The Phantom Lady

The young widow of the viceroy of Peru, facing the dismal prospect of either a convent or a marriage of convenience, sets out to conquer a handsome officer, pretending she’s a duende, a ghost. Voted the best Argentine film of 1945, La dama duende is a beautifully crafted comedy of errors, based on the 17th-century play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca. The most ambitious production of Estudios San Miguel, it was brought to the screen mostly by Spaniards exiled in Argentina as a result of the Civil War.