''Doña Bárbara'' is a 1943 Mexican

romantic drama film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

directed and co-written by Fernando de Fuentes and starring María Félix and Julián Soler. The film is based on the 1929 novel '' Doña Bárbara'' by

Venezuelan Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...

author

Rómulo Gallegos Rómulo Ángel del Monte Carmelo Gallegos Freire (2 August 1884 – 5 April 1969) was a Venezuelan novelist and politician. In 1948, he became the first freely elected President of Venezuela, president in Venezuela's history. He was removed from ...

, who also co-wrote the screenplay.

Plot

Bárbara is an attractive woman raised mostly on the rivers of Venezuela by her riverboat captain father. Her mother was an Indian woman who died while giving birth to her. She was madly in love with young Asdrúbal until tragedy smashed everything. Some of the men who worked for her father stole their boat and killed her father. The bandits then raped her and shot her boyfriend. This caused her to hate men, but at the same time sleeps with them to get what she wants. She becomes involved with Lorenzo Barquero, the owner of a cattle ranch, with whom she becomes pregnant and has a daughter named Marisela. Barbara later steals Lorenzo's home and fortune and kicks both him and their daughter out, leaving them to fend for themselves with absolutely nothing. Santos is the only remaining son of the Luzardo family, who had a feud with the Barqueros. He returns to his hacienda, Altamira, planning to sell it. Undeterred, Santos sets out to save his cousin Lorenzo and to educate young Marisela. After Barbara sees one of her old rapists and kills him she decides that in order to gain back the peace and happiness that was stolen from her that horrible night she must find and kill all five of her rapists. ''Doña'' Bárbara has a teenage daughter with Lorenzo Barquero, a former land baron that Doña Bárbara left broken and penniless. He is now an

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

. The girl, Marisela, is left to fend for herself, and Doña Bárbara has no interest in her, though Juan Primito, a servant of Doña Bárbara's secretly looks after her. Eventually, Marisela is discovered by Santos, who takes her and her father in, and gives the girl education. Meanwhile, ''Doña'' Bárbara has become attracted to Santos, but when she finds that her own daughter is a rival for his affections, ''Doña'' Bárbara still looks for ways to ruin Santos.

Cast

* María Félix as Doña Bárbara * Julián Soler as Santos Luzardo * María Elena Marqués as Marisela Barquero * Andrés Soler as Lorenzo Barquero * Charles Rooner as Don Guillermo * Agustín Isunza as Juan Primito * Miguel Inclán as Melquiades * Eduardo Arozamena as Melesio Sandoval *

Antonio R. Frausto Antonio R. Frausto (20 September 1897 – 29 January 1954) was a Mexican film actor.Mora p.39 A leading character actor he became a familiar face during the Golden age of Mexican cinema, appearing more than ninety films. He played the nineteenth c ...

as Antonio Sandoval * Pedro Galindo as Nieves * Paco Astol as Mujiquita * Arturo Soto Rangel as Coronel Pernalete * Manuel Dondé as Carmelito López * Felipe Montoya as Balbino Paiba * Luis Jiménez Morán as Pajarote * Alfonso Bedoya as Peasant

Other versions

'' Doña Bárbara'' has also been adapted into a 1975

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n telenovela, '' Doña Bárbara'', as well as a 1998 Argentine film directed by Betty Kaplan.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dona Barbara (1943 Film) 1943 films 1940s romance films Films based on Venezuelan novels Films directed by Miguel M. Delgado María Félix Mexican black-and-white films 1940s Spanish-language films Mexican romance films Spanish-language romance films