Pirates of Monterey (1947)

Rod Cameron is Capt. Phillip Kent, on a secret mission with a caravan of new rifles to deliver to Mexican army headquarters in Monterey, California in the 1840s.

Royalists would like to overthrow the government, and they’re working in conjunction with pirates ransacking towns along the California coast.

En route to his destination, Kent and sidekick Sergeant Pio come to the rescue of two women whose carriage has lost a wheel.

Lovely young Marguerita Novarro tries to charm Kent into agreeing to take them to Santa Barbara. When he turns her down, Marguerita and her assistant Filomena hide in his wagons.

When they emerge, Pio is thrilled. He’s smitten with Filomena. Kent isn’t nearly as happy. He suspects Marguerita might be a Royalist spy.

But he has a change of heart following a romantic interlude with the lovely lass in Santa Barbara, only to have Marguerita and her companion disappear the next morning.

That arouses his suspicion again, especially when the caravan is nearly ambushed on its way to Monterey.

Once he reaches his destination, Kent is surprised to find an old friend, Lt. Carlos Ortega (Phillip Reed), stationed there.

That old friend is eager to introduce Kent to his new fiancee, who turns to be none other than Marguerita Novarro.

Trouble has followed Kent to Monterey too. Because someone tries to steal the fast-loading rifles designed to give the Mexican army the edge should Royalists or the pirate ship San Filipe attack.

Rod Cameron as Capt. Phillip Kent, suggesting ways Marguerita might show appreciation for his escort in Pirates of Monterey (1947)

Maria Montez as Marguerita Novarro, revaling her true feelings to Capt. Phillip Kent in Pirates of Monterey (1947)

Review:

A lovely looking film in which the focus is as much on romance as action.

Marguertia falls for Kent. Kent falls for Marguerita, though he’s not sure he can trust her and tries to avoid a romantic entanglement.

Neither wants to hurt Carlos, who unwittingly pushes them into one another’s arms. Wounded, Carlos asks Kent to serve as Marguerita’s chaperone in Monterey while he’s recuperating.

Gilbert Roland also has a key role as Major de Rojas, commanding officer of the garrison at Monterey. What no one knows is that the man caught trying to steal the rifles is his younger brother Manuel.

Maria Montez, top-billed here, was born in the Dominican Republican. She was dubbed the Queen of Technicolor because of the popularity of the adventure films she made with Universal, including 1942’s “Arabian Nights.” She made her film debut in a Western, the 1940 Johnny Mack Brown film “Boss of Bullion City.” This was her only other.

She died four years after this film was released, at age 39 in France, apparently after suffering a heart attack while bathing. Her daughter, Tina Aumont, also became an actress, appearing in the Westerns “Texas Across the River” (1966), “Man, Pride and Vengeance” (1967) and “Brothers Blue” (1973).

Gilbert Roland as Major de Rojas, plotting against the army he’s part of in Pirates of Monterey (1947)

Phillip Reed as Lt. Carlos Ortega, convincing friend Phillip Kent to serve as Marguerita’s charparone while he recovers from a wound in Pirates of Monterey (1947)

Directed by:
Alfred L. Werker

Cast:
Maria Montez … Marguerita Novarro
Rod Cameron … Capt. Phillip Kent
Mikhail Rasumny … Sergeant Pio
Phillip Reed … Lt. Carlos Ortega
Gilbert Roland … Major de Rojas
Gale Sondergaard … Senorita de Sola
Tamara Shayne … Filomena
Robert Warwick … Governor de Sola
Michael Raffetto … Sgt. Gomara
Neyle Morrow … Manuel de Rojas
Victor Varconi … Capt. Cordova
Charles Wegenheim … Juan

Runtime: 77 min.

Mikhail Rasumny as Kent’s sidekick Sgt. Pio, negotiating a price for carts to carry the guns in Pirates of Monterey (1947)

Tamara Shayne as FIlomena, Marguerita’s assistant, flirting with Sgt. Pio in Pirates of Monterey (1947)

Memorable lines:

Capt. Phillip Kent: “Tell me, Pio, do you ever catch yourself not thinking about women.”
Sgt. Pio: “If I ever do, it will be a sign of old age. And then I will ask captain to shoot me like a mule.”

Capt. Phillip Kent to Marguerita Navarro: “Strange how fate keeps throwing us together. Isn’t it?”

Sgt. Pio, as he and Capt. Kent leave Monterey: “It feels good to be free again. Doesn’t it? All the confusion. Those women. It was enough to smother a man.”

Capt. Phillip Kent: “How are you, Carlos?”
Lt. Carlos Ortega: “I’m alright, amigo. Seems every time there’s any excitement, I’m either unconscious or wounded.”

Rod Cameron as Capt. Phillip Kent, meeting the lovely Marguerita Novarro (Maria Montez) in Pirates of Monterey (1947)

Robert Warwick as Gov. de Sola and Gale Sondergaard as his wife, hosting an engagement party for Marguerita and Carlos in Pirates of Monterey (1947)

Neyle Morrow as Manuel de Rojas, the major’s brother, caught trying to steal rifles in Pirates of Monterey (1947)

Victor Varconi as Capt. Cordova of the pirate ship San Felipe, preparing to lead the assault on the Mexican stronghold in Pirates of Monterey (1947)

Gilbert Roland as Maj. de Rojas and Phillip Reed as Lt. Carlos Ortega, inspecting the guns Kent has delivered in Pirates of Monterey (1947)

Rod Cameron as Capt. Phillip Kent and Maria Montez as Marguerita Navarro, being taken captive in Pirates of Monterey (1947)