El Santo y La Tigresa

Legendary wrestler El Santo takes time away from fighting witches, vampires and zombies to protect flamboyant Mexican celebrity/politician Irma Serrano (or as she is known in her homeland, "La Tigresa") in this weak star vehicle. She's the owner of a vast estate and someone is trying to kill her, so Santo pays a visit to solve the mystery. Between dodging attempts on their lives, they enjoy a cockfight, shoot at rabbits, poison a cat and fall in love. A deep, dark family secret is eventually divulged that outs the culprit, and Serrano finds the time for a few rousing musical numbers. Santo doesn't get too active in La Tigresa (he was well into his fifties at the time), walking through his fight scenes and climbing into the ring only once for a brief, obligatory wrestling match. Most of the film he spends wearing slacks and squiring Serrano to various social events, his face hidden at all times by his trademark mask. Comedy relief is provided by Santo's sidekick Carlos Suarez, a cowardly boozehound who is nearly lynched by cowboys in one knee-slapping scene. This particular entry into the Santo canon is remarkable mostly for Serrano's character, who comes off as a tasteless, arrogant rich woman but still functions as the film's nominal heroine. Garbed in garish gowns and makeup, she flaunts her wealth with competitive public gambling and after an attempted poisoning demands that her maids taste-test her meals before serving them. Serrano was well known in Latin America at this time thanks to her film career and a gossip-worthy private life (later she would involve herself in Mexican politics as well), and her star power is all that is required and delivered here. Monolingual English-speakers who seek out this lesser Santo episode should beware the 2004 DVD release from Vanguard Cinema. The subtitles appear only sporadically, and when they do, the grammar and spelling are wretched enough to deserve their own interpretation.