Classics

Director Alejandro Galindo directs the legendary Delores Del Rio in a classic drama from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema that portrays political change in Mexico through the microcosm of one family struggling with tradition in a time of change. Liberal farmer Pepe has arrived in Santa Fe to visit his aunt, Dona Perfecta. While he's there, Pepe is eager to teach the traditional-minded townspeople a new way of living. Unfortunately for Pepe the people of Santa Fe aren't eager to embrace change, and when the citizens begin to voice resentment Pepe is forced to seek refuge with his sympathetic aunt. Dona Perfecta is just as traditional as any of the other townspeople though, and only suffers Pepe due to the fact that he is family. When Pepe and his cousin Rosario fall deeply in love, the situation quickly comes to a head. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The beloved Mexican funnyman Cantinflas stars in this comedy as a shoeshine man who, after the death of his best friend and fellow bootblack, is put in charge of arranging the man's funeral and caring for his young son. Needing to raise some money, the shoeshine man tries to get work at a night club, but his eccentric dance act soon raises the ire of Raquel, the club's star dancer, and Cantinflas is sent packing. He next tries his luck as a life guard at a luxurious resort hotel in Acapulco, though when he gets his first emergency call, it soon becomes obvious that he doesn't know the first thing about rescuing swimmers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A film that screams "product of its time," The Holy Mountain was Alejandro Jodorowsky's dizzying elegy to the sex, drugs and spiritual awakening of the late 1960s and early 1970s -- a suitably bizarre follow-up to his El Topo (1971). Fascinating although it only fitfully makes sense, The Holy Mountain is beautifully shot and designed, and it suggests what might have resulted if Luis Buñuel, Michelangelo Antonioni, and George Romero had all dropped acid and made a movie together. A Christ-like vagrant and thief wanders through a perverse and unfriendly land until he encounters an enlightened one, who gathers the thief and six of the world's most powerful individuals for a spiritual pilgrimage. If that description sounds a bit sketchy, well, narrative isn't this film's strongest suit. But if you want to see the conquest of Mexico re-enacted by reptiles, soldiers shoot innocent people as birds fly from their wounds, and a wizard turn feces into gold, this is the movie for you. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Popular Mexican comic Cantinflas made this his homecoming film after veering off to the U.S. to appear in Pepe, his last movie in English. El Analfabeto sees him back in top form as Inocencio Prieto y Calvo (which roughly translates as: Innocent, Dark-skinned and Bald). Inocencio loses his job just as he receives a letter telling him he has inherited $160,000 from the estate of his late uncle. But Inocencio cannot read. Along the way to learning how to read, the shy Inocencio acquires a charming love interest, Blanquita (Lilia Prado) and an enemy -- a bank teller who tries to nail him with a practical joke that goes wrong. The teller gets his hands on Inocencio's letter (which no one has ever read to him) and gives it to a corrupt lawyer with the thought of swindling the illiterate out of his money. As the plot thickens, Inocencio finds himself in more hot water before he finds his letter and ultimate happiness. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Though Errol Flynn was well past his prime (and obviously well lubricated in certain scenes), he rises to the occasion of The Adventures of Don Juan with a spirited, athletic performance. As fabled Spanish swashbuckler/lover Don Juan, Flynn spends the early portions of the film romancing willing young ladies and dueling with jealous husbands. Spain's Queen Margaret (Viveca Lindfors) assigns Don Juan to head the royal fencing academy to keep him out of trouble. When scheming Duke de Lorca (Robert Douglas) plots to topple the monarchy, it is Don Juan's eager young fencing pupils who come to the rescue. Though a troubled production (filming was habitually halted due to Flynn's precarious physical condition and by constant changes and replacements in production personnel),The Adventures of Don Juan moves swiftly and enjoyably from start to finish, abetted by a rousing, semi-satirical Max Steiner musical score, which has since been heard in such 1980s films as Zorro, the Gay Blade and Goonies. Incidentally, Errol Flynn is doubled in the famous leap from the head of a long staircase by stunt expert Jock Mahoney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Herman Melville's short novel Billy Budd is adapted for the screen, distinguished by Robert Krasker's expressive black-and-white cinematography and Peter Ustinov's crisp direction. Terence Stamp is Billy Budd, a seaman forced to serve in the British Navy during the war between England and France in 1797. Billy looks upon all men as inherently good and, although his crewmates are initially skeptical about this sailor who appears too good to be true, he proves his mettle by his skills as a sailor and gains the respect of the crew -- all except for the ship's reviled master-at-arms John Claggert (Robert Ryan), who attempts to poison Billy's reputation by accusing him of instigating a mutiny. When the ship's captain, Edward Vere (Peter Ustinov), questions Billy about the charges, Billy reacts by striking Claggert, who falls over and dies from a blow on the head. A court-martial is called and Vere has to determine whether Billy should be hanged or acquitted. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This effective drama about vengeance and its results is loosely based on practices in the Mexican boondocks where the law can be ignored when it comes to seeking revenge. The tale concerns two brothers who decide to avenge their father's death, as would be expected. But this ill-considered decision leads to a set of problems that continue to spiral downward until both brothers are in way above their heads. The difficulty with vengeance, they discover, is that it never ends. Popular cinematic stars Julio Aleman and Antonio Aguilar star, along with the well-known Emilio "El Indio" Fernández. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Gregory Peck stars as the title character in this swashbuckling saga of the high seas based on C.S. Forester's novel. In 1807, Hornblower is given a special assignment by the British Navy: he is to deliver a supply of weapons to El Supremo (Alec Mango), a Latin American rebel leading an uprising against Spain. However, by the time Hornblower arrives, it is discovered that the political winds have shifted, Spain and England are once again allies, and El Supremo is now the enemy of the British forces. Hornblower and his men are also forced to take on a passenger, Lady Barbara Wellesley (Virginia Mayo), a sister of the Duke of Wellington who is trying to escape an outbreak of yellow fever. When she shows symptoms of the disease, Hornblower tries to nurse her back to health while attempting to organize an attack on the armada he just helped to arm. Upon his return to England, Hornblower parts company with Wellesley (while they were attracted to each other, Hornblower remained loyal to his wife) and is given a new mission to take on Napoleon's naval forces. Captain Horatio Hornblower was originally scheduled to star Errol Flynn, but the role was recast when it was decided he'd grown too old to play the role convincingly (the fact Flynn was in the midst of one of his periodic battles with the brass at Warner Brothers certainly didn't help matters). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

