Currito de la Cruz (1949) Poster

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7/10
Melodrama , tragedy , love stories and Toreo in this third version about life of a famous bullfighter
ma-cortes3 June 2016
Good drama about the bullfighting world , being set during Holy Week and Ferias De Sevilla . Having been a poor orphan who grew up in the hospice , the dream of Currito De la Cruz (performed by a real Torero : Pepin Martin Vazquez) is to become a great bullfighter . Thanks to prestigious matador Manuel Carmona (Manuel Luna) , Pepín starts his career in art of bullfighting . When he finally gets the chance of fighting for the first time , it will be in the presence of Manuel Carmona . At last, Currito triumphs , as Currito gets to be famous , but he is apparently unrequited . Meantime , he falls in love for the daughter of Carmona , Rocio (Nati Mistral who sings five songs) . But Nati is enamored to bullfighter Angel Romera, ¨Romerita¨(the notorious -and early deceased by suicide- Latin lover Jorge Mistral who sings one song) and both of whom escape to Mexico . Later on , Rocio is abandoned and tragedies and distresses emerge . At the end , Currito and Romerita confront at Ventas plaza (Madrid) where takes place a tragic denouement .

This is a biopic about a known Torero , Pepín Martin Vázquez , narrating his raise and fall , in which he will learn to overcome difficulties and penury . The big hit ¨Currito De La Cruz¨ silent version (1925) determines the successive renditions . As ¨Currito De La Cruz¨(1949) is third and best recounting thanks to the solid direction by Luis Lucia , adding an excessive melodrama , romance , and a lot of songs as Coplas , Bulerias and other Andalucian music . It is described in semi-documentary style , including : Stockbreeding of brave bulls or ¨Reses Bravas¨ , corridas , Tientas and other bullfight related traditions are shown . Regular acting by Pepin Martin Vázquez as a poor honest boy finds patronage by a veteran to become a Torero -bullfighter- , in fact , Pepín Martín Vázquez was a real Torero . At the final bullfight when Currito uses his capote, you can glimpse his real name ("Pepín Vázquez") printed on its back side . Very good acting by the veteran Manuel Luna as a renowned bullfighter who will become Currito's protector . Support cast is pretty good , such as Juan Espantaleón , Félix Fernández , Arturo Marin , Eduardo Fajardo , Maria Isbert as a likable foreign woman and special mention for Tony Leblanc in one of his first comical roles . Atmospheric photography in black and white by the Spanish classic cameraman José F Aguayo . Evocative musical score plenty of popular songs by Juan Quintero . The motion picture was well directed by Luis Lucia . He was an advocate at law for the powerful production company Cifesa . His film debut was ¨13-13¨ and subsequently ¨Hombre De Negocios¨, two average ¨comedies . Later on , he directed two dated historical dramas : ¨Princesa De Ursinos¨ and ¨Jeromin¨ . And he made various Folkloric films for Juanita Reina : ¨Lóla La Piconera¨ , ¨Gloria Mairena¨ , Carmen Sevilla : ¨Hermana De San Sulpicio¨ , Lola Flores : ¨Morena Clara¨ , Antonio Molina : ¨Esta Voz Es Una Mina¨ , among others .

This novel ¨Currito De La Cruz¨ or "Currito of the Cross" has been adapted various times , such as : 1925 silent rendition by Fernando Delgado and the same author Alejandro Perez Lugin with Jesús Tordesillas , Manuel Gonzalez and Elisa Romero ; 1936 version with Antonio Vico as Currito De la Cruz , Elisa Ruiz Romero as Rocío , José Rivero as Manuel Carmona and Antonio García 'Maravilla' and 1965 Color retelling by Rafael Gil with Francisco Rabal as Manuel Carmona , Arturo Fernández as Ángel Romera 'Romerita' , El Pireo as Currito De la Cruz , José Marco Davó and Soledad Miranda as Rocío Carmona
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