El indio (1938)

El indio (English: The Indian) is a 1939 Mexican drama film directed by Armando Vargas de la Maza. It was released in Mexico on February 10, 1939 and later released in United States on May 12, of the same year. Consuelo Frank and Pedro Armendáriz received equal billing, while Dolores Camarillo (billed as Dolores C. de Frausto) who was the film's comic relief, was billed last. Later she would receive a somewhat higher billing in Cantinflas' Ahí está el detalle.

The film also explores an early form of Mexican "indio" comic performances given by Carlos López "Chaflán" and Dolores Camarillo. These comic roles would later give inspiration to María Elena Velasco's La India María film series.

Synopsis

El indio centers on an hacienda somewhere in central-Mexico owned by an ambitious landowner who mistreats his indigenous peones. One of the peons, Felipe (Pedro Armendáriz), has separated himself from the hacienda and the tribe and relies on hunting to survive. He is in love with María (Consuelo Frank), a beautiful white Indian girl who is constantly beleaguered by the hacienda's owner.

Actors