Hold Back The Dawn (1941)

A Romanian gigolo (Charles Boyer) is stuck in a Mexican border town impatiently awaiting the approval of his visa to the United States which will take several years. When he meets his ex-mistress (Paulette Goddard), an Australian, who married an American in order to gain entry into the United States, he plots to do the same. So, when a naive young American school teacher (Olivia De Havilland in an Oscar nominated performance) visiting Mexico enters the picture, he makes his move. Directed by Mitchell Leisen (TO EACH HIS OWN), the film benefits from a strong screenplay by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett which infuses some wit and humor into the melodrama and romance, not so much with the three leads but with the colorful supporting characters who live in a rundown hotel that caters to immigrants awaiting entry into the U.S. Boyer is perfectly cast as the heavy lidded Latin lover, Goddard as the gold digging bitch and especially De Havilland who gives a lovely, layered performance. Alas, the film's ending seems incredibly rushed and hobbled together but until then, it's an intelligent if predictable love story. The Oscar nominated score is by Victor Young and the cast includes Veronica Lake, Brian Donlevy, Richard Webb, Walter Abel, Rosemary DeCamp, Nestor Paiva, Madeleine Lebeau and Victor Francen.