Mexican film noir is known for adding a heaping portion of high melodrama, and rarely has this melo-noir combination worked as well as in Miguel Morayta’s Vagabunda (US: Tramp) in which nightclub performer and prostitute Leticia (Leticia Palma) rescues a beaten, amnesiac man off the streets and falls in love with him only to discover too late that he’s a Catholic priest. The confused Father Miguel (Luis Beristáin), whom Leticia names Carlos, moves in temporarily and becomes Leticia’s friend and confidante, strengthening her self-respect and comforting her after she’s continually mocked, beaten, and raped by Tropical Club owner El Gato (Antonio Badú). Meanwhile, Leticia’s sister Cuca (Irma Dorantes) is in love with Marcial (Alberto Marsical), who’s on the run from the police and can only lead both of them toward tragedy. Set in a railroad town (the train whistle beckons periodically throughout the film) with filthy streets and buildings that resemble ruins, everything here is dark: hopes are dashed, escapes are thwarted, night never ends. Only the shining altar of the church — and the innocence of the altar boy who recognizes Miguel — can provide any solace on the wrong side of the tracks.