Night Falls

A Nietzschean jai alai star obliviously struts his way through a succession of broken-hearted lovers and conniving gangsters in Roberto Gavaldón’s atmospheric noir, which stars Mexican matinee idol Pedro Armendáriz playing against his usual heroic type. “I am amongst the victors, amongst the strong! The weak don’t count!” gloats the preening athlete Marcos, as he tosses weaker men into tables, throws glamorous women into taxis, and kicks little dogs. A dalliance with an underage teen and a confrontation with an underworld thug quickly turn his sunny days into the darkest nights, and by the end, that little dog will have its revenge.