Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

vincentlynch-moonoi You have a choice to make. You can fret about Don Ameche playing an Indian and let it ruin the film for you. Or you can just accept that in 1936 there wasn't going to be a full blooded Indian in a leading role of an important motion picture. In other words, get over it.This film is based on a very important novel about racial prejudice, and while I have not read the novel, my impression is that to quite an extent the movie is a too-simplified version of the story. However, racial prejudice in an underlying and ongoing theme of this film, so it still has impact.The other important thing about this film is that it was only the fourth movie to be filmed in 3-strip Technicolor! Unfortunately, the print is not pristine, but the Technicolor is still quite stunning, including with lots of outdoor scenes "on location" in sunny California.Loretta Young was a lovely actress, and her performance here is excellent. Don Ameche, a much forgotten actor, was a fine performer, although here he seems perhaps a bit too refined to be a Spanish-Indian of that period. I don't know that...I'm just surmising. He's still interesting to watch. The other performance of note here is by Jane Darwell, whom most viewers will recall from "The Grapes Of Wrath".When you think of the advances in Technicolor from this film in 1936 to "Gone With The Wind" 3 years later...wow! The film does seem dated, but I think it's worth it to watch an historically important novel turned into a film, with themes that still resonate in our culture today.

Richard Chatten The first of many slices of Technicolor Americana to be made for 20th Century Fox by veteran director Henry King; like the same year's 'The Trail of the Lonesome Pine' and 'The Garden of Allah', 'Ramona' was based on a novel that had already been filmed in the 1920s. Even without William Skall's sumptuous Technicolor photography, it stands up well as a watchable, well-acted drama in its own right; while much of what it says about white America's mistreatment of minorities still remains all too topical.Loretta Young and Don Ameche (before he grew his moustache) make attractive leads, donning black wigs in none-too successful attempts to convince us that they're of native American ancestry. With the exception of J.Carrol Naish - saddled with providing unfunny comic relief in a frequently incomprehensible accent - the rest of the cast are uniformly excellent.Many of the attitudes expressed in the film remain depressingly familiar today; Jane Darwell's haste to reach for a firearm when she thinks she's dealing with non-believers, for example. As in other Hollywood films of the thirties the law is shown being routinely used by the strong to bully the weak. The Settlement Act enables a white settler to shoot an Indian farmer with impunity; while John Carradine plainly isn't constrained by any worry that shooting an unarmed man three times simply for stealing his horse might get him hanged.

utgard14 Spanish Loretta Young (!) was raised by a wealthy family. The family's son loves Loretta but she loves Indian Don Ameche (oh boy). Then she finds out that she's also half-Indian, which makes her happy as she can marry Ameche. It's one of those movies, folks. When Ameche rides into view and you realize he's gone full Tonto for this picture, you basically have two choices: turn it off or soldier on, knowing full well this is going to be a little hard to swallow.The early Technicolor is nice and makes the beautiful scenery pop. Young is lovely, even with the jet black hair that doesn't suit her. Speaking of lovely, Katherine DeMille appears in this and her beauty is also enhanced by the color. Good support from Jane Darwell, J. Carrol Naish, and Pauline Frederick. John Carradine has a small part. It's a well-intentioned bit of hokum. Amusing at times but depressing if you take it seriously.

kayeohio1947 I have read the novel "Ramona" a few times, and it seems something was lost when the book was translated into film. First of all, the story takes place in the Spanish colonial days of California, and this is why the Native Americans are speaking with Spanish accents. The "gringo" white people (Americans) are seen as the villains because they mostly are Protestant and are moving into a predominantly Catholic area and are claiming land that had been granted to Spanish settlers by the King of Spain. There was this same ill feeling about gringos or "white settlers" when Texas was in the process of separating from Mexico and becoming part of the United States.As for Ramona's being a half-breed, the novel explains she is the child of the Spanish rancher and his Native American girl friend. The rancher brings her, as an infant, to the hacienda, and the rancher's wife agrees to bring up her husband's illegitimate daughter as if the child were her own or at least her social equal.I am not sure of Loretta Young's heritage, but I believe she was a devout Catholic and perhaps was of Latin descent. It so happens her sister Georgiana was married to Ricardo Montalban, so Miss Young was associated with Latin Americans in her private life. Mr. Ameche was an Italian-American and no doubt Catholic, so he fit into this story of Spanish-colonial California very well.I hope this explanation has helped some reviewers better understand the background of "Ramona." One of my favorite scenes is the priest coming to bless the flock of sheep and crops each spring. It is reminiscent of the same blessing in "The Thorn Birds" and the annual "Blessing of the Fleet" in the Gulf Coast area of the United States.