Maria Felix Movies
Maria Felix was born Maria de Los Angeles Felix Guerena. A beautiful, forceful star of Mexican and European films, she was the reigning beauty and female star of the Spanish-speaking cinema for three decades. Onscreen from 1942, she worked with such directors as Luis Buñuel and Jean Renoir. She retired in the early '70s. In 1989, Mexican President Salinas de Gortari presented her with the first Mexico City Prize, awarded for a lifetime of distinguished achievement. Married four times, her husbands included Mexican director Fernando Palacios, composer Agustin Lara (called the Irving Berlin of Mexico), and star Mexican actor Jorge Negrete (with whom she appeared in her first film); she is the mother of Mexican actor Enrique Alvarez Felix. ~ All Movie Guide- 1942
The Mexican El Penon de las Animas (The Rock of Souls) was accurately described by several reviewers as a South-of-the-Border "Romeo and Juliet". The film's star-crossed lovers, separated by a variety of vendettas and family-feuds, find lasting peace only in death. Appearing as a rival lover is Rene Cardona, who also pursued a successful career as a director. All in all, the principal attraction of El Penon de las Animas was 27-year-old Maria Felix in her first film starring role. Felix would remain a Mexican movie favorite well into the 1960s, retiring in 1970 upon the death of her fifth husband. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- René Cardona, Sr., Maria Felix, (more)
- 1943
The combined talents of star Maria Felix and director Fernando De Fuentes resulted in the can't-miss romantic drama Dona Barbara. Felix is cast as the title character, a rich landowner who has accumulated her fortune through the kindness of strangers-handsome, amorous strangers to whom she has sold her affections. Renouncing true love in favor of material gains, Dona Barbara ultimate falls desperately in love with neighboring rancher Santos Luardos (Julian Soler). Her euphoria evaporates when she learns that Santos is interested only in her young daughter Marisela (Maria Marques). Completed in 1943, Donna Barbara earned several industry awards in Mexico, and not a few similar honors elsewhere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Felix, Julian Soler, (more)
Director Fernando de Fuentes and star Maria Felix, the creative team responsible for the 1943 box-office hit Dona Barbera, once more combined their talents for La Mujer sin Alma (Woman without a Soul) Felix is cast as Tersa, a lowborn sewing machine girl with high-society aspirations. Hoping to escape her shabby environment, Tersa marries the fabulously wealthy, much-older Don Vicente (Alfredo Soler). Quickly tiring of her elderly mate, she begins a series of casual affairs, ending in an emotional crash-and-burn. Fernando Soler delivers the film's best performance as Tersa's best friend-severest critic. In America, Dona Barbera and La Mujer sin Alma were released in reverse order in the early months of 1945. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernando Soler, Maria Felix, (more)
- 1944
The title of this Mexican romantic drama translates loosely as The Silken Chinese Dress. The titular fabric carries with it an ancient curse, which brings disaster upon anyone who wears the dress. Maria Felix plays Senora de la Barca, the wife of Spain's first Mexican ambassador, who vows to defy superstition and wear the forbidden gown. But first, she traces the dress' melancholy history, which involves the tragic romance between a captive Chinese princess and Spanish aristocrat. Lavishly produced, China Poblama proved to be another successful stepping stone in the burgeoning film career of the lovely Maria Felix. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Felix, Miguel Angel Ferriz, (more)
- 1945
The matchless Maria Felix essays a dual role in the Mexican romantic drama Sister Lieutenant. Felix begins the film as Catalina, daughter of a wealthy family whose dowry is stolen by a scheming aunt. After surviving a shipwreck, Catalina disguises herself as a man named Don Alonso. This she does to get to Peru without molestation and to locate her father's will, which will enable her to expose the aunt as a fraud. While comporting herself in male drag, Catalina has quite a time confessing her ruse to her lover (Jose Cibrian). Anyone who catches Sister Lieutenant on cable TV (where it pops up with alarming frequency) will immediately understand why Maria Felix was -- and is -- Mexico's favorite female film star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Felix, Ángel Garasa, (more)
- 1945
No relation to the 1958 Alfred Hitchcock classic of the same name, Vertigo is a worthwhile vehicle for Mexican film favorite Maria Felix. The story concerns young swain Arturo (Emilio Tuero), who is about to marry pretty young Gabriela (Lilia Michel). His plans are radically altered when he falls in love with Gabriela's gorgeous mother Mercedes (Felix). To rid himself of his troublesome fiancee, Arturo kills the girl. Upon learning of this, Mercedes responds in kind in an ending worthy of Grand Opera. Based on a novel by Pierre Benoit, Vertigo was released in some English-speaking markets under the literal but slightly ridiculous title Dizziness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Felix, Emilio Tuero, (more)
