La Guerra Gaucha
Encyclopedia
La guerra gaucha is a 1942
Silver Condor award winning Argentine
historical drama and epic film
directed by Lucas Demare
and starring Enrique Muiño, Francisco Petrone
, Ángel Magaña
, and Amelia Bence
. The film's script, written by Homero Manzi
and Ulyses Petit de Murat
, is based on the novel
by Leopoldo Lugones
published in 1905. The film premiered in Buenos Aires
on November 20, 1942 and is considered by critics of Argentine cinema to be one of the most successful films in history.
The film is set in 1817 in the Salta Province
of northwest Argentina during the Argentine War of Independence
. It is based on the actions taken by the guerrillas under the command of the general Martin Güemes in favor of provincial independence
, and against the royalist army under command of the Spanish monarchy
. For exterior filming, a village was established in the same area where the original events had occurred. The cast of some thousand participants was unprecedented in Argentine cinema until that time.
The origins and content of the film are linked to a particular moment in Argentine history in which there was an intense debate over whether the country should take the side of either the Axis
or the Allies
during World War II
, or maintain its neutrality
during the war. The film stresses the values associated with nationalism as expressed in the union of the people, the army, and the church in defense of the country, which was considered by some a prelude to the revolutionary ideology that led to, on June 4, 1943, the overthrowing of the government of president Ramón Castillo
.
The film was produced by Artistas Argentinos Asociados (Associated Argentine Artists), a cooperative of artists created just a short time before production began. It required an investment far beyond other productions of the period but the commercial success of the film allowed it to recover the cost in the first-run theaters, where it remained for nineteen weeks.
The patriot forces receive help from the sacristan of a chapel located next to the grounds of the royalist troops. The sacristan fakes loyalty to the king, but during the battles he sends messages to the gaucho guerrillas hiding in the mountains by means of a messenger boy and by ringing of the bell. When the royalists discover this, they attack and burn the chapel and smash the sacristan's eyes. Blinded, the sacristan unwittingly guides the royalists to the patriot camp. The royalists then proceed to annihilate the gauchos. In the final sequence, after the battle, the only three surviving characters (the badly injured sacristan, an old man, and the lieutenant who has fallen in love with Asunción and converted to the patriot cause) see Güemes' arriving troops, which will continue the battle.
The opening states: .
(June 13, 1874-February 18, 1938) was a prolific Argentine writer and journalist of whom Ricardo Rojas
said:
To write La guerra gaucha Lugones traveled to Salta Province
, to visit the actual places where the events happened and to record the oral tradition of the area. It is an epic story composed of several histories described with a wide vocabulary full of metaphors. Dialogs are short, but descriptions and subjective vision are plentiful. The landscape characteristics and Salta's nature are described in detail and have great importance in the book.
On February 20, 1938 Roberto M. Ortiz became president of Argentina. A member of the Unión Cívica Radical Antipersonalista party, he expressed his intention of ending the systemic electoral fraud imposed since the 1930 military coup. This idea found resistance within the political coalition named "The Concordance" ("La Concordancia") to which he belonged. Finally the worsening of his diabetes forced him to relinquish the presidency to his vice president Ramón Castillo
, first in provisionally and after June 27, 1942 permanently. The new president was not in agreement with Ortiz's policies and from his post he condoned the fraud practices, disappointing the followers who believed in the changes proposed by his predecessor.
At the start of World War II
the Argentine government declared itself neutral (on September 4, 1939), repeating the position taken during the First World War
(1914–1918). Great Britain
supported the decision as it was interested in Argentina being neutral and continuing the supply of food during the war.
In December 1941, the United States of America declared war on the Axis powers
after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In January 1942, the Third Consulting Meeting of Chancellors of the American Republics met in Río de Janeiro
as the U.S. wished other American nations to break relations with the Axis powers. Argentina, which had had frictions with the U.S. in previous years, was opposed to said goals and influenced successfully to "recommend" the breakup of relations instead of making it mandatory.
The problems associated with foreign policy took on more importance in Argentina and revived the conflict between the three political factions, the one pushing for siding with the Allies
, the neutrals, and the one more in tune with the Axis. This latter minority group included the followers of nationalism
and some officers of the army. The subject of the position the country should take on the war displaced other issues in the national political arena.
Starting in the 1930s, and following a general tendency in Latin America
, nationalist ideas were fortified in the countryside and many diverse sectors of Argentina. Political parties such as the Unión Cívica Radical, the Socialist Party of Argentina
, and in the unions organized under the umbrella of the Confederación General del Trabajo the favorable currents for the State to become interventionist were growing, in order to push the preservation on the national interests and promote industrialization.
