Readers React: Hollywood’s decades-old practice of casting whites in Latino roles

To the editor: The “Brownout” in Hollywood — in which Latinos are often passed up for roles — is not new and sometimes was silly. (“In this town, it’s as if Hollywood tries not to cast Latinos,” Feb. 27)

Back in 1960, I saw “Hell to Eternity,” a film about a young man who had been adopted as a child by a Japanese family. After his family was interned during World War II, he signed up for the Marines and used his language skill to capture more than 1,500 Japanese soldiers and civilians.

Jeffrey Hunter, a blue-eyed white actor, played the lead role. I liked the movie but thought it was very unlikely in the 1930s that a Japanese family would have been allowed to adopt a white boy.

Some years later I found out it was a true story of Guy Gabaldon, a Mexican-American. Now the story made sense. The movie made no mention that the hero was Mexican-American or from East L.A.

Alex Magdaleno, Camarillo

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To the editor: The article notes that Marlon Brando starred in “Viva Zapata” in 1952, “just one of many instances of a white actor being cast to portray a Latino protagonist by Hollywood.”

I saw that movie when it was first released. At the time Brando was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. He filled all the seats when he was in the movie.

The movie industry is a business, and it’s about the color green, not of the person starring in the leading role.

Jack Buss, Banning

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