While collaborating for a catalog of international films that have something to do with Panama (including those that were partially or entirely set there, others that were filmed entirely or partially in Panama, or those in which the country is simply mentioned or shown for some relevant reason in the plot), I came across this 1931 film, made prior to the implementation of the Hays Code, and therefore having more freedom to tell a story of sexual corruption and decay, starring the controversial great actress Tallulah Bankhead. It did not take me long to locate the movie and to see what Tallulah's sin was. Based on Frederick J. Jackson's play "Her Past", a third of the story takes place in the capital city of the Republic of Panama. Tallulah is Carlotta, a singer- hostess in a most cheerful and lively bar that seems to be located on 12th Street of the Santa Ana neighborhood. Besieged by her ruffian husband, Carlotta kills the fool with two shots, is arrested and accused, but in her trial she is defended by Fredric March (at his most handsome), an American heavy-drinking lawyer, who wanders through the seedy joints of the outskirts of Panama City, but manages to have her declared innocent. The verdict radically changes the perspective from which they both see their lives, and when she migrates to New York and he goes to Mexico positive changes occur. The rest of the film is a romantic melodrama with their past passing the bill, and class difference as a conflicting force. Not a big deal, but it was a Paramount A product made by George Abbott, a true New York theater legend who lived 108 years, in which he directed dozens of plays, won 11 Tony Awards and a Pulitzer prize, and wrote, among many others, «Pajama Game», «Damn Yankees!» and »A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.» He did not direct many films, concentrated more on his stage activity, which may explain why he frequently shot the scenes in long shots, with few close-ups, from a script that mainly consists of long dialog scenes. In short, «My Sin» is a curiosity, with a lively first section, evoking the Panama night life, enlivened by Cuban melodies by Gonzalo Roig, Nilo Meléndez and Ernesto Lecuona.
