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El Nace del Amor mixes romance and melodrama with historic and military drama set in a late 19th century Mexican town. The story centers on a few very strongly realized characters - Maria Dolores (Paulette Godard) Jose Juan (Pedro Armendariz), Father Sierra (Gilbert Roland) and Dr. Stanley (Walter Reed). Maria Dolores is a headstrong and lovely young upper middle class woman who is engaged to an American doctor (Reed) who has settled in the town. Father Sierra is a community-leading priest and Jose Juan is a revolutionary general who brings unsolicited agrarian reform to the town and falls in love with Maria Dolores.

Jose Juan (who is remarkably well-played by Armendariz) and Maria Dolores are the most dramatic and unpredictable characters of the lot. Father Sierra, who has known the General since they were both young, makes it clear that Jose Juan is a principled man, but his bloody revolution and generally aggressive and angry demeanor do not seem to sit well with this representation. Maria Dolores is intelligent, intuitive, passionate and virtuous, but also inexperienced and a bit naive. Although the revolutionary occupation of the town and the calamities that beset the place at the time comprise most of the threads of the nicely woven plot, the romance between Dr. Stanley, Maria and Jose Juan is the fundamental story in El Nace.

Goddard's performance is not one of her best, but she does an admirable job of playing a woman who was probably about half her age (Godard was 48 when the film was released).

Filmed in Mexico and shot in English with Spanish subtitles, veteran Mexican actor Emilio Fernandez's directing and cinematography are surprisingly superb. Each shot is very nicely composed and the camera usually makes up for occasional weaknesses in the acting and the script. There are a few problems with the editing which do not really detract from the value of the story. The few war scenes, though they do not approach the blood and guts realism of today's military adventures, are startlingly vivid and a bit scary.

Despite my praises, the film has quite a few tedious moments which are important from the perspective of character development, but which do not stand up to the test of time.

Interesting from a cultural and historical perspective, and as a well-made low budget early independent, El Nace del Amor is recommended for film buffs and students of cinematography. While it is hardly a classic, it is a good story well told.

This absorbingly told story is a real tribute to the award-winning director Emilio Fernandez. Fernandez was awarded top prize at the 1946 Cannes festival for Maria Candelaria -- he also was recognized over the years at festivals in Venice, Berlin, Moscow, San Sebastian and in his native Mexico. The photography and editing are stunning - the film is a visual masterpiece from beginning to end. The story couples Fernandez' own "revolutionary" consciousness with a compelling humanitarian outlook. The acting is on cue by the leads -- and the supporting players have fantastic faces and genuine authenticity. This was no "quickie" as other IMDb users claim, but a Class A production throughout. Buy this film. It is out on DVD and well worth every penny. The only real drawback is Paulette Goddard's looks. At 39, she is simply too old for the part (at times she reminded me of "Baby Jane Hudson"). Otherwise, Goddard gives one of her best performances -- her transformation from a temperamental, spoiled, privileged woman to a real human being is well played. This film needs to be re-discovered!!

From the beginning of this film it felt like something was amiss. The opening has a group of rebels taking over a small Mexican town. The townsfolk, which had no way of protection, falls under the band of gunmen that happens to be lead by General Reyes. You get an early projection of how the movie is going to play out as the General tells his men to kill a city official and the next scene the General is buying candy for a small child in the ravaged conditions. This scene was to prove that the General is not all bad but perhaps just a misunderstood individual.

But the main plot of the story is between the General and a local woman named Maria. Maria is due to be married to a doctor but it seems the General has eyes for the saucy woman and does his best at wooing her away from the good doctor. This was not a poor concept as the story seemed to be moving in an interesting direction. Then the production staff felt that the movie needed a bit of playful comedy that included an embarrassing conversation between the General and Maria through a closed door. Thereafter the movie took a much kinder tone as the good/bad General is pining over a woman that was about as detached as himself.

Pedro Armendáriz, that played the General, for the most part did a nice job as the strong fighter wanting the strong female. The way that he handled the change from tough character, that also showed a soft side, was refreshing. In fact, Armendáriz was the only actor in the film that seemed sincere in his role. Paulette Goddard, that played the fiery Maria, came across the screen as a twin of Norma Desmond. She played the part as someone that needed mental help instead of a person that the viewer could identify. She over-played the part and used such odd facial expressions that she became nearly scary. Add the fact that she was forty years old at the time of the filming-- even the pigtails that she wore could not make her the age that the movie want her to appear.

Even with the suspicious acting, the movie did have some nice moments. If some of the actors were changed and the director tone downed a few notches, then this could have been an exciting movie. Instead, we are left with a film that had good intentions but failed to meet the mark that was possible.

Revolutionaries led by Pedro Armendariz, blow into a Mexican town and turn it upside down. Disregarding the advice of old friend and priest Gilbert Roland, he falls in love with Paulette Goddard, the daughter of a wealthy man slated for execution. He pursues her, despite the fact that the sassy senorita hates his guts.

Armendariz delivers a magnetic performance and his character is an interesting one, with the General showing many sides of his multi-faceted personality.

Armendariz's and Roland, as well as the exciting takeover scenes make the first third of the film quite compelling. However, after the General and the girl meet, it all becomes more conventional and sometimes downright silly, with Goddard overacting her part, before turning a bit morbid, as the whole town is stricken with a deadly outbreak of influenza!

Overall, it's a fairly interesting film, competently directed by frequent actor Emilio Fernandez and atmospherically photographed on some excellent Mexican locations.

It's the Mexican Revolution of a century ago, a time of great anarchy and in a town where Paulette Goddard is the town beauty and richest girl there one of many Mexican generals comes to town. Pedro Armendariz is looking to set up headquarters there. as the local warlord.

Goddard is set to marry American doctor alter Reed, but Armendariz sets uphis own campaign to win her in is own boorish way. Will she stay with Reed or respond to Armendariz?

The Torch is a remake of a Mexican production Enamorada with Armendariz in h same part. Goddard is added for some American box office draw and Gilbert Roland who is of Mexican ancestry shaves his mustachw and becomes a priest here. Not a typical Roland part but he carries it off.

For fans of he principal players.