UW Cinematheque | Victims of Sin (Victimas del pecado) (1951)

Cabaret performer Violeta (Sevilla) adopts the abandoned child of prostitute Rita (Montaner) and Rodolfo (Acosta), Rita’s murderous pimp. Motherhood forces Violeta to give up her career, but her happiness is jeopardized when Rodolfo, freed from prison, seeks to reclaim his son. Best known for his Steinbeck adaptation, The Pearl (1947), Fernández infuses Victims with impassioned songs and performances by Sevilla, an icon of Mexican cinema and a purveyor of African, Caribbean, and Cuban dance styles. Fernández, who was also celebrated for his performance as The Wild Bunch’s debauched villain, delivered in his finest work behind the camera a unique blend of film noir, melodrama, and musical. A new 4K DCP, fully restored from the original 35mm nitrate camera negative by Peter Conheim (Cinema Preservation Alliance/USA) and Viviana Garcia-Besné (Permanencia Voluntaria/Mexico), will be screened. The restoration is co-produced by Permanencia Voluntaria and Cinema Preservation Alliance, with further assistance from IMCINE and the Academy Film Archive.