Sign In / Sign Up

The Pearl

The Pearl
Release date: 1947-09-12
Rating: 7.1
Votes: 43
Genres: Drama, Adventure
Fisherman Quino and his wife Juana are very poor and desperate because the town's foreign doctor refuses to treat their son Coyotito, who has been bitten by a scorpion. When Quino unexpectedly finds a magnificent pearl in the sea, Juana senses that the discovery will only bring them misfortune and tries to convince her husband to return it to the sea.

Reviews

John Chard

John Chard

This is a story that old men tell to children. They aren't sure where it happened or when. The Pearl is directed by Emilio Fernández and John Steinbeck co-adapts his own novella of the same name with Fernández and Jack Wagner. It stars Pedro Armendariz, María Elena Marqués, Fernando Wagner, Gilberto González, Juan García and Charles Rooner. Music is by Antonio Díaz Conde and cinematography by Gabriel Figueroa. We are in La Paz, Mexico, and when Quino and Juana's son is stung by a scorpion the couple are anguished by not having the finances to pay for medical treatment. Hope springs eternal when Quino discovers a large pearl, something which is seemingly the answer to their prayers - is it? What we basically have here is a morality play about the corruption of greed. Once the pearl of the title is discovered the ugliness of mankind rears its vile head. People around Quino and Juana - a homely honest but poor couple - suddenly have designs on the financial gains that the pearl can bring - with some of them willing to commit cardinal sins to achieve their aim. The pearl also begins to drive a wedge between the loving couple, and thus we are held enthral of the story to see exactly where this will all end up? Though it's not very subtle in the telling, with Steinbeck's literary bent often as heavy as a sledgehammer, this is undeniably compelling stuff. That it's also a visual delight also considerably aids the viewing experience. Fernández and Figueroa bring truly atmospheric cinematography into play as a key character of the piece, with kinked frames and low level shots perfectly embracing the discord of the troubling human conditioning on view. Come 1947 what we would come to know as the film noir style of film making was in full effect, fans of such should for sure add The Pearl to their must seek out lists. 8/10

Movie Recommendation

  • Faces
    Faces
    1968-11-24
    Middle-aged suburban husband Richard abruptly tells his wife, Maria, that he wants a divorce. As Richard takes up with a younger woman, Maria enjoys a night on the town with her friends and meets a younger man. As the couple and those around them confront a seemingly futile search for what they've lost -- love, excitement, passion -- this classic American independent film explores themes of aging and alienation.
    More...
  • Letter from an Unknown Woman
    Letter from an Unknown Woman
    1948-04-28
    A pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember. As she tells the story of her lifelong love for him, he is forced to reinterpret his own past.
    More...
  • Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One
    Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One
    2021-06-21
    Following a brutal series of murders taking place on Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, Gotham City's young vigilante known as the Batman sets out to pursue the mysterious serial killer alongside police officer James Gordon and district attorney Harvey Dent.
    More...
  • Leftie
    Leftie
    2003-02-20
    Futuristic movie about Alejandro, a gifted left-handed child marble player who must win a competition as the entire town's hopes - and money - rest on him.
    More...
  • A Clockwork Orange
    A Clockwork Orange
    1971-12-19
    In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of others, Alex swoons to the music of Beethoven. The state, eager to crack down on juvenile crime, gives an incarcerated Alex the option to undergo an invasive procedure that'll rob him of all personal agency. In a time when conscience is a commodity, can Alex change his tune?
    More...
  • Cruella
    Cruella
    2021-05-26
    In 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, a young grifter named Estella is determined to make a name for herself with her designs. She befriends a pair of young thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they are able to build a life for themselves on the London streets. One day, Estella’s flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness von Hellman, a fashion legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute. But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable and revenge-bent Cruella.
    More...
  • Dune
    Dune
    2021-09-15
    Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
    More...
  • Parasite
    Parasite
    2019-05-30
    All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
    More...
  • Oppenheimer
    Oppenheimer
    2023-07-19
    The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.
    More...
  • The Godfather
    The Godfather
    1972-03-14
    Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.
    More...
  • Rear Window
    Rear Window
    1954-08-01
    A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
    More...
  • The Return of the Living Dead
    The Return of the Living Dead
    1985-04-25
    When foreman Frank shows new employee Freddy a secret military experiment in a supply warehouse in Louisville, Kentucky, the two klutzes accidentally release a gas that reanimates corpses into flesh-eating zombies. As the epidemic spreads throughout the town, and the creatures satisfy their hunger in gory and outlandish ways, Frank and Freddy fight to survive with the help of their boss and a mysterious mortician.
    More...
  • Saint Maud
    Saint Maud
    2020-10-09
    Having recently found God, self-effacing young nurse Maud arrives at a plush home to care for Amanda, a hedonistic dancer left frail from a chronic illness. When a chance encounter with a former colleague throws up hints of a dark past, it becomes clear there is more to sweet Maud than meets the eye.
    More...
  • The Beasts
    The Beasts
    2022-07-20
    Antoine and Olga, a French couple, have been living in a small village in Galicia for a long time. They practice eco-responsible agriculture and restore abandoned houses to facilitate repopulation. Everything should be idyllic but for their opposition to a wind turbine project that creates a serious conflict with their neighbors. The tension will rise to the point of irreparability.
    More...
  • Interstellar
    Interstellar
    2014-11-05
    The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.
    More...
  • The Silence of the Lambs
    The Silence of the Lambs
    1991-02-14
    Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
    More...
  • The Greatest Night in Pop
    The Greatest Night in Pop
    2024-01-19
    On a January night in 1985, music's biggest stars gathered to record "We Are the World." This documentary goes behind the scenes of the historic event.
    More...
  • Joker
    Joker
    2019-10-01
    During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.
    More...
  • Apartment 7A
    Apartment 7A
    2024-09-20
    A struggling young dancer finds herself drawn in by dark forces when a peculiar, well-connected older couple promise her a shot at fame.
    More...
  • Autumn Sonata
    Autumn Sonata
    1978-10-08
    After a seven-year absence, Charlotte Andergast travels to Sweden to reunite with her daughter Eva. The pair have a troubled relationship: Charlotte sacrificed the responsibilities of motherhood for a career as a classical pianist. Over an emotional night, the pair reopen the wounds of the past. Charlotte gets another shock when she finds out that her mentally impaired daughter, Helena, is out of the asylum and living with Eva.
    More...

Similar Movies