Emilio Fernández
Encyclopedia
Emilio "El Indio" Fernández (born Emilio Fernández Romo, e'miljo feɾ'nandes 'romo; March 26, 1904 – August 6, 1986) was an actor, screenwriter and director of the cinema of Mexico. He is best known for his work as director of the film Maria Candelaria
which won the Grand Prix
at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival
.
. His father, Fernando Garza, was a military man, and after 1910, a revolutionary while his mother was a Kickapoo Indian, a tribe that inhabited the region of Sabinas, hence the "Indio" nickname. El "Indio" dropped out of school to serve in the revolutionary uprising led by Adolfo de la Huerta
.
President of Mexico
Álvaro Obregón
sent Huerta into exile (in Los Angeles, California
) and Fernández received a 20-year prison sentence but escaped prison using dynamite and followed Huerta to the United States. Huerta worked as a music teacher and Fernández as an extra in Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s.
A very close friend of Dolores del Río
, who was married to Cedric Gibbons
, designer of the original Academy Award, Emilio was the model who posed for the naked knight holding a sword now known worldwide as "Oscar". After Lázaro Cárdenas
became president and granted an amnesty to the Huertista rebels, Fernández returned to Mexico.
of Carlos Navarro.
He also wrote the script for La isla de la Pasión ( a.k.a Clipperton, 1941), a film he would also direct. His next two films as a director were successful not only in Mexico but the rest of Latin America, Flor silvestre (1943) and María Candelaria
for which he was awarded the Palm d'Ore at Cannes along with Gabriel Figueroa(1943). Both filmed with photographer Gabriel Figueroa
. He developed his own style which had such an effect in the industry that his portrayal of rural Mexico became a standard for the film industry and also became the image of Mexico in the world.
against Mexican President Álvaro Obregón Salido
to Mexican film director Emilio "El Indio" Fernández. Reluctant at first, Fernández was finally convinced to pose nude to create what today is known as the "Oscar".
Considered the premier Cinematographer of Mexico's Época de oro
, between 1930–1960, Figueroa was nominated for several awards, including the Oscar in 1964. Worked as DP on twenty-five projects with Fernandez including the Palme d'Or
winning María Candelaria, Flor Silvestre and the multi-Ariel winning Enamorada. Together they glorified "Mexico's landscapes, dramatic, cloud-laced skies, and more importantly, its stoic Indian faces."
Very much El Indio's Alter-ego on the screen, the charismatic Armendáriz dominated and defined Mexican cinema in the 1940s, often as a foil and lover to Fernandez's muse Dolores del Río
. Starred in the first film that Fernandez directed (1941's Isla de la pasión) and many of his most iconic most notably as the cursed pearl fisherman in the 1947 adaptation of La Perla
.
A massive silent star in the Hollywood of the 1920s, her career faded during the sound era and despite her appearance (in a rather natty leopardskin leotard) in Orson Welles
' 1943 film Journey into Fear it seemed like her best years were behind her. That was until Fernandez offered her the lead role the following year in Flor Silvestre. This was a triumph and saw her relaunched in her home country – and incidentally in her first Spanish language role – as a major icon. Six further collaborations followed including the film that defined Mexico's Golden Age – Maria Candelaria
.
Directed by Fernandez in Enamorada
(1946), Río Escondido (1947), Maclovia
(1948), Reportaje
and El Rapto (1953)
A notable performance in the movie Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
and as one of the main antagonists in The Wild Bunch
.
Played an inmate along with the iconic action star in the movie Breakout.
Small part in the movie The War Wagon
Played the Villain in Return of the Seven
.
Maria Candelaria
María Candelaria is a 1943 Mexican film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz. It was the first Mexican film to be screened at the Cannes International Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix becoming the first Latin American country to do so...
which won the Grand Prix
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival
1946 Cannes Film Festival
The 1st Cannes Film Festival was held from September 20 to October 5, 1946.- Jury :*Georges Huisman *Iris Barry *Beaulieu *Antonin Brousil *J.H.J...
.
Early life
Fernández was born in Mineral del Hondo, CoahuilaCoahuila
Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...
