Arte.tv will soon offer a cycle around Mexican filmmaker Roberto Gavaldón on arte.tv. Five films by this director who died in 1986 will be broadcast. Among them, crime fiction!
See you from February 1 to July 31, 2025. Here is our selection:
Double destiny
Avec Dolores del Río, Agustín Irusta, Victor Junco
Production: Producciones Mercurio – (Mexico, 1946, 1h38, restored version)
María envies her twin sister Magdalena, a young widow who inherited an immense fortune. One day, while trying on the latter's mink coat and admiring her transfigured reflection in a mirror, María understands that another life is within reach… A dark thriller imbued with fantasy, superbly played by Dolores del Río in this dual role.
Criminal Hands
Based on a story by Luis Spota
Avec Arturo de Córdova, Leticia Palma, Ramón Gay, Carmen Montejo
-Production: Mier y Brooks – (Mexico, 1950, 1h53, restored version)
Fortune teller, Jaime Karin earns his living by promising love to his clients on the strength of his crystal ball. But faced with a prey much more formidable than his poor stratagems, the hunter finds himself caught in his own trap… This dark tale implicitly denounces the corruption of Mexican society and the imperialism of the Cold War.
The night advances
Based on a story by Luis Spota
With Peter Armendariz, Anita Blanch, Rebecca Iturbide, Eva Martino, Jose Maria Linares-Rivas
Production: Mier y Brooks (Mexico, 1953, 1h25, restored version)
Basque pelota champion full of himself, Marcos Arizmendi takes pleasure in trampling on the weakest. His unquenchable thirst for power will lead this cynical manipulator to his downfall, when he wrongly believes he can take advantage of mafiosi who are more devious than him. A portrait of machismo, carried by a grandiose Pedro Armendáriz.
