Customer Reviews

The Cisco Kid - Collection 1

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A remarkably entertaining series, thanks almost entirely to the performances, chemistry, warmth, and humor of the two leads, Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carillo. I had very fond memories of watching this on Sunday morning reruns in the 1970s, and I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that I was enjoying this DVD release even more than I'd expected to! I also realized a few other things - like how Carillo's expression "Let's went" (instead of "Let's go") had entered into my own vocabulary, and how fun Pancho's dialogue often was in general (listen to his wonderful song at the beginning of the episode "Convict Story" for example). For content, this DVD release (20 different episodes) rates a 5 out of 5.

Now for the bad news. This show was shot and aired in the early 1950s. The picture quality of the episodes on DVD is not very good. It's certainly not terrible, but I'd describe the picture as very soft (almost blurry), with some tint problems (it looks like they tried to fix the color and probably did the best they could, but it's still off - whites have a slightly greenish tint to them, for example). The prints used are fairly clean, at least. But prepare yourself before buying - you might be disappointed with the picture and sound quality, especially considering the price of the set. The quality rates a 3 out of 5, and that's being generous.

However, these shows are so fun and entertaining, I'm happy to accept these as "the best they could do with what they had" and just watch them with a big grin on my face. Oh, Pancho! Oh, Cisco!

I am not going to be as kind as the previous poster concerning the picture quality of this set. It is downright appalling....something to possibly be expected from a bargain bin Madacy release, but not for a $40+ set!!!!

The picture is so out-of-focus, it is of a quality of a third generation VHS tape.

Compare this to Rhino's "Lone Ranger" release [which I own], and you will be even more appalled.

Avoid this set at all costs.

Thanks to Amazon, though, for giving me a refund without a hassle.

I was very disappointed with the Cisco Kid Collection 1. I have fond memories of the old series and jumped at the chance to own it on DVD. The video quality is appallingly bad. The main title sequence is blurry. The quality of each episode varies from scene to scene, and sometimes it varies within the same scene from one camera shot to the next. For the price at which this collection is being sold, I expected the episodes to be digitally restored. This series deserves to have the same quality of restoration as the Lone Ranger collection. Maybe someone will do that one day.

Said to be based on the O. Henry western short story anthology, Heart of the West, published in 1907, the Cisco Kid at long last gets a descent DVD release of these great 30-minute shows from the 1950s!

Referred to as a so-called "kiddie western" like the Lone Ranger and Roy Rogers, The Cisco Kid starred Duncan Renaldo as Cisco and Leo Carillo as Pancho. (Some of Pancho's humor can also
remind viewers of Don Quixote.)

Although the law regarded them as desperados, the duo actually fought desperados and other genuine rotters to uphold justice for the oppressed and helpless in Mexico.

Their horses were also memorable: DIABLO was the pinto ridden by Cisco, and LOCO was Pancho's palomino mount.

It is interesting to note that Duncan Renaldo was in his 50s when he did this series and Leo Carillo was in his 60s. The show also included a great theme song by Albert Glasser and the classic weekly close between the stars of "Oh, Pancho", "Oh, Cisco" as they rode off into the sunset after once again saving the day against impossible odds.

In an era when most TV shows are dark, edgy and take themselves way too seriously, it is surprisingly refreshing to enjoy a series from a more innocent time when the good guys win and the bad guys always lose by the close of each episode. Now that's entertainment!

When I was a youngster growing up in the midwest, The Cisco Kid was one of my favorite and biggest heroes ~ many actors played the part from Warner Baxter ("The Cisco Kid"-1931, "Return of the Cisco Kid"-1939), Cesar Romero ("The Cisco Kid & the Lady"-1939, "Lucky Cisco Kid"-1940, "Viva Cisco Kid"-1940), Duncan Renaldo ("The Cisco Kid in Old New Mexico"-1945, "The Cisco Kid Returns"-1945), Gilbert Roland ("The Gay Cavalier"-1946, "South of Monterey"-1946, "Beauty and the Bandit"-1946, "Riding the California Trail"-1947, "Robin Hood of Monterey"-1947, "King of the Bandits"-1947) ~ each film followed the adventures of our famous Robin Hood of the Old West, O. Henry's The Cisco Kid.

The above films paved the way for one of the finest television series featuring Duncan Renaldo as Cisco and Leo Carillo as Pancho ~ also one of the first to be filmed in color, the episodes were half-hour in length and contained some of the character actors (Raymond Hatton) from B-Westerns of the '30s, '40s and '50s ~ the series ran from 1950-1956 ~ always with adventure, romance and comedy.

Renaldo was in his '60s and Carillo in his '70s when they appeared at the "Firemen's Rodeo" in St. Louis during the '50s ~ my Grandmother and Great Aunt took me to see them, and I believe both of them had a crush on the two actors ~ the two actors (Renaldo and Carillo) came galloping out into the center of the arena, every kid in attendance was in awe, as I was and when the show was over, I rode my imaginary horse home.

MPI Home Video now presents "The Cisco Kid Collection 1", with 20 episodes that will bring back all the good memories of your childhood ~ even though some of the clarity is not perfect, they are still the best that is around today ~ so saddle up and get ready for some hard riding and adventure that only The Cisco Kid and Pancho can deliver...gotta love it!

Total Time: 4-DVD-Set ~ MPI Media Group 7569 ~ (3/30/2004)

Just a quick note to defend MPI on this release. Some of the reviewers have mentioned the soft focus and the shifting colors. When I used to watch this series years ago on WGN (Sundays at 12 Noon) and later on the old Family Channel cable network...it looked exactly as it does now on this DVD.
The ownership of the series shifted over the years and I'm sure any original material has long vanished. I also remember reading somewhere that the original producer, ZIV Television, shot this on 16mm to save money.
I'm very happy with this release and looking forward to Volume 2 as episodes from the later seasons have been included...many of the later episodes feature some great action sequences.

I won't comment on the content, since other have already done so. Rather, I'll defend the quality of these prints, which I feel is very good, considering their age. No, these prints have not been digitally restored, and do not look like the current crop of new television shows on DVD. Considering their source, most likely 16mm prints from 57 years ago, they are in surprisingly good shape. Yes, the opening intro sequence is slightly pastel in color, and the image in the intro, titles, and "outro" is slightly soft. But the other 98 percent of the film is very good. I've only watched the first of the four volumes, but I have no complaints about the quality of the product.

The colors are very "primary", much like the three-strip Technicolor films from that era. On rare occassions, the contrast is such that the color of a face may darken slightly for a moment or two. But overall, the image is very good for a film source which was probably not given the best "preservation care" over the last half century, and the picture is surprisingly clean, free of scratches and other image debris.

These disks are not intended to knock-your-socks-off on your new 1080p Hi Def plasma television; but those who remember television when shows like this were new and when entertainment was the name of the game, will find these most entertaining indeed, and very satisfactory viewing.

After returning the first DVD Series of the Cisco Kid, because I thought it was defected. I found out later after I got the new copies of the DVD, that in order to get the whole DVD to play properly, I had to play in on my PS2 System. Unlike the 'Lone Ranger' DVD Series, which plays very good on a regular DVD System.

A remarkably entertaining series, thanks almost entirely to the performances, chemistry, warmth, and humor of the two leads, Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carillo.

Great memories of a simpler time. I loved the Cisco Kid and Pancho. Never missed their show.