A sort of meta riff on Alexandre Dumas fils' novel The Lady of the Camellias (La Dame aux Camélias or Camille) here in Mexican melodrama form involving the doomed love of a bullfighter and a beautiful but ailing actress/courtesan.
Acting
María Félix's face does three acts of tragedy without dialogue.
Cinematography
Shadows and sequins in glorious 1950s Mexican noir style.
Costume
Camelia's wardrobe alone deserves its own funeral montage.
Director
Roberto Gavaldón
María Félix
Camelia
Jorge Mistral
Rafael Torres
Carlos Navarro
Armando
Renée Dumas
Nancy
Ramón Gay
Enrique
Miguel Ángel Ferriz Sr.
Dr. del Real
Florencio Castelló
Don Jacinto
Fernando Casanova
Amigo de Rafael
Carlos Múzquiz
Productor de televisión
Fanny Schiller
Doncella de Camila (uncredited)
José Chávez
(uncredited)
Eduardo Alcaraz
(uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Félix was Mexico's biggest star and famously refused Hollywood—this film is pure national cinema pride.
Gavaldón adapts Dumas through a specifically Mexican lens: the bullfighter replaces the Parisian aristocrat, trading European decadence for macho ritual.
MX
ES
