Faustina

I was lured into spending a dollar for the DVD of this film at the grocery store by my memories of Maria Felix's striking performance in La Escondida, and the tiny stills on the back of guys in devil costumes. Amateur cave explorer Fernando Rey digs into unexplored territory only to find red-headed and well-dressed Juan de Landa sitting gloomily by a campfire. It seems he is Mephistopheles, ostracized for his inept handling of the Faustina case, and most of the movie is his recounting of the tale with occasional returns to this framing sequence for Rey to ask another question. In the story itself, Mephistopheles appears in a small town to purchase an old woman's soul, and to transform her into the magnificent Maria Felix. This Mephisto's task seems to be to foil his client rather than to fulfill her wishes, but she continually outsmarts him, winning a beauty contest and becoming a nightclub performer by her wits and despite his best efforts. She wows her audience by literally reading them the newspaper. There are occasional visits to the head office in Hell, an industrial environment as brightly lit and colored as an old Batman or Star Trek set, with the damned wallowing in their fire pits outside a floor-to-ceiling window. These are Spanish devils, shirtless with goat legs and long tails which they use to swat flies and light cigars - very different from the red-faced Mexican gent in the tuxedo. Those who share with me an eye for spectacular fashion will enjoy repeated scenes of Maria Felix flinging open various wraps and overcoats to reveal her hourglass figure wrapped in one outstanding gown after another. Though I am sure it is far more enjoyable to understand the dialogue, I still got quite a bit of pleasure from this and would recommend it in a subtitled version, if such exists, or to anyone with a good knowledge of the Spanish language.

The unfortunate devil called Mogón (Fernando Fernan Gómez who gives a sympathetic performance) is a second-class demon who waits at a cavern his fate in the burning inferno . He tells speleologist Valentin (Fernando Rey) , lost in a deep pre-historic cave , how Faustina (Maria Felix) has sold her soul to Mefistófeles (Juan De Landa) to retrieve her past beauty . As Faustina is challenged by the devil , as she too , wants to conquer all . But her covenant with the astute demon Mefistófeles is a flop , as she doesn't get marry to prince Natalio (Guillermo Marin) , but Faustina then falls in love for captain Balder (Conrado San Martin) and things go awry .

Fun adaptation based on the successful ¨Musical Revista¨ titled ¨Si Fausto Fuese Faustina¨ premiered in theatrical stage by the known singer Celia Gámez and dealing with a woman who has sold her soul to Mefistófeles in exchange for eternal youth . Many years later , its author , Jose Luis Saenz De Heredia , writes , produces and directs this cinematic rendition . It is an average comedy with a great cast though contains uneven pace and being badly narrated by means of several flashbacks . It stands out the super famous diva Maria Felix , the greatest Mexican star of all time , here hired by co-producer Cesareo Gonzalez , owner of a big production company during Franco dictatorship : ¨Suevia Films¨ . Felix gives a nice acting as a conquering woman of love , power , and fame . However , Felix and filmmaker Heredia had a lousy relationship during the shooting and along with a weak screenplay that suffered numerous modifications , all of them spoiled the film . Support cast is fabulous , plenty of ordinary Spanish secondaries , such as : Juan De Landa , Tony Leblanc , Tomás Blanco , Xan Das Bolas , Guillermo Marín , Santiago Ontañón , Erasmo Pascual , Ángel Álvarez , Matilde Muñoz Sampedro , Antonio Casas , Rafael Bardem , Joaquín Roa , Santiago Rivero and special mention for the always great José Isbert . The staging is very well achieved and we can watch some surprising and gaudy sequences ; especially , the splendid recreation of the flaming hell and the wonderful grotto and caves filled with marvelous stalactite . Lavish and nice production design by the prestigious Ramiro Gómez . Colorful cinematography in Eastmancolor by the great cameraman Alfredo Fraile . Atmospheric as well as evocative musical score by Juan Quintero , including some songs and musical numbers .

The motion was regularly directed by Jose Luis Saenz De Heredia . He was a controversial figure in Spain because of his strong and unabashed support of dictator Francisco Franco . At the beginning his career he was hired by Luis Buñuel , as executive producer , to direct ¨La Hija De Juan Simon¨ (1935) and ¨Quien Me Quiere a Mi¨ . During the Spanish Civil War , Jose Luis Heredia is detained but freed thanks to Luis Buñuel and Santiago Ontañon . Heredia directed various ¨Propaganda films¨ . It is well known the main title ¨Raza¨ written by General Francisco Franco under pseudonym : ¨Jaime Andrade¨ . As Jose Luis became the official filmmaker of the dictatorship , as he writes ¨Escuadrilla¨ (1941) . Posteriorly ,in the 40s , he directs several successful dramas : ¨El Escandalo¨ (43) based on Pedro Alarcón novel , ¨Mariona Rebull¨(1947) based on Ignacio Agusti book , ¨La Aguas Bajan Negras¨ based on Armanado Palacio Valdes , ¨El Destino Se Disculpa¨ based on Wenceslao Fernández Florez , ¨Don Juan¨ based on Don Juan Tenorio by Zorrilla , ¨Bambu¨ about the Cuba War and ¨¨Mies Es Mucha¨. In addition , a very good drama about Carlistas wars : ¨Diez Fusiles Esperan¨ . Heredia subsequently makes inferior comedies as ¨Grano De Mostaza¨, ¨Derechos De La Mujer¨ and ¨La Decente¨ . And various Manolo Escobar/Concha Velasco vehicles such as ¨Pero En Que País Vivimos¨, ¨Juicio De Faldas¨, Relaciones Casi Publicas ¨and ¨Me Debes Un Muerto¨. And other films for Paco Martínez Soria: ¨Se Armo El Belen¨, ¨Don Erre Que Erre¨. His greatest hits were ¨Historia De La Radio¨(1955) and ¨La Verbena De La Paloma¨ or ¨The fair of the dove¨.