Amok is a 1944 Mexican romantic drama film directed by Antonio Momplet and starring María Félix and Julián Soler. The film is based on the Stefan Zweig novella Der Amokläufer.
Plot Dr. Jorge Martell (Julián Soler), a brilliant but emotionally vulnerable physician, ruins his prestigious career at a Parisian clinic by embezzling funds to sustain a lavish lifestyle for his manipulative mistress (María Félix). After squandering the stolen capital through compulsive gambling, his crimes are uncovered, forcing him to flee Europe in disgrace.
Martell relocates to a remote, colonial region of India, taking up a low-level medical post at a government outpost. He isolates himself, struggling to cope with his psychological downfall while working to mitigate an aggressive tropical disease known locally as "amok." His isolation is disrupted by the arrival of Mrs. Belmont (also played by María Félix), the wealthy and haughty wife of a British colonial administrator. Desperate to conceal a scandalous, illegitimate pregnancy from her husband, she attempts to bribe Martell into performing an illegal abortion.
Haunted by guilt, Martell refuses her initial offers, demandingly pushing her to plead for his help on a human level rather than a financial one. Offended, Mrs. Belmont leaves and turns to an unqualified local medicine man instead, which results in a botched procedure that leaves her mortally wounded. Martell is summoned back too late to save her life. Driven to the brink of insanity by her striking physical resemblance to his former mistress, Martell resolves to protect her honor at all costs. To keep her husband from discovering the true cause of her death and finding the autopsy records, Martell boards the ship transporting her coffin back to Europe and throws himself into the ocean alongside her casket, ensuring their mutual secrets remain buried.
Cast María Félix as Madame Travis / Mrs. Belmont Julián Soler as Dr. Jorge Martell Stella Inda as Tara Miguel Ángel Ferriz as Governor José Baviera as Mr. Belmont Paco Fuentes as Dr. Rozier Miguel Arenas as Jorge's Uncle Kali Karlo as Servant Carolina Barret as Rosa, maid Gustavo Rojo Arturo Soto Rangel as Don Eduardo Lupe del Castillo as Old Abortionist (as Guadalupe del Castillo) José Goula as Luis Blumenthal Enrique Cancino Carlos Aguirre Eduardo Noriega as Governor's Nephew Roberto Cañedo as Man in Casino (uncredited) Manuel Dondé as Indigenous Man (uncredited) Ana María Hernández as Woman in Casino (uncredited) Salvador Lozano as Man in Casino (uncredited) Manuel Pozos
References
External links
Amok on FilmAffinity