. His father, Fernando Garza, was a military man, and after 1910, a revolutionary while his mother was a Kickapoo Indian, a tribe that inhabited the region of Sabinas, hence the "Indio" nickname. El "Indio" dropped out of school to serve in the revolutionary uprising led by Adolfo de la Huerta
Adolfo de la Huerta
Felipe Adolfo de la Huerta Marcor was a Mexican politician and interim President of Mexico from June 1 to December 1, 1920....
.
President of Mexico
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
Álvaro Obregón
Álvaro Obregón
General Álvaro Obregón Salido was the President of Mexico from 1920 to 1924. He was assassinated in 1928, shortly after winning election to another presidential term....
sent Huerta into exile (in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
) and Fernández received a 20-year prison sentence but escaped prison using dynamite and followed Huerta to the United States. Huerta worked as a music teacher and Fernández as an extra in Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s.
A very close friend of Dolores del Río
Dolores del Río
Dolores del Río was a Mexican film actress. She was a star of Hollywood films during the silent era and in the Golden Age of Hollywood...
, who was married to Cedric Gibbons
Cedric Gibbons
Austin Cedric Gibbons was an Irish American art director who was one of the most important and influential in the field in the history of American film. He also made a great impact on motion picture theater architecture through the 1930s to 1950s, the period considered the golden-era of theater...
, designer of the original Academy Award, Emilio was the model who posed for the naked knight holding a sword now known worldwide as "Oscar". After Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas del Río was President of Mexico from 1934 to 1940.-Early life:Lázaro Cárdenas was born on May 21, 1895 in a lower-middle class family in the village of Jiquilpan, Michoacán. He supported his family from age 16 after the death of his father...
became president and granted an amnesty to the Huertista rebels, Fernández returned to Mexico.
Career
With his experience in Hollywood he joined the Mexican movie industry as a screenwriter and actor. "El Indio" obtained his first acting role in Corazón bandolero (1934) of Raphael J. Sevilla. His looks also landed him a starring role playing a native in JanitzioJanitzio
Isla de Janitzio, located at , is the main island of Lake Patzcuaro in the state of Michoacán, Mexico.The town of Janitzio, which means "where it rains", is located atop the hill. Janitzio can only be reached by boats which run regularly back and forth from about 7:30 am to 6 pm,...
of Carlos Navarro.
He also wrote the script for La isla de la Pasión ( a.k.a Clipperton, 1941), a film he would also direct. His next two films as a director were successful not only in Mexico but the rest of Latin America, Flor silvestre (1943) and María Candelaria
Maria Candelaria
María Candelaria is a 1943 Mexican film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz. It was the first Mexican film to be screened at the Cannes International Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix becoming the first Latin American country to do so...
for which he was awarded the Palm d'Ore at Cannes along with Gabriel Figueroa(1943). Both filmed with photographer Gabriel Figueroa
Gabriel Figueroa
Gabriel Figueroa Mateos was a Mexican cinematographer who worked both in Mexican cinema and Hollywood....
. He developed his own style which had such an effect in the industry that his portrayal of rural Mexico became a standard for the film industry and also became the image of Mexico in the world.
Exile to the U.S.
Forced into exile in the United States – he lived in Los Angeles – following his participation in the unsuccessful rebellion of Adolfo de la HuertaAdolfo de la Huerta
Felipe Adolfo de la Huerta Marcor was a Mexican politician and interim President of Mexico from June 1 to December 1, 1920....
against Mexican President Álvaro Obregón Salido
Álvaro Obregón
General Álvaro Obregón Salido was the President of Mexico from 1920 to 1924. He was assassinated in 1928, shortly after winning election to another presidential term....
Model for the Oscar statuette
MGM's art director Cedric Gibbons, one of the original Academy Award members, supervised the design of the award trophy by printing the design on a scroll. In need of a model for his statuette Gibbons was introduced by his then wife Dolores del RíoDolores del Río
Dolores del Río was a Mexican film actress. She was a star of Hollywood films during the silent era and in the Golden Age of Hollywood...
to Mexican film director Emilio "El Indio" Fernández. Reluctant at first, Fernández was finally convinced to pose nude to create what today is known as the "Oscar".
Notable film collaborations
- Gabriel FigueroaGabriel FigueroaGabriel Figueroa Mateos was a Mexican cinematographer who worked both in Mexican cinema and Hollywood....
