ENTER SANTO
Cuban Wrestle Crises
★★1/2
EXTRAS ★★★★1/2
RELEASED 13 FEBRUARY 1961 | 12 | Blu-ray
Director Joselito Rodríguez
Cast Joaquín Cordero, Norma Suárez,
Gina Romand, Santo
You’re probably aware of iconic Mexican wrestler Santo, but did you know that his first two films were shot in Cuba? The Silver-masked Man plays second fiddle in both, and while he would later tangle with vampires, mummies and zombies, there’s only a slender fantastical element to this double-bill. In Santo vs The Evil Brain, he’s mind-controlled by a megalomaniacal scientist. In Santo vs The Infernal Men, the latter are simply petty smugglers.
Both films make for frustrating viewing, bad at explaining basics like who the characters are and what the villain’s plan is. Expect interminable footage of vehicles driving, jump cuts so crude they border on avant garde, and fisticuffs which make Blake’s 7’s fight choreography look convincing. Filming took place during the revolution, and the crew had to skedaddle before it was completed. You can tell.
Of the two, Infernal Men edges it thanks to a chase around an amusement park, all Dutch angles and frenetic jazz. Both are mainly of interest for their historical significance, and glimpses of a soon-to-be-lost Cuba of casinos and swish beach-front clubs.
Extras 2011 documentary Perdida (96 minutes) tells the Mexican film industry’s rise and fall from a personal angle: director Viviana García-besné’s family were cinema owners/distributors/ producers. Fascinating and at times moving, it serves as a reminder to document your elders’ life stories while there’s time.
In a newer featurette (37 minutes), García-besné travels to Havana in search of locations (the producer was her grandfather), aided by historians and random locals; her delight at their discoveries is infectious.
Plus: an instructive talking head on Mexican wrestling movies (33 minutes); a 2010 interview with actor Joaquín Cordero (12 minutes); galleries for Perdida; an 80-page book; a poster. Ian Berriman
After running out of money, the producers had to steal the footage. They then got it out of the country hidden in a coffin!