This was the first of a trilogy of films that director Rodríguez filmed to exalt the box office figure of Villa. Narrated in the form of independent episodes, it has seven segments of which the last one is the longest and narrates the love that a singer named Jesusita feels for the bold, but married, general. Between the episodes the loyalty of the man is shown, the sense of justice, his hypocritical heresy and the aspect of a womanizer and conqueror.
Month: April 2023
This colourful short animation traces the insecure protagonist’s path to tobacco addiction after he discovers, as a teengaer, that smoking can make him “cool”. His addiction follows him well into adulthood, until the scare of lung cancer forces him to face his demons. This funny yet cautionary tale is told by the protagonist as he sits on a psychiatrist’s couch, his recollections amusingly illustrated in colourful vignettes of his past. Both entertaining and visually rich, the film is a deterrent against smoking drawn in typical ’60s modernist/pop-art style.
All of those handsome young men in their flying machines are billeted in a field next to the Widow Berthelot’s farmhouse in France. Her daughter Jeannine is curious about the young men fighting for England in World War I and their airplanes. Then one of the aviators is killed. His replacement is Captain Philip Blythe who can’t help but notice Jeannine. When he lands the first time, she is standing in the middle of his “runway.” She makes a more favorable impression when he sees her later by the lilacs. When all of the young men depart on a mission, Blythe promises to return.
A criminal has plastic surgery done to change his identity. However, during the operation, he loses his memory; when he comes to after the surgery, he has a change of heart and decides to help people by becoming a doctor.
Lupe Vélez plays a dual role, twin sisters Rita and Elaine. After escaping a torpedoed ship, Rita shows up in Manhattan where she takes the place of her Broadway star twin sister Elaine, who’s having problems with her marriage and needs to make a getaway. Neither Elaine’s husband nor Rita’s saxophone-player boyfriend are aware of the switch.