María Eugenia


María Eugenia is a 1943 Mexican drama film written and directed by Felipe Gregorio Castillo and starring María Félix, alongside Manolita Saval and Rafael Baledón. The film's sets were designed by the art director Manuel Fontanals.

Cast

Production

María Eugenia was the first film María Félix made after her film debut in El Peñón de las Ánimas. During filming, Félix caused a stir while shooting the opening scene of the film, which featured her in a white bathing suit, attracting publicity to Félix. It is the only film in Félix's filmography where she appeared in swimwear.
It was the only film directed by Felipe Gregorio Castillo, who afterwards became a film censor.

Reception

In his book Más allá de las lágrimas: Espacios habitables en el cine clásico de México y Argentina, Isaac León Frías collects Emilio García Riera's view of the film, calling it a "terrible melodrama." The book Archivos de la Filmoteca refers to the film as a sign of how "the Mexican melodrama so subject to conventions and norms" at the time, noting that the film was directed by a later film censor. María Félix herself would later refer to the film in her autobiography as "a film that had no other importance than to give me experience."