The Squaw Man (1931)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writers:

Edwin Milton Royle (play)
Lucien Hubbard (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

5 September 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Plot:

Jim Wyngate, an English aristocrat, comes to the American West under a cloud of suspicion for embezzlement actually committed by his cousin Lord Henry...

Plot Keywords:

Cattle | Embezzlement | Fox Hunt | Polo | Dance

Cast

Warner Baxter	...	James 'Jim' Wingate, aka Jim Carston
Lupe Velez	...	Naturich
Eleanor Boardman	...	Lady Diana Kerhill
Charles Bickford	...	Cash Hawkins
Roland Young	...	Sir John 'Johnny' Applegate
Paul Cavanagh	...	Henry, Earl of Kerhill
Raymond Hatton	...	Shorty
Julia Faye	...	Mrs. Chichester Jones
DeWitt Jennings	...	Sheriff Bud Hardy
J. Farrell MacDonald	...	Big Bill (as J. Farrell McDonald)
Mitchell Lewis	...	Tabywana
Dickie Moore	...	Little Hal Carston
Victor Potel	...	Andy
Frank Rice	...	Grouchy
Eva Dennison	...	Dowager Lady Amy Kerhill, Henry's Mother
Lilian Bond	...	Babs
Luke Cosgrave	...	Shanks, Driver in Arizona
Frank Hagney	...	Deputy Clark
Lawrence Grant	...	General Stafford
Harry Northrup	...	Meadows, the Butler
Ed Brady	...	McSorley, Hawkins' Henchman
Chris-Pin Martin	...	Spanish Pete - Hawkins' Henchman (as Chrispin Martin)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kathryn Adams	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Earl Askam	...	Posseman (uncredited)
Max Barwyn	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Ben Corbett	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Herbert Evans	...	Train Conductor (uncredited)
Winifred Kingston	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Louise Mackintosh	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Pete Morrison	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Edgar Norton	...	Fox Huntsman (uncredited)
Artie Ortego	...	White Horse, Naturich's Brother (uncredited)
Desmond Roberts	...	Hardwick (uncredited)
Pat Somerset	...	Seated Officer at Party (uncredited)

Directed by
Cecil B. DeMille		(as Cecil B. De Mille)

Writing credits
Edwin Milton Royle		(play)
Lucien Hubbard		(screenplay) and
Lenore J. Coffee		(screenplay) (as Lenore Coffee)
Elsie Janis		(dialogue)

Produced by
Cecil B. DeMille	....	producer (as Cecil B. De Mille)

Cinematography by
Harold Rosson

Film Editing by
Anne Bauchens

Art Direction by
Mitchell Leisen

Costume Design by
Adrian		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Earl Haley	....	assistant director
Mitchell Leisen	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Stunts
Audrey Scott	....	stunt double: Eleanor Boardman (uncredited)
George Sowards	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Charles Maxwell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Inc.)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1931) (USA) (theatrical)
• Forgotten Hollywood (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Forgotten Hollywood (????) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

The White Man (UK)

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Agoura Ranch, Agoura, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

In his autobiography, Cecil B. DeMille wrote "I do not know whether M-G-M or I was more relieved that my contract had come to an end." The production was almost halted by the studio, but DeMille convinced them it would cost just as much to complete it as it would to stop it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic (2004) (TV)

Repeating Mistakes

Is she brown? Lupe Velez isn't an aborigine of the United States. Here, Velez even wears traditional Mexican-looking clothes. I would overlook the racism in this film, cloaked in the selling point of miscegenation, if there were anything worth my attention in it. Cecil B. DeMille was shot at while making the 1914 version of the hackneyed stage melodrama, and this time he lost his job. If anyone finds the 1918 version, I'll pass. Why did DeMille bother? In 1914, he was learning the craft; by 1931, he was a competent filmmaker, who had since surrendered his ambitions for artistic innovation in favour of lowbrow commercialism. I suppose, then, that it made sense for DeMille to try a talkie remake of his first box-office success. The plot is slightly more coherent this outing, but remains very contrived. The acting and dialogue are atrocious. There's also a scene where Velez undresses.