Hell-bent on revenge, cocky reform-school runaway El Jaibo returns to his old neighborhood in post-World-War-II Mexico City’s poor and squalid slums, to reunite with his faithful gang of juvenile delinquents and street urchins. However, as the dangerous ringleader lives and breathes retribution, his destructive obsession to find the informant who supposedly sent him to jail will intricately interweave his bitter fate with that of Pedro, his weak, unwitting accessory, in a despicable act of pure evil. In the end, are humans inherently good or bad? Is immorality contingent with society?
Tag: 1950s
Using his own money, actor Franchot Tone mounted this courageous film version of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. Tone is cast as Dr. Astroff, who falls in love with a woman beyond his reach. All the while, Sonia, the woman who loves Astroff, is neglected and ignored. The titular Uncle Vanya watches the passing parade of humanity, embittered over the opportunities missed in his own life.
Johnny One-Eye was adapted from one of Damon Runyon’s lesser-known stories. Pat O’Brien and Wayne Morris star as Martin Martin and Dane Cory respectively, former partners in crime who have long since split up. When a new district attorney puts the heat on, Cory, anxious to save his own hide, accuses Martin of an unsolved murder. Holed up in abandoned house, Martin is befriended by a little girl and her dog. It so happens that the girl is the daughter of the crusading DA, and thereby hangs the rest of this tale.
Real-life husband and wife John McCallum and Googie Withers top the cast of Devil on Horseback. A racetrack drama, the film centers on the activities of natural-born jockey Moppy Parfitt. As he gains prominence on the track, Moppy becomes insufferably egotistical. His “win at all costs” policy ultimately results in the unecessary death of a horse. Much to the delight of horse owner Charles Roberts and trainer Mrs. Cadell. Moppy finally learns that there’s something more to being a jockey than just talent.
Marcos is a professional jai alai player undefeated on the court in 26 matches. The super confident Marcos has acquired a Trumpian disdain for weak losers, including a fellow player who suffers a fracture as a result of Marcos’ carelessness. When he’s not dominating his opponents, he’s trying to balance his relationships with several women, including recently widowed old flame Sara, nightclub thrush Lucrecia, and mother-to-be Rebeca. Marcos promises to wed Rebeca without telling her he’s about to leave Mexico permanently, setting in motion a plot by Rebeca’s brother Armando to blackmail the first class heel while also getting out of his debt to gambler Marcial.
When on-the-rocks couple Florrie and Chet Keefer come before Judge Anne B. Carroll and request a divorce, Carroll asks the Keefers to recount for her the story of their marriage, in hopes that the troubled couple will recall what it was that brought them together in the first place. What follows is a turbulent tale filled with jealousy, pain, frustration and distrust — in other words, the perfect recipe for love.
This 1956 Romanian short animation skilfully and with incredible artistic expression manages to condense the entire narrative of human evolutionary theory into an eight minute short film. Not only that, it eerily anticipates the communist triumph of the USSR launching the first man into space by a few years.