Perro callejero (1980)

Raised on the mean streets of Mexico City, the protagonist of the gritty crime drama Perro callejero (1980) must scrape for every last morsel of sustenance. Valentín Trujillo stars as the unlucky orphan who manages to pull himself up by the bootstraps to get married and become gainfully employed, but maintaining the status quo proves even harder than achieving it. Gilberto Gazcon’s drama won the Silver Goddess Award from the Mexico Cinema Journalists, but that trophy should probably have been shared by actresses Blanca Guerra, Maritza Olivares, and Ana Luisa Peluffo. The beauties help to make Trujillo’s existence a bit less bleak as they peel off their layers for a trio of priceless exposures.