Considered the premier Cinematographer of Mexico's Época de oro
Golden age of the cinema of Mexico
The Golden Age of Mexican cinema is a period between 1936 and 1969 where the quality and economic success of the cinema of Mexico reached its peak....
, between 1930–1960, Figueroa was nominated for several awards, including the Oscar in 1964. Worked as DP on twenty-five projects with Fernandez including the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
winning María Candelaria, Flor Silvestre and the multi-Ariel winning Enamorada. Together they glorified "Mexico's landscapes, dramatic, cloud-laced skies, and more importantly, its stoic Indian faces."
- Pedro ArmendárizPedro ArmendárizPedro Armendáriz was a Mexican actor of the cinema of Mexico and Hollywood.-Early life:Born Pedro Gregorio Armendáriz Hastings in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico to Pedro Armendáriz García-Conde and Adela Hastings . He was also the cousin of actress Gloria Marín...
Very much El Indio's Alter-ego on the screen, the charismatic Armendáriz dominated and defined Mexican cinema in the 1940s, often as a foil and lover to Fernandez's muse Dolores del Río
Dolores del Río
Dolores del Río was a Mexican film actress. She was a star of Hollywood films during the silent era and in the Golden Age of Hollywood...
. Starred in the first film that Fernandez directed (1941's Isla de la pasión) and many of his most iconic most notably as the cursed pearl fisherman in the 1947 adaptation of La Perla
La perla
La perla is a 1947 Mexican film. The story is based on the novella The Pearl by John Steinbeck, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the movie....
.
- Dolores del RíoDolores del RíoDolores del Río was a Mexican film actress. She was a star of Hollywood films during the silent era and in the Golden Age of Hollywood...
A massive silent star in the Hollywood of the 1920s, her career faded during the sound era and despite her appearance (in a rather natty leopardskin leotard) in Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' 1943 film Journey into Fear it seemed like her best years were behind her. That was until Fernandez offered her the lead role the following year in Flor Silvestre. This was a triumph and saw her relaunched in her home country – and incidentally in her first Spanish language role – as a major icon. Six further collaborations followed including the film that defined Mexico's Golden Age – Maria Candelaria
Maria Candelaria
María Candelaria is a 1943 Mexican film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz. It was the first Mexican film to be screened at the Cannes International Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix becoming the first Latin American country to do so...
.
- María FélixMaría FélixMaría Félix was a Mexican film actress and one of the icons of the golden era of the Cinema of Mexico and also one of the myths of the Spanish language Cinema for her life style and personality...
Directed by Fernandez in Enamorada
Enamorada (1946 film)
Enamorada is a 1946 Mexican drama film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring María Félix and Pedro Armendáriz.-Plot summary:...
(1946), Río Escondido (1947), Maclovia
Maclovia (1948 film)
Maclovia is a 1948 Mexican romantic drama film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring María Félix and Pedro Armendáriz.-Plot summary:...
(1948), Reportaje
Reportaje (1953 film)
Reportaje is a 1953 Mexican film. The film brought together the most important stars of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema and was held for charitable purposes for the A.N.D.A of México....
and El Rapto (1953)
- Sam PeckinpahSam PeckinpahDavid Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
A notable performance in the movie Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a 1974 American action film directed by Sam Peckinpah and featuring Warren Oates....
and as one of the main antagonists in The Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch is a 1969 American Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah about an aging outlaw gang on the Texas-Mexico border, trying to exist in the changing "modern" world of 1913...
.
- Charles BronsonCharles BronsonCharles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
Played an inmate along with the iconic action star in the movie Breakout.
- John WayneJohn WayneMarion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
Small part in the movie The War Wagon
The War Wagon
The War Wagon is a 1967 western Technicolor film starring John Wayne, released by Universal Pictures, directed by Burt Kennedy, and adapted by Clair Huffaker from his own novel. The film, which featured Wayne in one of his few roles as technically a "bad guy" , received generally positive reviews....
- Yul Brenner
Played the Villain in Return of the Seven
Return of the Seven
Return of the Seven , is the first sequel to the 1960 western, The Magnificent Seven. Made in 1966, Yul Brynner is the sole returning cast member from the first film, portraying Chris Adams....
