[Title in Russian for:] ESPALDAS MOJADAS

Moscow, 1956.. Original one-sheet size Russian film poster (104 x 65 cm; 25.75 x 40.5"). Old folds, one short edge break at one fold, otherwise very good. An original highly pictorial poster for the 1956 Russian release of the 1955 Mexican film, ESPALDAS MOJADAS [i.e. WET BACKS]. The feature length b&w Spanish language film was an ATA production, both written and directed by Alejandro Galindo. The cast included David Silva, Victor Parra, Martha Valdes, Oscar Pulido and Pedro Vargas. The film garnered three 1956 Ariel Awards, including a Special Award for the Film of Greatest National Interest. It is a melodramatic depiction of the extreme hardships endured by illegal emigrants to the United State while crossing the Rio Grande - including many being shot and killed by guards on the US side - and while working and traveling in the US without papers. The protagonist eventually returns across the Rio Grande and is shot and wounded, but does make his way home. The film was released in Mexico on 16 June 1955. IMDB reports a 7 May 1956 run in Los Angeles, followed by this release in the Soviet Union in November 1956. A film depicting the (real or fictional) hardships experienced in the US by immigrants from Mexico would likely have had a high measure of propaganda value in the Soviet Union.