Learning Beyond the Classics: Mexican Cinema: Épocas de Oro
Directed by René Cardona
With José Elías Moreno, Cesáreo Quezadas Cubillas, Queta Lavat
Not Rated, 97 minutes, DCP
In Spanish with English subtitles
From director René Cardona, who would later direct The Bat Woman, comes this yuletide whatzit that expands the Santa Claus mythology to a very southern pole. Santa Claus regularly hangs out atop his candy cane tower and watches all the children of the earth through his panopticon. When a horned, red-skinned devil named Pitch inevitably shows up to turn the wee tots towards acts of darkness, it's Santa's job to destroy the hellspawn before to ensure the children of the world remain nice and not hellbound. Distributed by legendary huckster K. Gordon Murray, this severely unnatural take on jolly ol' St. Nick is a cinematic miracle made from Santa's secret mixture of sweetness and the devil, as if torn from the melting mind of a summertime snowman.