Santa (1932)

Santa (Tovar) is a beautiful and very humble young girl living in Chimalistac, a small and quiet spot south of the 1930's Mexico City. After Santa is cheated by arrogant soldier Marcelino (... See full summary »

Director:

Antonio Moreno

Writers:

Federico Gamboa (novel), Carlos Noriega Hope

Stars:

Lupita Tovar, Carlos Orellana, Juan José Martínez Casado

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lupita Tovar	...	Santa
Carlos Orellana	...	Hipólito
Juan José Martínez Casado	...	Jarameño
Donald Reed	...	Marcelino
Antonio R. Frausto	...	Fabián
Mimí Derba	...	Doña Elvira
Rosita Arriaga	...	Santa's Mother
Joaquín Busquets	...	Esteban
Feliciano Rueda	...	Drunk at brothel
Jorge Peón	...	Genarillo
Alberto Martí	...	Jarameño's friend
Ricardo Carti	...	Doctor
Sofía Álvarez	...	Prostitute 1
Rosa Castro	...	Prostitute 2
Nena Betancourt	...	Singer

Storyline

Santa (Tovar) is a beautiful and very humble young girl living in Chimalistac, a small and quiet spot south of the 1930's Mexico City. After Santa is cheated by arrogant soldier Marcelino (Reed), she's rejected by her family and friends and expelled of Chimalistac. Santa finds shelter in a whorehouse and becomes a cinic and bitter woman, mistreated by bullfighter "Jarameno" (Martinez Casado) and silently loved by blind pianist Hipolito (Orellana).

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Plot Keywords:

remake | prostitute | mexican | melodrama | prostitution | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

30 March 1932 (Mexico)

Filming Locations:

Chimalistac, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Compañía Nacional Productora de Películas

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Star Lupita Tovar stated in a 2008 interview on NPR that she was 20 at the time this film was produced and had no idea what the film was going to be about, having only been told the title of the film. Therefore, believing the movie was about a saint, she readily agreed.

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Connections

Remake of Santa (1918)

User Reviews

The best version of Santa

Gamboa's Santa is one of the most filmed stories in Mexican cinema. This is one of the first versions, maybe the most famous because it is consider to be the first non-silent Mexican movie. Besides a couple of technical mistakes, in edition and illumination, the script of this version is strong in material according to the 1930's. Lupita Tovar creates a great character of a prostitute, well developed and always proud nevertheless how hard is she hit by her condition of vulnerability. This character is enough to support the whole movie, and according to the novel, men are just companions in the raise and fall of Santa as the best prostitute.