El último cuplé is a 1957 Spanish musical film directed by Juan de Orduña and starring Sara Montiel. Montiel plays María Luján, a singing superstar from the 1920s, and the film relates the singer's rise to fame and her subsequent downfall.
This film provides examples of:
- Betty and Veronica: Pepe's demure childhood sweetheart Trini (Betty) proves no match for María (Veronica).
- Disposable Fiancé: Cándido ticks all the boxes. He doesn't approve of María's singing aspirations even though they're in dire straits, to the point he steals money from the shop he works in and lands in jail. After María signs a singing contract with Juan in exchange for Juan to bail him out, Cándido realizes that he has nothing to offer María, and he leaves to volunteer for the Army.
- Downer Beginning: The film begins with María already being broke and ignored at the modest theater where she works for a living.
- Drowning My Sorrows: If not being The Alcoholic; María is shown drinking after Pepe is killed in the bullfighting arena.
- Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job: After the downfall of her career, María finds herself singing at a modest theater in a variety show where people ignore her.
- Gay Paree: A stereotypical Paris is among the places where María is seen reaping success.
- How We Got Here: The story opens with María performing at a theater, where her former manager encounters her, and the bulk of the story is spent showing how she got to this point.
- Likes Older Women: María is seduced by Pepe and they begin an affair, no matter the scandal resulting from María being a 30-something woman while Pepe is barely 19 years old.
- Rich Boredom: After María becomes wealthy and world famous, she also becomes bored.
- Smoking Is Glamorous: At the height of her fame, María is shown smoking cigarettes with a cigarette holster
- Title Drop: Decidng to not let María sink back into obscurity, Juan organizes and promotes a big comeback show for her. However, at the end of the first song, she collapses in Juan's arms. He tries to revive her backstage, but Maria is dead. He then faces the public, and announces that María has just sang "el último cuplé" ("the last torch song").
- Vodka Drunkenski: A drunken Russian noble tries to force himself upon María at one point, but is fended off by Juan.
