Four decades of the Iguana

Forty-one years ago, John Huston’s gritty "Night of the Iguana" put Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on the paparazzi map. Other movies – from "Predator" to "Kill Bill Vol. 2" – have since followed in the big man’s footsteps, capturing the area’s sugary beaches, coastal cliffs and rainforest-swathed Sierra Madres.

Now the Pacific resort is making a bid for true cinematic power and glory: handing out plaudits and trophy case trinkets. The Film Festival of the Americas, which debuted in November 2004, bestows "Maverick Awards" to filmmakers with Huston’s iconoclastic flair.

"He’s is among the most celebrated directors in Hollywood’s history. His work constantly teaches as it commands attention from both filmmakers and filmgoers," explained Robert Roessel, executive director of the festival. "John Huston is a legend and Puerto Vallarta is honored to be part of his past.

"When I arrived in 1991, I quickly learned the town seemed to be built upon a movie. To this day, the city continues to grasp the history of "Night of the Iguana". If any destination in Mexico deserves its own film festival, it’s Puerto Vallarta."

Indeed, the fishing village had just 12,500 inhabitants when the director arrived (legend claims his plane skimmed the runway several times, before managing to shoo cows off the strip). Now it’s 250,000 strong with over 3 million visitors each year, mainly in the drier season from November-April.

The movie featured a defrocked priest (Burton), bawdy widow (Ava Gardner), spinster artist (Deborah Kerr) and nymphet (Sue Lyon, fresh from Lolita). But Liz Taylor upstaged the entire 1964 film with her saucy shenanigans. Her passionate affair with the leading man – both were married to other partners – garnered headlines around the world. After the filming, the couple lingered in the idyllic tropical town. For her 32nd birthday, Burton gave her Casa Kimberly, a $57,000 villa linked to his own by an arched, cotton-candy-pink bridge, one story above the cobbled street.

Also present were the peculiar playwright Tennessee Williams and rowdy, pistol-packing Mexican director-actor Emilio Fernandez. Once Huston reminisced: "The press gathered down there expecting something to happen with all these volatile personalities. They felt the lid would blow off and there would be fireworks. When there weren’t any, they were reduced to writing about Puerto Vallarta. And, I’m afraid, that was the beginning of its popularity, which was a mixed blessing."

Huston – who began his love affair with Mexico as a teen-age lieutenant in its cavalry – eventually retired to a remote cove outside Puerto Vallarta. "He found great happiness there in his last years ... in the jungle, beside the sea, lit by the stars," remarked his daughter, actress Anjelica Huston. Vallarta Adventure now runs daylight and dinner tours of Las Caletas, his refuge (Avenue Las Palmas 39, Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit; 322 297-1212; www.vallarta-adventures.com).

Iguana obsession aside, the area has hosted other productions, such as "Predator" with Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Revenge" with Kevin Costner and the lemon of 'Love Bug' sequels, "Herbie Goes Bananas". Other full-length features include "Solo", "The Savage is Loose", "Le Magnifique", "Swashbuckler", "The Domino Principle" and "Harvest".

Jacques Cousteau puttered around offshore, filming around the pristine Marietas islands. The mid-90s "Acapulco HEAT", a terrorism thriller series, was set in Puerto Vallarta. And, of course, a camera crew from "America’s Most Wanted" hit the action jackpot, as bounty hunters captured Max Factor cosmetics heir and convicted rapist Andrew Luster in June 2003.

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