.
Filmography
As Director- 1941 – La Isla de la pasión
- 1942 – Soy puro mexicano
- 1942 – Flor Silvestre
- 1944 – Maria CandelariaMaria CandelariaMaría Candelaria is a 1943 Mexican film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz. It was the first Mexican film to be screened at the Cannes International Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix becoming the first Latin American country to do so...
- 1945 – Las AbandonadasLas AbandonadasLas Abandonadas is a Mexican film of 1944, directed by Emilio Fernández and starring by Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz.- Curiosities :...
- 1945 – Bugambilia (1945 Film)
- 1946 – Pepita Jiménez
- 1946 – EnamoradaEnamorada (1946 film)Enamorada is a 1946 Mexican drama film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring María Félix and Pedro Armendáriz.-Plot summary:...
- 1947 – La PerlaLa perlaLa perla is a 1947 Mexican film. The story is based on the novella The Pearl by John Steinbeck, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the movie....
- 1947 – The FugitiveThe Fugitive (1947 film)The Fugitive is a 1947 drama film starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, based on the novel The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. It was shot on location in Mexico by Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa.-Plot:...
(uncredited as co-director w/ John FordJohn FordJohn Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
) - 1948 – Río Escondido
- 1948 – MacloviaMaclovia (1948 film)Maclovia is a 1948 Mexican romantic drama film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring María Félix and Pedro Armendáriz.-Plot summary:...
- 1949 – Salón México
- 1949 – PueblerinaPueblerinaPueblerina is a 1949 Mexican drama film directed by Emilio Fernández. It was entered into the 1949 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Columba Domínguez - Paloma* Roberto Cañedo - Aurelio Rodríguez* Arturo Soto Rangel - Priest* Manuel Dondé - Rómulo...
- 1949 – La MalqueridaLa MalqueridaLa Malquerida is a Mexican film from 1949. It was directed by Emilio Fernández, and starred Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz.-Plot summary:...
- 1950 – Duelo en las montañas
- 1950 – The Torch
- 1950 – Un Día de vida
- 1951 – Vìctimas del PecadoVìctimas del PecadoVíctimas del Pecado is a 1951 Mexican film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring Ninón Sevilla.-Plot:In México City, a Cuban dancer from "Cabaret Changó" rescues a baby from a garbage can and decides to raise him, but her pachuco pimp gets in her way.Immediately after Aventurera, Ninón Sevilla...
- 1951 – Islas Marías
- 1951 – La Bienamada
- 1952 – Siempre tuya
- 1952 – Acapulco
- 1952 – El Mar y tú
- 1952 – Cuando levanta la niebla
- 1953 – La Red
- 1953 – Reportaje
- 1953 – El Rapto
- 1954 – La Rebelión de los colgados
- 1955 – La Rosa blanca
- 1955 – Nosotros dos
- 1955 – La Tierra del fuego se apaga
- 1958 – Una cita de amorUna cita de amorUna cita de amor is a 1958 Mexican drama film directed by Emilio Fernández. It was entered into the 8th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Silvia Pinal - Soledad* Carlos López Moctezuma - Don Mariano...
- 1960 – El Impostor
- 1962 – Pueblito
- 1963 – Paloma herida
- 1967 – Un Dorado de Pancho Villa
- 1969 – Un Crepúsculo de un dios
- 1974 – La ChocaLa ChocaLa Choca is a 1974 Mexican drama film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring Pilar Pellicer.-Plot summary:In the jungle of Oaxaca, the 'Indio' Fernandez show us a passionate drama which preserve his very particular style in spite of the years, those years allow too some series of bad words in...
- 1976 – Zona RojaZona Roja (film)Zona Roja is a 1976 Mexican film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring Fanny Cano.-Plot:In a whorehouse in Acapulco, lives Leonor , a young and beautiful woman that waiting reunite with an old lover. Someday, the man reappears to take her away from her live of vice...
- 1979 – México Norte (remake of his own Pueblerina)
- 1979 – Erótica
External links
- (es) Biography at the Cinema of Mexico site of the ITESM.
- Biopic at IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1805216/combined
- Mexican Film Biography with Pictures http://cinemexicano.mty.itesm.mx/directores/indio_fernandez.html