Enamorada, Mexican filmmaker Emilio Fernandez' only 1946 effort, was released in the US early the following year. The film's English-language title is A Girl in Love, the girl in question being the ravishing Maria Felix. Set during the Mexican revolution, the story concerns the rocky relationship between the hoydenish, high-born Beatriz (Felix) and revolutionary General Reyes (Pedro Armendariz). Forsworn to kill and/or humiliate any artistocrats in his path, Reyes cannot bring himself to harm Beatriz, whose hatred for the general slowly but surely turns to love. Throughout, Maria Felix is stunningly photographed by Gabriel Figueroa, one of director Fernandez' favorite collaborators. A huge success upon its first release, Enamorada has since become a fixture of the various Spanish-language cable TV services. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Felix, Pedro Armendáriz, (more)
Filmed in 1947, Emilio Fernandez' Hidden River (originally Rio Escondido) was distributed in the U.S. three years later. The matchless Maria Felix stars as Rosaura, an idealistic Mexican schoolteacher who does her best to educate the illiterate Indians in her native land. Rosaura is opposed by several authority figures who have no intention of losing their hold over the Indians, but she finds support in the form of a kindly priest. Director Fernandez' understanding of and sensitivity towards Mexico's teeming millions of unfortunates enables Hidden River to rise above its occasional cliches and unsubtleties. The cinematography is by Gabriel Figueroa, who like Emilio Fernandez and Maria Felix is a legendary figure in the Mexican cinema. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Felix, Fernando Fernandez, (more)
The title of this popular Mexican melodrama translates as May God Forgive Me. The incomparable Maria Felix stars as the survivor of the European concentration camps. While interred, Felix gives birth to a child, but loses track of the baby as she is shuttled from one camp to another. Upon her release, she falls in love with wealthy widower Fernando Soler, the father of piano prodigy Carmelita Gonzalez. Upon inheriting Soler's wealth, Felix passes it all along to Gonzalez, still clinging to the hope that she'll find true happiness with her long-missing daughter. The tragic finale seems rather unfair considering all the previous misfortunes heaped upon the heroine, but audiences seemed to enjoy suffering along with her. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Felix, Fernando Soler, (more)
- 1947
As romance blossoms between their children, 2 rival families are able to face their differences and come to an understanding in this romantic drama. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1950
The stunning Maria Felix is the star of La Noche del Sabado. This oft-filmed Jacinto Benavente theatrical piece casts Felix as Imperia, who loves neither wisely nor well during a fateful weekend. This being a 1951 film, the Benavente original was subject to more censorial deletions than usual. As a result, the story is hard to follow, and the central character of Imperia often seems more impulsive than sensual. Director Rafael Gil tries to smooth over the deletions with several well-chosen visuals, but it's an uphill struggle all the way through. La Noche del Sabado was given a limited American release under the title Saturday Night. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Felix, Rafael Duran, (more)
- 1951
Incantesimo Tragico (Tragic Spell) is a sombre Italian vehicle for the magnificent Mexican film luminary Maria Felix. The story is motivated by an ancient curse, passed from generation to generation. The source of the hex is a fabulous treasure, which of course eventually falls into the hands of Felix. Will she be able to beat the curse, or has her fate already been hermetically sealed? When Incantesimo Tragico was released in the U.S., the advertising emphasized Maria Felix's popular co-star Rosanno Brazzi, who was then being give the Big Buildup in preparation for his sojourn in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Felix, Rossano Brazzi, (more)
- 1952
Mexican film luminary Maria Felix stars in the Argentine La Pasion Desnuda (Naked Passion). The film is based on the legend of Thais, as committed to print by Anatole France. Felix plays a predatory female who drives a prominent doctor to his doom. She also destroys the lives of the doctor's daughter and the daughter's fiancé. After 11 reels of sex and sin, the "heroine" seeks divine redemption; what she gets is divine retribution. La Pasion Desnuda was able to secure a few American bookings thanks to the box-office pull of Maria Felix's male co-star, Carlos Thompson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Felix, Carlos Thompson, (more)
- 1952
It is Maria Felix's turn to play one of Ancient Rome's most notorious femme fatales in Messaline. Sleeping her way to the top, Messaline weds Emperor Augustus (Memo Bessani), all the while entertaining dozens of virile young males. Enjoying unbridled power, the empress holds the entire Roman Empire in her grip. When her husband and courtiers fail to satisfy her, she takes to the streets disguised as a prostitute to sexually exploit a few average citizens. Filmed on an enormous scale, Messaline contains all that is expected of a Roman epic, including a few graphically detailed episodes in the Colosseum. Among those tossed to the lions is dancing girl Cynthia (Delai Scala), who like empress Messaline displays pulchritude aplenty before her inevitable demise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Felix, Georges Marchal, (more)
