''California Conquest'' is a 1952 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Lew Landers Lew Landers (born Louis Friedlander, January 2, 1901 – December 16, 1962) was an American independent film and television director. Biography Born as Louis Friedlander in New York City, Lew Landers began his movie career as an actor. In 1914, ...

and starring

Cornel Wilde Cornel Wilde (born Kornél Lajos Weisz; October 13, 1912 – October 16, 1989) was a Hungarian-American actor and filmmaker. Wilde's acting career began in 1935, when he made his debut on Broadway. In 1936 he began making small, uncredited app ...

and Teresa Wright.The New York Times
"''California Conquest at Palace''" (June 7th, 1952 - retrieved on October 31st, 2011). The film is set in the early 1840s, and deals with a conspiracy by native Hidalgo

Californios Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sinc ...

to deliver the then-

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

territory of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

Plot

Don Arturo Bordega (Cornel Wilde) is part of the old Spanish

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

, and a vocal advocate for California'a

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. On his way to a secret meeting in support of that goal, he is attacked by

bandits Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...

led by José Martínez (

Alfonso Bedoya Benito Alfonso Bedoya y Díaz de GuzmánSan Antonio Light, Dec. 17, 1957, p. 20 (April 16, 1904 – December 15, 1957) was a Mexican actor who frequently appeared in U.S. films. He is best known for his role in ''The Treasure of the Sierra Madre ...

), but narrowly escapes. The planned "guest of honor" at the secret meeting to which Bordega is en route, is none other than then-

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

John Charles Fremont John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

. Martinez's thugs attempt to assassinate Fremont while he is traveling to the same meeting, but succeed only in lightly wounding him. At the meeting, he reveals that the US does not intend to annex California. It is subsequently revealed that the corrupt Brios brothers, Ernesto (Eugene Iglesias) and Fredo (

John Dehner John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...

) have paid Martinez to violently oppose the movement advocating American annexation of California, as part of their unscrupulous plot to deliver California to the imperial domain of the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Czar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the t ...

(in exchange for a promise to appoint first Ernesto, and later Fredo, as the Russian colonial governor). Martinez's men violently seize a quantity of rifles from

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very ...

Sam Lawrence ( Hank Patterson), in order to arm a force in support of the Russian conquest of California. This invokes the wrath of his beautiful daughter, Julia (Teresa Wright), who winds up joining Arturo Bordega in his mission to infiltrate Martinez's bandit group, in order to foil their part in the nefarious scheme. Martinez is eventually killed by Julia Lawrence (and Ernesto Brios is slain by Bordega in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and ...

), during a period in which they learn the nature of the Brios' plot. Arturo Bordega and Julia Lawrence eventually travel to Fort Ross, where they are able to capture Fredo Brios (as well as a fictional Russian

princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...

, Helena de Gagarine, and a high-ranking Russian army officer), and otherwise manage to thwart the

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

ous conspiracy. During the course of their travels together, Bordega and Lawrence fall in love, and the film concludes with their stated intent to marry, and "have 14 children."

Cast

as Don Arturo Bordega * Teresa Wright as Julie Lawrence *

as José Martínez * Lisa Ferraday as Helena de Gagarine *

Eugene Iglesias Eugene Luis Francisco Iglesias Carrillo (born 3 December 1926) is an American actor from Puerto Rico who was active mainly in 1950s and 1960s. In 1955 Iglesias appeared as Alfredo on the TV western ''Cheyenne'' in the episode "Border Showdown." ...

as Ernesto Brios *

as Fredo Brios *

Ivan Lebedeff Ivan Lebedeff (born Ivan Vasilyevich Lebedev ( rus, Иван Васильевич Лебедев), 18 June 1894 – 31 March 1953) was a Russian film actor, lecturer and writer. He appeared in 66 films between 1926 and 1953. In 1940, his no ...

as Alexander Rotcheff * Tito Renaldo as Don Bernardo Mirana *

Renzo Cesana Renzo Cesana (30 October 1907, Rome – 8 November 1970, Hollywood, California) was an actor, writer, composer, and songwriter most famed for his title role on the American television show ''The Continental''. He was also known as Renato Cesana. ...

as Fr. Lindos *

Baynes Barron Bernard Miller (May 29, 1917 – July 21, 1982) was an American film and television actor. Born in New York. Barron began his career in 1946, first appearing in the film '' The Secret of the Whistler''. He then made his television debut in 1951 ...

as Igna'cio *

Rico Alaniz Americo Zorilla "Rico" Alaniz (October 25, 1919 – March 9, 2015) was a Mexican-American actor. Early years Alaniz was born in Juárez, Mexico, and began riding when he was a child. Selected filmography * '' The Capture'' (1950) - Policema ...

as Pedro * William Wilkerson as Fernando (as William P. Wilkerson) * Edward Colmans as Juan Junipero * Alex Montoya as Juan

References

External links

* {{Sam Katzman 1952 films 1952 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Lew Landers Films set in California Films set in the 1840s 1950s English-language films 1950s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links