his mother was dying. There, he acted in a dozen Spanish-language films and became a star in his homeland. He had an uncredited appearance in a version of The Three Musketeers (1942) starring Cantinflas. He can be glimpsed in El verdugo de Sevilla (1942), The Saint That Forged a Country (1942) starring Ramon Navarro, and La razón de la culpa (1943). Stardom in Mexico Montalbán became a star in Mexico in Santa (1943), which was directed by a Hollywood expat, Norman Foster. He followed it with a support role in Cinco fueron escogidos (1943). Some American filmmakers shot a movie in Mexico about Yugoslavia in World War II, Five Were Chosen (1944). Montalbán had a support role. Foster gave him a second lead role in The Escape (1944) aka La Fuga. Montalban had the star role in Cadetes de la naval (1945), Nosotros (1945), and The Hour of Truth (1945), the latter a bullfighting drama also directed by Foster. Montalban was in The House of the Fox (1945), Pepita Jimenez (1946), and Fantasía ranchera (1947). Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Montalbán's films had been seen by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who were looking for someone to play a bullfighter opposite Esther Williams in Fiesta (1947), shot in Mexico. Montalbán was cast and the movie was very popular; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer signed him to a long-term contract. The studio re-teamed him with Williams in On an Island with You (1948). He had a dance number in the Frank Sinatra musical The Kissing Bandit (1948), then did a third film with Williams, Neptune's Daughter (1949), in which they dueted on "Baby It's Cold Outside". Montalbán's first leading role was in the film noir Border Incident (1949) with actor George Murphy, directed by Anthony Mann. It was one of a number of lower budgeted films made at the studio under Dore Schary and earned a small loss. Montalbán was the first Hispanic actor to appear on the front cover of Life magazine on November 21, 1949. "I was king for a week," he said later. "I thought the offers would flood in, but after a week—nothing." Montalban was one of several soldiers in the William Wellman war film Battleground (1949), a huge success at the box office. He was given another star role in Mystery Street (1950), playing a detective in a film noir directed by John Sturges. It was a box office disappointment. Sturges also directed Right Cross (1950) with Montalbán,