MGM circumvented the censorship that would otherwise have prevented a film version of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary by adding a prologue and epilogue that assured any and all bluenoses that the story was strictly a work of fiction. James Mason appears as Flaubert, defending his inflammatory novel before a French jury. Thus, the tragedy of Emma Bovary (Jennifer Jones) is offered as a product of Flaubert's imagination, rather than a real-life story. The body of the film concerns Emma's attempt to escape the boredom of her bourgeois existence by marrying a wealthy doctor (Van Heflin). She finds life with the physician even more tiresome than her previous experiences, thus begins taking a series of wealthy lovers-all of whom prove to be two-dimensional cads. Unable to tolerate a lifetime of dead-end affairs, Emma eventually commits suicide. The best sequence-indeed, one of the finest set pieces ever directed by Vincente Minnelli-is the "Emma Bovary Waltz" sequence, a dazzling experience in dizzying camera movements. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

From Mexican director Alberto Gout comes this classic 1949 cabaretera, a style of film native to Latin American that mixes elements of many genres. The picture stars Ninon Sevilla as a beautiful young woman who unwittingly falls into a lurid life of prostitution and nightclub dancing. Before long though, she decides enough is enough and attempts to claw her way out of the seedy underbelly.Aventurera was released in the United States as The Adventuress. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

This Mexican musicomedy was released in English-speaking markets as Watch Out For Love. Pop star Pedro Infante plays a happy-go-lucky young man whose romantic misadventures are the heart and soul of the film. Our Hero leaves home at the beginning of the story in search of true love, finding it in the form of a young lady who is unwillingly affianced to an older, richer man. The boy saves the day by miraculously coming up with his own reserve of cash. Co-starring with Infante is the estimable Elsa Aguirre, who in one cunningly photographed scene displays ample portions of her torso for the benefit of her fans. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the British farce School for Scoundrels, Ian Carmichael plays a naïve young loser, Henry Palfrey, who is anxious to get ahead in the world. He enrolls in a "school" that specializes in teaching one-upmanship -- the slogan is "How to win without actually cheating." Through fair means and foul, Henry learns how to come out top dog in any situation, with such experts as (the real-life) Stephen Potter (Alastair Sim) as his guide. A perceptive series of comic blackouts exposing the essential hypocrisy in all walks of life, School for Scoundrels was based on the book by Potter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This violent and allegorical Mexican western attracted a cult following in its day. It is the story of El Topo, a gunslinger who sets out for revenge against the outlaws who slew his wife. He ends up getting his revenge and saving the life of a woman who is being terrorized by bandits. She leads El Topo (which means "the Mole" in English) on a search for the region's top four gunfighters. But before they set off, Topo leaves his young son in a monastery. He and the woman hook up with another female and begin their search. During one battle, El Topo is wounded and the women leave him to die. His comatose body is found by a strange group of cave dwelling people who take him to their subterranean home. He does not wake up for many years. When he does, he is enlisted to help the clan dig an escape tunnel. Later they come to a tiny town where the residents belong to a weird religious cult and El Topo's son has become a monk. The townsfolk are terrorized by a sadistic sheriff. When the clan members come into the town, the stage is set for a blood-soaked tragedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide