The Violet Seller

The last night of 1899, Madrid. Soledad, selling violets in the street, meets the aristocrat Fernando. The two fall for each other, but the class difference between them gets in the way at every step. Fernando's older brother Alfonso keeps reminding him of his duties, including his engagement to a countess. Fernando breaks every rule anyway and announces that he will marry Soledad. Directed by Luis César Amadori, the film has Sara Montiel at its centre. It is built on songs more than on narrative; the numbers Montiel sings carry it, and they were much loved in Spain. The shapes of melodrama are used openly, but the question of class is not decoration here, it is the direct cause of the story. It is one of the best known examples of the Spanish star vehicle of its period.