4/5 Sobre las Olas
  by Monica Rohde-fulton (Marshalltown, IA USA)
I read about the "Coleccion Pedro Infante" in Booklist or Video Librarian or a similar resource. Customer reviews on Amazon said that some titles in the collection were better than others, and that some other Infante movies were good. So I purchased some from the collection and some others for this library. For our Spanish-speaking patrons and for anyone who likes older movies, these will be great!

5/5 A Brilliant Cast Brings the Melody to Life
  by Alejandra Vernon (Long Beach, California)
Loosely based on the short life of violinist and composer Juventino Rosas (1868-1894), "Sobre las Olas" is a beautifully acted biopic with a lot of drama, as it follows the struggles of the often self-destructive Rosas, who gained recognition but little money (he sold the rights to his most famous work for a paltry fee), and though some of the facts of his life may have been altered, the heart and soul of the film is true. Pedro Infante is terrific and very believable as Rosas, with a violin instead of his usual guitar (he knew how to play the violin well...a rarity for an actor playing the part of a violinist!), and the supporting cast is wonderful, with Beatriz Aguirre as Lolita his wife, Andres Soler as her father, Prudencia Grifell as Calixta, the supporter of artists, and Jose Luis Jimenez, heartbreaking as Juventino's best friend.

The tragedy of some of Juventino's life is offset by the lovely music, and the film's title is of his well known waltz, which will be remembered from "The Great Caruso" (a film that was released a year after this one, but is similar in some aspects) as "The Loveliest Night of the Year," and is a melody that once heard one can't stop humming for days. Directed by Ismael Rodriguez, "Sobre las Olas" was the first theatrical film made in Mexico in full color, and it's a lavish production with some nice details, and starting with the titles, which are written in sand, Jack Draper's cinematography is a delight. The Raul Lavista score is also excellent, with the violin "improvisation" during Bellini's "Norma" truly inspired. The film is in good condition, other than slight audio deterioration, and there are brief sections where the film looks as if it's on fire, with a reddish flicker going through it. One of 23 films released by Warner Brothers in their 50th Anniversary "Edicion de Homenaje" of Pedro Infante films, the extras include an interview with Ismael Rodriguez, and subtitles in several languages.