In Julio Bracho’s 1945 Twilight (Crepusculo), the surgeon Alejandro (Arturo de Córdova) is tormented by an obsession, and then by guilt. He has a bad case of surgeon’s block, still unwilling to slice into patients two months after something bad happened. In flashback, we find out the reasons why.
Ready to embark on a European medical tour, in which his surgical success is celebrated, Alejandro spots his former lover Lucia (Gloria Marín) modeling nude for sculpture students – and becomes re-enraptured. When he returns from Europe, she has become tantalizingly unattainable, because she has married his best friend, an architect who is building his new hospital. Worst of all, she is sexually tempting him at every opportunity.
When Lucia sees that Alejandro has purchased a life-sized sculpture of her, lips parted in sexual rapture, she knows she’s gotten him hooked. To complicate matters, Lucia’s little sister is now infatuated with Alejandro. The architect husband is figuring things out, too, and he’s got a hunting rifle..
With all four characters isolated together in a weekend house party during a thunderstorm, it’s inevitable this concentrated passion, obsession and betrayal is going to explode – and Alejandro’s fixation on Lucia is not going to end well.
I wish I could find a photo of Julio Villarreal as the psychiatrist. His beard in Twilight would make my list of Least Convincing Movie Hair. It looks like someone stuck a synthetic paintbrush on his chin.
Twilight is not currently streamable and very hard to find. I saw Twilight at the 2020 Noir City as part of its Fiesta of Mexican Noir.
