Girl of the Rio
Cast & Crew
Herbert Brenon
Dolores Del Rio
Leo Carrillo
Norman Foster
Stanley Fields
Frank Campeau
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In Mexicana, Mexico, just over the American border, Dolores, a beautiful cafe singer called "The Dove," attracts the attention of the very rich Don Jose Maria Lopez y Tostado, who brags to her that he is "the best cabarello in all Mexico." Used to getting what he wants, Don Jose is at first surprised by Dolores' rejection of his advances and her talk of a jealous, gun-slinging sweetheart. Determined to conquer the virgin, Don Jose, who lives on an enormous southern hacienda, plans a party in her honor at the cafe. Although Dolores' sweetheart is an invention of convenience, Johnny Powell, a craps table dealer at a neighboring gambling house, quickly wins the singer's heart in earnest. To protect Dolores, Johnny proposes that they cross the border before the party and marry. Dolores agrees, but that night, Johnny is trapped in a murder frame-up devised by Don Jose. After Johnny is jailed, Dolores uses her savings to bribe the jailer and arrange for Johnny's escape. Shortly before the appointed hour, however, Don Jose offers the jailer an even bigger bribe to shoot Johnny as he makes his escape. When Dolores hears of Don Jose's plan, she offers herself to him in exchange for Johnny's life. Don Jose accepts the exchange, and after coldly rejecting the now free Johnny, Dolores leaves with Don Jose for his hacienda. On the way there, Dolores tries unsuccessfully to take a suicide pill, which further baffles the egotistical millionaire. Then Johnny shows up with a gun, and after a fight with Don Jose, is rearrested and sentenced to immediate execution by his powerful rival. As the police prepare to shoot Johnny, Dolores accuses Don Jose of ungentlemanly cowardice. Struck by Dolores' impassioned plea, Don Jose gives in with a laugh and grants Johnny and Dolores their freedom, having proved that he is, in fact, the "best cabellero in all Mexico."
Director
Herbert Brenon
Cast
Dolores Del Rio
Leo Carrillo
Norman Foster
Stanley Fields
Frank Campeau
Lucille Webster Gleason
Ralph Ince
Edna Murphy
Roberta Gale
Crew
Herbert Brenon
William Lebaron
Ray Lissner
Elizabeth Meehan
Max Rée
Max Rée
Arthur Roberts
Louis Sarecky
Victor Schertzinger
Louis Stevens
Leo Tover
John E. Tribby
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working and British release title of this film was The Dove. Willard Mack's play was based on the short story "The Blue Ribbon" by Gerald Beaumont, which appeared in the January 1923 issue of Red Book Magazine. Although the film is called "a Herbert Brenon production," Brenon is not listed as director in the screen credits. According to Hollywood Reporter, Leo Carrillo replaced Warner Baxter in the role of "Don Jose." A Film Daily news item incorrectly refers to the film as a Mary Astor/Ricardo Cortez picture. Film Daily lists Cissy FitzGerald as a cast member, but her participation in the final film has not been confirmed. An early Hollywood Reporter pre-production news item announced that scenes for the film were to be shot in Mexico; it is not known, however, if filming actually took place there. The Motion Picture Herald review credits Louis Stevens with the film's adaptation, and Elizabeth Meehan, who is credited on screen as adapter, with the continuity. Meehan is credited with the dialogue and adaptation in the copyright entry. In 1927, Roland West directed Norma Talmadge and Noah Beery in a United Artists release of Mack's drama called The Dove (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1921-30; F2.1426). RKO remade the story as The Girl and the Gambler in 1939 ( listing).
