The Young and the Damned (1950) Los olvidados (original title)

Director:

Luis Buñuel

Writers:

Luis Buñuel
Luis Alcoriza
(more)

Release Date:

24 March 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

A Motion Picture Masterpiece From Mexico

Plot:

A group of juvenile delinquents live a violent and crime-filled life in the festering slums of Mexico City...

Plot Keywords:

Mexico | Slum | Delinquent | Mexico City | Beggar

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 12 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Estela Inda	...	La madre de Pedro
Miguel Inclán	...	Don Carmelo, el ciego
Alfonso Mejía	...	Pedro
Roberto Cobo	...	El Jaibo
Alma Delia Fuentes	...	Meche
Francisco Jambrina	...	El director de la escuela granja
Jesús Navarro	...	El padre de Julián (as Jesús García Navarro)
Efraín Arauz	...	Cacarizo
Sergio Villarreal
Jorge Pérez	...	Pelon
Javier Amézcua	...	Julián
Mário Ramírez	...	Ojitos
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernesto Alonso	...	La voz al comienzo de la película (uncredited)
Victorio Blanco	...	Viejo del mercato (uncredited)
Rubén Campos	...	Un asilado (uncredited)
Daniel Corona	...	Un golfo (uncredited)
Juan Domínguez	...	(uncredited)
Enedina Díaz de León	...	Tortillera (uncredited)
José Luis Echeverría	...	(uncredited)
Miguel Funes hijo	...	(uncredited)
Antulio Jiménez Pons	...	Chicharronero (uncredited)
Patricia Jiménez Pons	...	(uncredited)
José Loza	...	Un asilado (uncredited)
Héctor López Portillo	...	Juez (uncredited)
José López	...	Un asilado (uncredited)
Antonio Martínez	...	Chamaquito (uncredited)
Ramón Martínez	...	Nacho, hermano de Pedro (uncredited)
Víctor Manuel Mendoza	...	(uncredited)
Ángel Merino	...	Carlos, Principal's assistant (uncredited)
José Moreno Fuentes	...	Policía (uncredited)
Humberto Mostí	...	Corrigendo (uncredited)
Francisco Muller	...	Mendoza (uncredited)
Roberto Navarrete	...	Un golfo (uncredited)
Diana Ochoa	...	La madre del Cacarizo (uncredited)
Rosa Pérez	...	(uncredited)
Salvador Quiroz	...	Dueño de la herrería (uncredited)
Charles Rooner	...	Pederasta elegante (uncredited)
Ignacio Solorzano	...	Feriante (uncredited)
Ramón Sánchez	...	Vendedor de tortas (uncredited)
Juan Villegas	...	Abuelo del Cacarizo (uncredited)

Directed by
Luis Buñuel

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Luis Alcoriza
Max Aub		dialogue collaborator (uncredited)
Luis Buñuel
Juan Larrea		dialogue collaborator (uncredited)
Pedro de Urdimalas		dialogue collaborator (uncredited)

Produced by
Óscar Dancigers	....	producer
Sergio Kogan	....	producer
Jaime A. Menasce	....	producer

Original Music by
Rodolfo Halffter
Gustavo Pittaluga

Cinematography by
Gabriel Figueroa

Film Editing by
Carlos Savage

Production Design by
Edward Fitzgerald

Art Direction by
William W. Claridge

Makeup Department
Armando Meyer	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Federico Amérigo	....	production manager
Fidel Pizarro	....	chief of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ignacio Villareal	....	assistant director (as Ignacio Villarreal)

Sound Department
José B. Carles	....	dialogue recordist
William W. Claridge	....	sound studio director (as W.W. Claridge)
Jesús González Gancy	....	sound engineer (as Jesús González G.)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ignacio Romero	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Alberto Valenzuela	....	assistant editor (as Alberto E. Valenzuela)

Music Department
Rodolfo Halffter	....	conductor

Other crew
José de Jesús Aceves	....	dialogue coach (as José de J. Aceves)
Antonio de Salazar	....	administrator

Thanks
Maria de Lourdes Ricaud	....	thanks
Armando List Arzubide	....	thanks
José Luis Patiño	....	thanks
José Luis Patiño	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Ultramar Films

Distributors

• Arthur Mayer-Edward Kingsley (1952) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Héraut Film (1951) (France) (theatrical)
• Neue Filmkunst Walter Kirchner (1953) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Alive Vertrieb und Marketing (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Collection Ciné-Club (2001) (France) (DVD)
• Connoisseur Video (19??) (UK) (VHS)
• Dynit (2009) (Italy) (DVD)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1972) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (DVD)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Los olvidados" - Mexico (original title)
"The Forgotten Ones" - International (English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

85 min | USA:80 min | France:77 min (DVD)

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA High Fidelity Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (f) | Germany:16 | UK:12 (2007) | UK:X (1952) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:16 | France:-16

Filming Locations:

Estudios Tepeyac, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company:

Ultramar Films

Trivia:

When it was released in Mexico in 1950, its theatrical commercial run only lasted for three days due to the enraged reactions from the press, government, and upper and middle class audiences.

Quotes:

Pedro:[addressing his mother, just before she leaves him at the Farm School] Just now you remember that I'm your son.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Episode #1.6" (2011)

In the World of the Young and Damned

The story of troubled youth and urban violence has been told many times, but this is, perhaps, the best film on the subject ever made. This is an unblinking look at the hell on earth that looks like slums of Mexico City back in 1950s. It is also a masterful combination of gritty realism and Buñuel's surrealism (young Pedro's dream of Virgin Mary with a face of his mother whose love he desperately needs but never knows).

All the characters, including a young boy caught up in a criminal world but trying to be good, his tired mother who does not have time to love her children, the brutal and cruel gang leader with his own story that breaks your heart are not just wonderfully written and acted, they are absolutely real and would stay with you long after the film is over. Shocking, erotic, and sad, this is a masterpiece – the perfect film from the beginning until the harrowing and devastating end.

10/10