La reina del Tabarín

This average black and white melodramatic comedy from 1960 is one of Franco's early curiosities. It is Beautifully filmed, with a lot of budget and a very big crew, and lots of historical details - the story takes place in 1913. It's about a young gigolo called Fernando who is always chasing girls and cheating on his fiancée. He meets a flamenco singer at a party and he falls in love. From then on the story is very foreseeable, but entertaining and sometimes even funny. Being a french/spanish co-production, there are a couple of scenes shot in Paris, of course, but the main story takes place in Madrid. I guess Franco didn't have a lot to decide while shooting that one - he didn't even take part in the script writing - but his unusual camera angles are already there, and his visual style is on the verge of breaking out. Definitively a must to understand Franco and his work.