Ventarrón

Eccentric director Chano Urueta was prolific during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, yet few of his films, including his noirs, would be fairly described as masterworks; perhaps the one closest to that description is Ventarrón, a dark gangster tale which opens with a gorgeous noir sequence spanning a prison escape, gun fights, and a nightclub raid and which combines elements of legendary proto-noirs M (1931) and Scarface (1932). Reunited with his loyal accomplices in their Zoot suits and fedoras, the titular gangster (David Silva) seeks to reclaim his position as king of the underworld by destroying his rival El Rubi (Gustavo Rubero), who took over the city while Ventarrón was behind bars. Looking constantly shocked like a silent film star, Martha Roth plays Olga, the sister of Ventarrón loyalist Alfredo (Alberto Mariscal) whose love for Ventarrón inspires the gangster to re-evaluate his lifestyle (Alfredo’s incestuous possessiveness toward his sister creates a strange sort of love triangle too). Carrillo’s camera deftly captures the action, particularly the mob chaos of the underworld trial set in a windowless warehouse, and Ramírez’s score combines with a handful of club stage musical numbers, especially by sultry vocalist Tana Lynn, to add a musical dimension that rounds out the story.