Vintage original 12.5 x 16.5 in. "country of origin" Mexican lobby card from what is considered to be one of the greatest Mexican films of all time, the famous crime drama LOS OLVIDADOS (The Young and the Damned), released in Mexico in 1950 and directed by the renowned Luis Buñuel. A group of juvenile delinquents live a
violent and crime-filled life in the festering slums of Mexico City, and the
morals of young Pedro are gradually corrupted and destroyed by the others.
This vintage original Mexican lobby card is from the film's first theatrical re-release in Mexico. The image features the young reform school runaway, El Jaibo (Roberto Cobo), as one of the two older boys standing behind him puts his arm around his shoulder in solidarity. The border artwork in the right half features the same artwork that appears on the film's original release Mexican poster and depicts El Jaibo walking the squalid slums of the city with a young girl. Unlike the original 1950 release Mexican lobby cards, which features only a duotone image, the set of lobby cards for the film's first re-release were printed in full color. This vintage original "country of origin" lobby card is unrestored in very fine condition without any pinholes, tears, or stains and just a tiny ding on the center of the top border.
When Los Olvidados was released in Mexico in 1950, its theatrical commercial run only lasted for three days due to the enraged reactions from the press, government, and upper and middle class audiences. This film was very poorly received in Mexico when originally released with particular resentment directed at the Spaniard Luis Buñuel, as a foreigner, for exposing the nation's problems with poverty and crime. In fact, it was only after Buñuel won the coveted "Best Director" award at Cannes that the film's quality was reevaluated by Mexican critics and audiences. Critical opinion of the film in Mexico is now very high: in a 1994 poll for the magazine "Somos," Los Olvidados was named the second greatest Mexican film of all time (Let's Go with Pancho Villa (1936), directed by Fernando de Fuentes, was ranked first). A ninth reel of the movie was found after decades of thinking that the film only consisted of eight. The ninth reel includes an alternative "happy" ending and is included in a new DVD released in Mexico with a book about the movie. |