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.
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.