La casa de la zorra (1945)

• Director
  • Juan José Ortega
• Writers
  • Luis G. Basurto
  • Xavier Villaurrutia
• Stars
  • Virginia Fábregas
  • Isabela Corona
  • Alberto Galán

  Long before gaining fame and fortune in Hollywood, Ricardo Montalban starred in several Mexican features, among them La Case de la Zorra (House of the Fox). Actually, Montalban isn't technically the star: that honor goes to Virginia Fabregas, cast as the hard-bitten owner of a gambling casino. Fabregas has kept her source of income a secret from her young son (Montalban), in hopes that he'll pursue a more respectable profession. But when the boy discovers the truth about his mother, he kicks over the traces and becomes a heavy-drinking womanizer. Hoping that he'll settle down with a "nice" girl, Fabregas puts an end to Montalban's binge by using her influence to have him arrested on a trumped-up charge. The plan backfires, resulting in additional unhappiness for both mother and son. Filmed in 1944, La Casa de la Zorra was released in the U.S. three years later to capitalize on Ricardo Montalban's newfound North American popularity.