The editor of a sleazy tabloid newspaper has been borrowing money from his lover, the wife of a rich theatrical producer, and promises to marry her when she gets a divorce. However, the husband refuses to grant her a divorce, and takes back all the money and jewelry he has given her. The editor sees her husband leaving her apartment and, seeing his opportunity, kills her, takes all his IOUs (and the jewelry) and frames the husband for the murder.
Tag: 1950s
Young Roger Court arrives in Venice expecting to meet his father, Maj. Court, an influential British diplomat, little realizing that his father has been kidnapped by foreign agents and is being held as the drugged hostage of Dr. Vivaldi. Unable to find his father and distrusting the police, Roger latches on to hotel worker Roberta and her friend Joe, who are preoccupied with problems of their own.
Maddalena, a prostitute, is forced by the Naples police to exit the the city and return to her hometown Volcano, a volcanic island off of southern Italy. There, she is accepted only by her younger sister, Maria, and a younger brother. Their life is rendered miserable by the women of the village.
In a mountain village, Heita, a translator’s son, is a gifted boy but is shunned by the villagers. He can imitate birds’ cry and befriends another boy who works in a brewery. Heita also finds solace in the village pastor Yasugi and his teacher Michiko, but they too have problems of their own.
An industrialist and a pianist meet on a trip and fall in love. Through a quirk of fate, they are reported dead in a crash though they weren’t on the plane. This gives them the opportunity to live together free from their previous lives. Unfortunately, this artificial arrangement leads to greater and greater stress. Eventually the situation collapses when they come to pursue their original, individual interests without choosing a common path.
Former football star Harry Joplin is down on his luck, both in his career and in his married life. He seems convinced of his own unworthiness, but a chance to play in a charity football game helps him see his life in a new light.
——UPGRADED——
The ever-popular Maria Felix stars as a white woman who enters into a romance with a Mexican Indian, played by singing star Pedro Infante (who died shortly after the film’s completion). The racial barriers between the lovers prove to be insurmountable, resulting in tragedy. Director Ismael Rodriguez spends a great deal of time establishing the folklore and traditions of Infante’s people, much to the fascination of his audience.
Based on the novel by Yojiro Ishizaka (The Blue Mountains), who wrote this novel with Yujiro Ishihara and James Dean’s performance in East of Eden in mind. In this three-and-a-half-hour epic, Yujiro Ishihara is Yuji, who fights with his older brother over the same girl, while finding out the secrets of his birth.