Hero of the Month: Rico De Montez
I have always loved the bizarreness of Hollywood casting, like a Hungarian actor playing a Japanese detective. Rico de Montez, although born in Switzerland, and with a name denoting Spanish ancestry, was usually cast as Asians in Six Lessons From Madam La Zonga (1941)and Escape From Hong Kong (1942).
The same was with his serial work, where he played Japanese agents in the Universal serials Junior G-Men of the Air (1942) and The Adventures of Smilin’ Jack (1943). His work at Republic was a change of pace where he played the Indian native devoted to Linda Stirling’s jungle godess in The Tiger Woman (1943). His final serial had him playing a South Sea native who is at first an enemy of the heroes but comes around later on after the villain’s trickery is exposed in Haunted Harbor (1944).
After his serial work he began playing South American characters in films like Brazil (1944) and Cuban Pete (1946).
