As the first Chicano-backed feature produced in Los Angeles, Only Once in a Lifetime is a film event worth noting:

“The film manages to transcend its ethnic setting and concerns to embrace universal themes of despair and survival against adversity.

“Miguel Robelo heads a strong cast as a failed artist at the end of his rope who contemplates suicide but regains his will to live after a brief - and platonic - encounter with resourceful prostitute Sheree North. The final reel has him embarking on a new life with spinster schoolteacher Estrellita Lenore Lopez, thus rescuing her from the anguish of having to leave the East Los Angeles barrio for a new home with her father on the West Side.

“Claudio Brook brings a strong and effective presence to his role as the suave owner of an art gallery who can no longer display Robelo's paintings. Robert Carricart captures most of the laughs as the businessman anxious to depart the barrio for a more prestigious neighborhood.”