Flor De Mayo (aka Beyond All Limits) (1959)

Set in a small Mexican fishing village, a fisherman (Pedro Armendariz) is happy to see his old friend (Jack Palance) returning. But his wife (Maria Felix) isn't happy to see him come back. Her affair with him produced a son (Juan Muzquiz) which the fisherman believes is his own child. Based on the novel by Vicente Blasco Ibanez (BLOOD AND SAND) and directed by Roberto Gavaldon. The transfer I saw was in English but this overheated melodrama might play better in Spanish (I believe an original Spanish language DVD exists but without English subtitles). Accompanied by a horrendous over the top score by Gustavo Cesar Carrion, the actors carry on as if they were in an opera. I kept waiting for Pedro Armendariz to tear his shirt open and beat his chest! All of the film's characters are unpleasant people which kept me from investing in their moral quandary. The location lensing in color by Gabriel Figueroa (NIGHT OF THE IGUANA) is often striking but the constant over emotionality of the whole thing is exhaustive. With Paul Stewart and Carlos Montalban.