Mexicali Rose is a dusty, messy 1929 drama that only works because of Stanwyck

If you want to see Barbara Stanwyck before she became the Barbara Stanwyck, then yeah, put this on. It is a messy, loud little movie from 1929 that feels like it is barely holding together by a few threads.

Most people will probably find it too creaky to enjoy. If you hate old movies where people yell their lines at a microphone hidden in a flower pot, you should probably stay away. 🌵

The whole thing takes place in this border town gambling joint. It is dusty and everybody looks like they really need a good nap or at least a glass of water.

Sam Hardy plays Bob, the guy who runs the place. He has this mustache that looks like it is trying to escape his face every time he talks.

He falls for Rose, played by Stanwyck. She is basically a "vamp," which is just old-timey talk for a woman who ruins men’s lives because she is bored.

There is this one scene where she is just lounging around, looking bored out of her mind. You can tell Stanwyck already has that look in her eyes even this early in her career.

It is much more interesting than the stuff you see in Tight Shoes. This feels more raw, even if the script is kind of junk.

Anyway, Bob finds out she is cheating on him. He gets all "manly" and kicks her out into the dirt in front of everyone.

The way he points to the door is so dramatic. It is like he is practicing for a play he isn't actually in.

Then Rose decides to get even. She goes and marries his younger brother, who is basically a human puppy dog with no survival instincts.

The brother, played by William Janney, is so earnest it actually hurts to watch. He has no idea he is walking straight into a woodchipper. 🪵

There is a lot of drinking in this movie. People in these 1920s films drink like the world is ending tomorrow at noon.

Maybe it was? Who knows.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Mexicali Rose (1929) through its definitive frames.

The sound quality is pretty rough in spots. You can hear the constant hiss of the old film stock over the dialogue, which is distracting if you aren't used to it.

It makes the emotional scenes feel a bit like they are happening underwater. Or in a very noisy rainstorm.

I kept thinking about A Woman of the Sea while watching this. Not because they are the same story, but because they both have that "lost" feeling of early cinema.

The lighting in the saloon is actually decent for a movie this old. There are lots of heavy shadows in the corners where the extras are pretending to gamble with fake money.

Speaking of extras, half of them look like they were pulled off the street five minutes before the camera started rolling. One guy in the back just stares directly at the lens for like three seconds during a big argument.

It is hilarious. I wonder if the director even noticed or if they just didn't have the budget for a second take.

Probably not. They were churning these out so fast back then to keep the theaters full.

Rose is just mean in this. Not like "misunderstood" mean, but actually just a jerk who wants to see people suffer.

She toys with the brother just to twist the knife in Bob’s heart. It is some real soap opera energy before soap operas were even a big thing.

It is not as "refined" as something like Sweet Adeline. But I think I prefer the dirtiness of this one over something polished.

The ending feels very rushed. It is like the producers realized they only had five minutes of film left and needed to wrap everything up immediately.

Everyone just sort of stands around and looks sad while the music swells. It doesn't really feel earned.

I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. Not even close to being one.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Mexicali Rose (1929) through its definitive frames.

But for a rainy Tuesday afternoon when you're feeling lazy? It is fine.

It has that specific 1929 vibe where the actors are still figuring out how to talk and move at the same time without looking stiff.

If you liked Fighting Youth, you might find this a bit too slow and depressing. It is a drama through and through, not a fun romp.

But Stanwyck makes it worth the price of admission. Or the price of the stream, or whatever.

She has this energy that just cuts through the grainy footage. Even when the dialogue is stupid, she makes you believe she means every word of it.

There is a bit where she throws a drink. The glass doesn't even break, it just thuds on the floor like a heavy rock. 🥂

Nobody even reacts to it. It is so awkward and perfect.

I love little moments like that. They remind you that movies are made by tired people who just want to go home and eat dinner.

If you are looking for something like Le Cirque de la Mort, this isn't it. It is much more grounded in the mud and the grit of a border town.

It is a movie about bad choices and people who don’t know how to talk to each other like adults.

The "revenge" plot is pretty thin if you think about it for more than a minute. Marrying the brother is a classic move, but here it feels a bit desperate for the sake of the plot.

Still, it kept me watching. Which is more than I can say for Phantom Justice, which I turned off after twenty minutes.

Don’t expect a "profound exploration" of anything. It is just a story about a guy who fell for the wrong girl and paid for it.

And the girl who decided to burn his whole world down because her feelings got hurt by the truth.

Standard Saturday night stuff, really. Just with more dust and worse microphones.