Filmed in 1949 and directed by Emilio "El Indio" Fernández, the story combines an artistic picture of the most important aspect of rural melodrama in the so-called
Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Based on the homonymous play written in 1913 by the Spanish playwright Jacinto Benavente,
The Unloved Woman is a story of forbidden passions, secrets and scandals unusual for the conservative morals of the time. Having been written and conceived for a theatrical setting makes it easier for Fernandez, who moved the drama to the Mexican countryside (in the state of
Guanajuato) and shows life in the countryside. The film was also influenced by the
Mexican Revolution, another subgenre widely exploited during the same age of Mexican cinema. There is also the significantly masterful photograph of
Gabriel Figueroa and the choice of a cast that features three of the most popular figures of the time, playing the roles that become classics: Dolores del Rio, as the widow, Pedro Armendariz as the prototype of
machismo, and finally Columba Dominguez as the seductive beauty, the reason for the discord.
The Unloved Woman is an artistic piece that has passed successfully the test of time. A filmic document considered among the best Mexican films of all time. ==See also==