Enamorada was in many ways a follow-up to Maria Candelaria, the 1944 historical romance that put Mexican cinema on the map when it won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. Director Emilio Fernandez, star Pedro Armendariz and cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa reunited for this tale of a revolutionary general who occupies an enemy town only to fall in love with the local nobleman's headstrong daughter. For the movie, both Fernandez and Armendariz would draw on their memories of the Mexican Revolution, especially the director who had to flee the country during the '20s because of his involvement with the rebels. (While in Hollywood he posed for friend Dolores Del Rio's husband, Cedric Gibbons, when he was designing what would become the Oscar®).
New to the mix, and a key factor in the film's success, was Maria Felix, the greatest star the Mexican cinema would produce. Felix had become an overnight sensation with her third film, Dona Barbara (1943), which also gave her the nickname La Dona. La Doña brought her fiery presence to Enamorada, making the romantic duel with Armendariz -- critics have called it the Mexican Taming of the Shrew -- a true battle of the titans. Greatly helping was Figueroa's cinematography, which showcased the female star at her most beautiful.
Enamorada was one of Mexico's biggest film hits of the decade and swept the Ariels (the Mexican Oscars®) with awards for Best Picture, Director, Actress, Screenplay and Cinematography, among others. It also helped Armendariz win a special Ariel in recognition of his outstanding career. Armendariz, Fernandez and Figueroa had already attracted attention in the U.S., where the film was released to art houses as A Girl in Love. But its release there was cut short when Eagle-Lion bought the rights to remake the film in English. They did so in 1950, as The Torch, and were even wise enough to include Fernandez, Armendariz, Figueroa and co-writer Inigo de Martino in the package. But they made one crucial mistake. Instead of asking Felix to re-create her role, they gave it to fading Hollywood star Paulette Goddard. Shot on a low budget, the re-make scored poor reviews (one critic called Goddard "cheap and coarse," charges that would never have been made against Felix) and faded fast, though it continued to keep Enamorada off U.S. screens for years.
The failure of The Torch also kept Fernandez from pursuing further U.S. work (he had assisted John Ford on the Mexcian-shot The Fugitive in 1947). Armendariz, however, frequently commuted to Hollywood, where he appeared in several other films directed by Ford (Fort Apache, Three Godfathers, both 1948). He learned English so well that he often had to strengthen his accent for his roles in Ford's Westerns. Despite high praise for his work on The Fugitive, Figueroa mostly worked in Spanish-language cinema, eventually becoming the cinematographer of choice for Spanish director Luis Buñuel.
Hollywood's greatest loss, however, was failing to attract Felix. Repelled by the stereotypical roles offered to countrywomen like Del Rio, La Doña refused all contract offers. She even refused to learn English, though she had no problem learning French when she set her cap on European stardom (the Felix film most often seen in the U.S. is Jean Renoir's French Cancan, 1955). Then again, as the top star of the Spanish-language cinema until her retirement in 1970, she hardly needed Hollywood. She was so influential that a young Puerto Rican named Haraldo Santiago Franceschi Rodriguez Danhakl would model his image on hers when he achieved underground stardom as Holly Woodlawn.
Producer: Benito Alazraki
Director: Emilio Fernandez
Screenplay: Benito Alazraki, Emilio Fernandez, Iñigo de Martino
Cinematography: Gabriel Figueroa
Art Direction: Manuel Fontanals
Music: Pedro Galindo, Eduardo Hernandez Moncada
Cast: Maria Felix (Beatriz Peñafiel), Pedro Armendariz (Gen. Jose Juan Reyes), Fernando Fernandez (Priest Rafael Sierra), Jose Morcillo (Carlos Peñafiel), Eduardo Arozamena (Mayor Joaquin Gomez), Miguel Inclan (Capt. Bocanegra).
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by Frank Miller
