(;

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for "Date in the stars") is a 1949 Argentine

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

screwball comedy Screwball comedy is a film subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1950s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary charact ...

film of the classical era of Argentine cinema, directed by

Carlos Schlieper Carlos Schlieper (23 September 1902 – 11 April 1957 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine film director and screenwriter notable for his work during the classical era of Argentine cinema. His father, Hermann Heinrich Schlieper Feldmann (1842– ...

, and starring

María Duval María Duval may refer to: * María Duval (Argentine actress) María Duval (born María Mogilesky; 17 May 1926 – 10 May 2022) was an Argentine actress, considered one of the most representative performers of the Golden Age of Argentine ...

and

Juan Carlos Thorry Juan Carlos Thorry (June 28, 1908, in Coronel Pringles – February 12, 2000 in San Antonio de Padua), born José Antonio Torrontegui, was an Argentine film actor, tango musician and director, notable for his work during the Golden Age of Argen ...

. It was produced by

Kurt Land Kurt Landesberger (19 February 1913, Vienna, Austria – 13 July 1997 New York City) was an Austrian born Argentine film director notable for his work during the classical era of Argentine cinema. He is better known as Kurt Land. Life Born i ...

and released by film studio Emelco. Set in

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

, the film tells the story of two lovers that are separated by death, and their desperate attempts to reunite in

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

. The screenplay was written by Alejandro Verbitzky and

Emilio Villalba Welsh Emilio Villalba Welsh (died 7 September 1992) was a prolific Argentine screenwriter. Welsh wrote the scripts for almost 50 films between 1943 and 1987 including the script for the 1954 Román Viñoly Barreto film '' The Grandfather'' which starred ...

Plot

Alicia returns from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to the city of

, where she is reunited with her childhood friend and youth lover, Luis. They go out to dinner along with their respective spouses: Julio, a close friend of Luis, and Carmen. Upon seeing each other again, Alicia and Luis confess that they are still in love with each other and, the following night, meet privately and agree to just be friends. While returning from this meeting, they suffer a car accident that causes the death of Luis and leaves Alicia in a delicate state. While being operated by Luis' uncle, a renowned doctor, Alicia loses her life and arrives in

, where she reunites with Luis. Since their marriages on Earth have ended by their deaths, they marry each other in Heaven. However, the doctor manages to revive Alicia and she ends up surviving the operation, returning to her earthly life. Following her recovery, Alicia refuses to recognize Julio as her husband, insisting that she had married Luis in Heaven. She wants to die in order to meet Luis again, although she cannot commit suicide as it would prevent her from entering Heaven. Alicia then decides to put herself in risky situations, seeking to suffer a fatal accident. Meanwhile, Luis discovers that natural accidents are controlled from Heaven, and sends a landslide while Alicia and Julio are climbing a mountain. Luis does not fulfill his mission, and only causes the death of Julio, with whom he argues in Heaven about who is Alicia's legitimate husband. Alicia visits a

spiritist Spiritism may refer to: Religion * Espiritismo, a Latin American and Caribbean belief that evolved and less evolved spirits can affect health, luck and other aspects of human life * Kardecist spiritism, a new religious movement established in m ...

medium and manages to communicate with Luis, telling him that they will soon meet again. After learning that Alicia was taking a flight to Paris alongside Carmen, Luis sends another accident. However, Alicia decides not to take the plane at the last minute, and Carmen arrives in Heaven instead. Seeking to return to Earth, Luis breaks the rules of Heaven but only manages to be punished with temporary isolation. A longing Alicia approaches the seaside, hoping that fate will lead her to death. While standing on the waterfront street, she is almost run over by Jorge Rigaud, a famous actor. Alicia reacts enthusiastically when she sees that the man physically resembles Luis, says the same compliments, and even has the same favorite song as him. In Heaven, Carmen and Julio celebrate while Luis screams in despair as they watch Alicia get into Jorge's car and drive away.

Cast

as Alicia *

as Luis *

Osvaldo Miranda Osvaldo Miranda may refer to: * Osvaldo Miranda (footballer) (born 1984), Argentine footballer * Osvaldo Miranda (actor) Osvaldo Isaías Mathon Miranda (November 3, 1915 – April 20, 2011) was an Argentine film and television actor whose credits ...

as Julio *

Héctor Calcaño Héctor Calcaño (born Héctor Calcagno, 1894–1969) was an Argentine film actor. He appeared in nearly 70 films between 1933 and 1968. He died on 7 September 1969. Filmography *''Este cura'' (1968) - a.k.a. Operación San Antonio (Argentina) * ...

as Luis' uncle *

Alberto Bello Alberto Bello (1897–1963) was an Argentine actor who appeared in more than 40 films during his career including '' Madame Bovary'' (1947).Goble p.159 He committed suicide by throwing himself under a train. Selected filmography * '' Marriage in ...

as Heaven's manager *

Analía Gadé María Esther Gorostiza Rodríguez (28 October 1931 – 18 May 2019), better known as Analía Gadé, was an Argentine actress. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1948 and 2001. She appeared in the film '' Emergency Ward'', which was ent ...

as Carmen *

Jorge Rigaud Pedro Jorge Rigato Delissetche,George Rigaud

Alba Mujica Alba Mujica (née Alba Mugica; 1916 in Carhué – 1983 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine film and stage actress. She was the sister of actor and film director René Mugica. Her mother was the actress Emilia Rosales (Emilia Mugica). She was t ...

as the spiritist

Style

The film's

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

has been described as "unclassifiable". Critic Fernando Martín Peña felt that "surprises above all because it is a unique film in

Argentine cinema Cinema of Argentina refers to the film industry based in Argentina. The Argentine cinema comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of Argentina or by Argentine filmmakers abroad. The Argentine film industry has histo ...

..due to its lack of prejudice, its awareness of common places and its way of using that awareness to benefit a humor that today we would call

postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

Reception

The film was well received by critics, with newspaper ''

La Nación ''La Nación'' () is an Argentine daily newspaper. As the country's leading conservative newspaper, ''La Nación''s main competitor is the more liberal ''Clarín (Argentine newspaper), Clarín''. It is regarded as a newspaper of record for Argen ...

'' commending its narrative. Some elements of the film were compared to

Henry Hathaway Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Western (genre), Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven f ...

's ''

Peter Ibbetson ''Peter Ibbetson'' is a 1935 American black-and-white drama/fantasy film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Gary Cooper and Ann Harding. The film is loosely based on the 1891 novel of the same name by George du Maurier. A tale of a love t ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cita En Las Estrellas 1940s screwball comedy films 1949 films 1940s Spanish-language films Argentine black-and-white films 1949 romantic comedy films Films directed by Carlos Schlieper Argentine romantic comedy films Spanish-language romantic comedy films