''Doña Perfecta'' is a 1951 Mexican film version of the famous novel by

Benito Pérez Galdós Benito María de los Dolores Pérez Galdós (; 10 May 1843 – 4 January 1920) was a Spanish Spanish Realist literature, realist novelist. He was a leading literary figure in 19th-century Spain, and some scholars consider him second only to Mi ...

, directed by Alejandro Galindo and starring

Dolores del Río María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete (3 August 1904 – 11 April 1983), known professionally as Dolores del Río (), was a Mexican actress. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is regarded as the first major female Latin Am ...

Plot summary

The action occurs in 19th century

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, when a young liberal named Don José (Pepe) Rey, arrives in a city, with the intention of marrying his cousin Rosario. This was a

marriage of convenience A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than that of love and commitment. Instead, such a marriage is entered into for personal gain, or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as a political marriage. Cases whe ...

arranged between Pepe's father Juan and Juan's sister, Perfecta (

). Upon getting to know each other, Pepe and Rosario declare their eternal love, but in steps Don Inocencio, the cathedral canon, who meddles and obstructs the marriage as well as the good intentions of Doña Perfecta and her brother Don Juan. Over the course of time, several events lead up to a confrontation between Pepe Rey and his aunt Perfecta, which is caused by her refusal to allow Pepe and Rosario to marry, because Pepe is a non-believer.

Cast

... ''Doña Perfecta'' * Carlos Navarro ... ''Pepe'' *

Esther Fernández María Esther Fernández González (23 August 1915 – 21 October 1999) was a Mexican actress. Life and career Esther Fernández began her career as an extra in the film '' La Mujer del Puerto'' (1934). Her first starring role was in the early h ...

... ''Rosario'' *

Julio Villarreal Julio Villarreal (7 November 1885 – 4 August 1958) was a Spanish actor who later settled and worked in Mexico. He also directed two films in the early 1930s.Taibo p.155 Born as Julio Crochet i Martínez Villarreal in Madrid to a family of theat ...

... ''Don Inocencio''

Comments

Adapted from '' Doña Perfecta'', the novel of Benito Perez Galdos, the plot is moved to Mexico nineteenth century mired in dispute between liberal and conservative ideals that erupted during

Guerra de Reforma The Reform War (17 December 185711 January 1861) or War of Reform (), also known as the Three Years' War (), and the Mexican Civil War, was a complex civil conflict in Mexico fought between Mexican liberals and conservatives with regional var ...

. This film ranks' ''29'' in the list of The 100 best films of Mexican cinema, in the opinion of 25 critics and specialists, published by the magazine ''SOMOS'' in July 1994.

References

External links

* 1951 films 1950s historical films Mexican historical films Films set in the 19th century Mexican black-and-white films Films based on works by Benito Pérez Galdós 1950s Spanish-language films 1950s Mexican films {{1950s-Mexico-film-stub