basil Rathbone in a sympathetic role as a friend, and the unforgetable C Aubrey Smith as a priest, with his magnificent features, they don’t seem to make them like this any more.

Fine directing of a timeless story with acting and dialogue that does not date

This is the first film where they attempted to shoot Technicolor on location, but unfortunately after a short time the hardships and perils of the Arizona desert proved too much and the remainder of the film was shot on soundstages.

The restoration of the 1936 Technicolor is superb, although Technicolor does not have the natural quality of modern colour systems it has a heightened colour depth and saturation that is the stuff of nostalgia.


A first rate early colour feature film   March 19, 2005
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Anyone interested in early colour feature films should see this - and anyone who hasn't realised just how good films of the first half of the 20th century can be. This remastered version of an early Technicolor film produced by David Selznick in 1936 will not disappoint. It is beautifully photographed, and the affinities with Gone With The Wind will be immediately obvious to the viewer, though at 78 minutes it is only a third of the latter's length. As a story it offers first rate entertainment, combining piety, romance and tragedy with a memorable conclusion.
Highly recommended.