Victims of Sin

This gem from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema is a potent mix of film noir, dance hall musical and prostitute melodrama directed by Emilio Fernández and providing a dazzling showcase for the force of nature that is Ninón Sevilla. Her dance routines combining Cuban and Afro-Caribbean rhythms are daring, provocative and intoxicating and it is no surprise that she turned down the blandishments of Hollywood where the oppressive Production Code would have neutralised her primal sexuality. Although her line readings are at times questionable, she more than compensates with her vibrancy and fiery passion and is furthermore blessed with wide, expressive eyes. Her role as an adoptive mother would have meant a great deal to her as she was obliged to have an abortion before filming began.

Fernández has brought together the team responsible for his earlier 'Salón Mexico' with Gabriel Figueroa's glorious chiaroscuro cinematography providing a stark contrast between the middle-class Club Changoo and the urban, working-class milieu of La Maquina Loca down by the railway tracks. The quintessential score is by Antonio Díaz Conde whilst Gloria Schoemann's brisk editing ensures that a great deal of ground is covered in its 84 minute length. Actor Rodolfo Acosta again excels as a well-groomed low life.

To the delight of home-grown audiences of the time there are cameos by popular entertainers Pedro Vargas, Rita Montaner and Pérez Prado with his band.

Not exactly renowned for undercooking his ingredients, Fernández and his writer Mauricio Magdaleno have given us an emotional, ferociously entertaining piece that lingers long in the memory. An appreciation of its leading lady's attributes came from an unexpected source when Francois Truffaut wrote of her: "Ninón does not dance for glory. She dances for pleasure."