Alberto Bello Movies

Two years before Vincente Minnelli's definitive film version of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary, this Argentine version of the Flaubert novel premiered in Bueno Aires. Like the Minnelli film, this Argentine production traces the rise and fall of a bourgeois wife who comes to grief when she recklessly aspires to the finer things in life. And also like the Minnelli film, the earlier Madame Bovary was compromised by censorial intervention, dulling the sociological bite of Flaubert's original. Mecha Ortiz plays the title character in the grand tradition, while her various amours are enacted by Roberto Escalada, Enrique Diosdado and Alberto Bello. So far as critics were concerned, the film was stolen by teenaged newcomer Graciela Lecuba in a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

El Fin de la Noche (End of the Night) is a WWII rarity: An anti-Nazi film from neutral Argentina. Musical favorite Libertad Lamarque stars as a French nightclub singer who intends to escape her homeland when the Germans take over. She is aided in her flight by a wounded Resistance fighter, with whom she falls in love. The plot requires Lamarque to later become the "singing sweetheart" of the occupying German troops. In order to save her daughter from reprisals, she is forced to lure her Resistance-fighter sweetheart into a Nazi trap. Though it's clear who the villains are in El Fin de la Noche, no Swastikas are shown at any point in the film. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The plot and comedy of the Argentine production Papa Tiene Novia (Papa Has A Fiancé) is summed up by its title. Long a widower, middle-aged Alberto Bello returns from an extended vacation with a young blonde fiancee in tow. Disapproving of his taste in women, Bello's five daughters arrange to have a seductive actress lure papa away from his young bride-to-be. The daughters eventually regret their subterfuge when they grow to love Bello's sweetheart, compelling the girls to try to bring papa and their potential stepmother back together. It's an old song, sweetly sung by a fresh and energetic cast. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The English-language title of this Argentine musical comedy translates as Candida, Millionairess, suggesting that someone was on a real "George Bernard Shaw" kick. Popular Latin American stage-and-screen star Nina Marshall is cast as Candida, a humble serving girl who lands a job with a wealthy family. On New Year's Eve, Gallego (Alberto Bello), the lonely master of the house, invites Candida to dine with him, and before the girl quite knows what's happened she has become Mrs. Gallego. Treated like dirt by the rest of the family, who consider her nothing more than a fortune-hunter, Candida proves that she has a heart of gold when she hocks her jewels to save Gallego from financial ruin. The musical portion of the program is, as usual, handled by the estimable Nini Marshall, with able assistance from composer Pedro Vargas and the Les Rancheras Trio. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi