Calle mayor
Encyclopedia
Main street is a 1956 Spanish drama film directed by Juan Antonio Bardem. It features a French-Spanish cast led by the American actress Betsy Blair
, who was dubbed into Spanish, as well as the Spanish actor José Suárez
. It is based on a Carlos Arniches
' play titled La señorita de Trévelez. The location shots were Palencia
, Cuenca
and Logroño
. The film won the FRIPESCI Award at Venice Film Festival
, and was an international success.
who lives in a small town with her widow mother. She is losing all her hopes of getting married and having babies.
A bunch of bored middle-aged friends decides to play a trick on Isabel: Juan (José Suárez), the youngest and most handsome of all them, will pretend to fall in love with her. As Isabel lives the courtship full of hopes and joy, Juan realizes too late the cruelty of the situation; and, still pushed by his buddies, he doesn't dare tell Isabel the truth.
When the day of the gala dance in the town's Club comes, Isabel is still living her dream of love. She expects her engagement to be publicly announced from the stage, but Juan, desperate, tries to do anything to shy away from the muddle.
's I Vitelloni
have been pointed out.
Calle Mayor was first Blair's performance outside the US, and she played very brilliantly her role, which bore a rather close resemblance to the one in her previous success, Marty
. For Suárez this was his most dramatically profound role, and it shot him momentarily to fame all across Europe.
The name of the role played by Yves Massard (an educated and honest old friend of Juan, come from Madrid to pay a visit to him) was confessedly Bardem's inside
hommage to Federico Sánchez, pseudonym
used by then by Jorge Semprún
to manage the clandestine activities of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE); Bardem was a well-known member of PCE.
The film was selected as the Spanish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
at the 30th Academy Awards
, but was not accepted as a nominee.
Betsy Blair
Betsy Blair was an American actress of film and stage, long based in London.Blair pursued a career in entertainment from the age of eight, and as a child worked as an amateur dancer, performed on radio, and worked as a model, before joining the chorus of Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe in 1940...
, who was dubbed into Spanish, as well as the Spanish actor José Suárez
José Suárez
-Career:José Suárez made his debut in a short role in Altar Mayor , a very conventional film, whose director, Gonzalo Delgrás, had paid attention to him in his work as a train conductor in Asturias...
. It is based on a Carlos Arniches
Carlos Arniches
Carlos Arniches was a Spanish playwright. His work, drawing on the traditions of the género chico, the zarzuela and the grotesque, came to dominate the Spanish comic theatre in the early twentieth century....
' play titled La señorita de Trévelez. The location shots were Palencia
Palencia
Palencia is a city south of Tierra de Campos, in north-northwest Spain, the capital of the province of Palencia in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon...
, Cuenca
Cuenca, Spain
-History:When the Iberian peninsula was part of the Roman Empire there were several important settlements in the province, such as Segóbriga, Ercávica and Gran Valeria...
and Logroño
Logroño
Logroño is a city in northern Spain, on the Ebro River. It is the capital of the autonomous community of La Rioja, formerly known as La Rioja Province.The population of Logroño in 2008 was 153,736 and a metropolitan population of nearly 197,000 inhabitants...
. The film won the FRIPESCI Award at Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
, and was an international success.
Plot
Isabel (Betsy Blair) is a good-natured and sensible spinsterSpinster
A spinster, or old maid, is an older, childless woman who has never been married.For a woman to be identified as a spinster, age is critical...
who lives in a small town with her widow mother. She is losing all her hopes of getting married and having babies.
A bunch of bored middle-aged friends decides to play a trick on Isabel: Juan (José Suárez), the youngest and most handsome of all them, will pretend to fall in love with her. As Isabel lives the courtship full of hopes and joy, Juan realizes too late the cruelty of the situation; and, still pushed by his buddies, he doesn't dare tell Isabel the truth.
When the day of the gala dance in the town's Club comes, Isabel is still living her dream of love. She expects her engagement to be publicly announced from the stage, but Juan, desperate, tries to do anything to shy away from the muddle.
Cast
- Betsy BlairBetsy BlairBetsy Blair was an American actress of film and stage, long based in London.Blair pursued a career in entertainment from the age of eight, and as a child worked as an amateur dancer, performed on radio, and worked as a model, before joining the chorus of Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe in 1940...
(dubbed into Spanish by Elsa Fábregas) as Isabel - José SuárezJosé Suárez-Career:José Suárez made his debut in a short role in Altar Mayor , a very conventional film, whose director, Gonzalo Delgrás, had paid attention to him in his work as a train conductor in Asturias...
as Juan - Yves Massard as Federico
- Luis PeñaLuis PeñaLuis Peña was a Spanish actor.Peña came from a family of actors and performed in films and theater. In 1946, he married Luchy Soto; the two formed a stage company. He worked on filmed plays for television which were shown on TVE in the 1960s...
as Luis - Dora Doll as Toña
- Alfonso Godá as José María, 'Pepe el Calvo'
- Manuel AlexandreManuel AlexandreManuel Alexandre Abarca was a Spanish film and television actor.-Career:He was a popular supporting actor. He won a Goya Award in 2003 for his career achievemnts.-Filmography in cinema:1947...
as Amigote 1 - José Calvo as Amigote 2
- Matilde Muñoz Sampedro as Chacha
- René Blancard as Editor
- Lila KedrovaLila KedrovaLila Kedrova was a Russian-born French actress.-Biography:Kedrova claimed to have been born in 1918, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Her parents were Russian opera singers. Lila Kedrova's brother was Nikolay Kedrov, Jr...
Additional remarks
Similarities between Calle Mayor story and environment and Federico FelliniFederico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
's I Vitelloni
I Vitelloni
I vitelloni is an Italian comedy drama film directed by Federico Fellini. Recognized as a pivotal work in the director's artistic evolution, the film has distinct autobiographical elements that mirror important societal changes in 1950s Italy....
have been pointed out.
Calle Mayor was first Blair's performance outside the US, and she played very brilliantly her role, which bore a rather close resemblance to the one in her previous success, Marty
Marty (film)
Marty is a 1955 American film directed by Delbert Mann. The screenplay was written by Paddy Chayefsky, expanding upon his 1953 teleplay of the same name. The film stars Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair. The film enjoyed international success, winning the 1955 Academy Award for Best Picture and...
. For Suárez this was his most dramatically profound role, and it shot him momentarily to fame all across Europe.
The name of the role played by Yves Massard (an educated and honest old friend of Juan, come from Madrid to pay a visit to him) was confessedly Bardem's inside
In-joke
An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or in joke, is a joke whose humour is clear only to people who are in a particular social group, occupation, or other community of common understanding...
hommage to Federico Sánchez, pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
used by then by Jorge Semprún
Jorge Semprún
Jorge Semprún Maura was a Spanish writer and politician who lived in France most of his life and wrote primarily in French. From 1953 to 1962, during the era of Francisco Franco, Semprún lived clandestinely in Spain working as an organizer for the exiled Communist Party of Spain, but was expelled...
to manage the clandestine activities of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE); Bardem was a well-known member of PCE.
The film was selected as the Spanish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 30th Academy Awards
30th Academy Awards
The Oscar for Writing Based on Material From Another Medium was awarded to Pierre Boulle for The Bridge on the River Kwai, despite the fact that he did not know English. The actual writers, Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson were blacklisted at the time and did not receive screen credit for their work...
, but was not accepted as a nominee.
See also
- List of submissions to the 30th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Spanish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film