This ideological change was also observable in the cultural movements, with the vindication of the tango
and the indigenous
"gaucho roots". La guerra gaucha was then selected as the subject, written and filmed in the context of expansive nationalism and debates over issues of war.
debuted. In 1939, the number increased to 51 films. Argentine cinema was very popular. In Mexico
, almost all Argentine films were shown. In 1940, 49 films opened, despite the shortage of celluloid due to the war. In 1941, there were 47 openings and in 1942, 57.
, Francisco Petrone
, Ángel Magaña
, the director Lucas Demare
and the chief of production of a movie company Enrique Faustín (son) met regularly at the beginning of the 1940s at the "El Ateneo" cafe in Buenos Aires
.
The Ateneo Group ("Barra del Ateneo") decided to found a cooperative film production company following the style of the American United Artists
, so on September 26, 1941 they started "Artistas Argentinos Asociados Sociedad Cinematográfica SRL".
had the idea since he wrote the script to the film "Viento Norte" ("North Wind") and convinced director Lucas Demare of the project's viability. Francisco Petrone proposed that the script be written by Manzi and Ulyses Petit de Murat
. The rights for the movie were purchased from Leopoldo Lugones (son) for ten thousand pesos received two jazz records that were unavailable in the country.
In the interim, Elías Alippi, who would star in the role of captain Del Carril, fell ill with cancer (he would die on May 3, 1942). The company, knowing he was not in physical condition to survive the tough filming schedule and not wishing to replace him for another actor while he was alive, postponed the filming with an excuse and started to film "El viejo Hucha" ("Old Man Hucha"), in which he had no role.
Remembering the proposal to write the screenplay, Ulyses Petit de Murat said:
Due to having had spent all the monies with El viejo Hucha that were needed for La guerra gaucha, the partners at Artistas Argentinos Asociados decided to increase the firm's capital with the monies they were due. This financial effort was insufficient and they had to partner with San Miguel Studios and undersell early the exhibition rights for the film in some areas. These decisions allowed them to make the film with "a little less belt-tightening but without splurging".
Homero Manzi was born November first of 1907 in Añatuya (province of Santiago del Estero
), Argentina. He was interested in literature and tango since he was young. After a brief incursion in journalism, Manzi worked as a literature and castilian
professor but for political reasons (in addition to his membership in the Unión Cívica Radical) he was expelled of his professorship and decided to dedicate himself to the arts.
In 1935 he participated on the beginnings of FORJA (Fuerza de Orientación Radical de la Joven Argentina – Force of Radical Orientation of the Young Argentina), a group whose position has been classified as “peoples nationalism”. It was centered in the problematic Argentina and Latin America and on its discussions suggested “reconquer the political Sunday from our own land” since it considered the country was still under a colonial situation. It supported neutrality in WWII on the premise that was no great interest was in play in Argentina or Latin America, it was more of a rejection position towards fascism just as much as communism.
In 1934, Manzi founded Micrófono ("Microphone") magazine which covered subjects related to radiotelephony, Argentine movies and film making. He wrote the screenplay for Nobleza Gaucha in 1937 in collaboration with Hugo Mac Dougall, and a remake of Huella ("Footprint") (1940), for which they received second prize from Buenos Aires City Hall and also Confesión ("Confession") (1940), without achieving commercial success with any of these movies.
In 1940 Manzi started what would be a long collaboration with Ulyses Petit de Murat, writing the screenplay for Con el dedo en el gatillo ("Finger on the trigger") (1940) and later Fortín alto ("High Fort") (1940).
, co-directed its literary supplement.
In 1932 he moved to the motion film section of Crítica and in 1939 wrote his first cinematographic script for the movie Prisioneros de la Tierra, an adaptation of four tales of Horacio Quiroga
, made with his son, Dario Quiroga, who later in 1940 wrote Con el Dedo en el Gatillo, with the collaboration of Homero Manzi.
The screenwriters started by selecting the stories that would provide them with the elements for the work. Dianas was chosen as the main source, some characters were taken from Alertas and some from other stories. They compiled the words, traditions, life styles and idioms from that era for which they used books and even a trip was made to Salta to talk with the locals. A script Then a text was made from the tales and a first draft of the images. At this point the director and actors collaborated with their comments and finally the final script was written.
Demare quit the orchestra and started working in the film industry; he quickly rose from chalkboard holder to director assistant. Some time later he was hired to debut as a director, but the civil war broke out and he returned to Buenos Aires.
Emilio Zolezzi, aside from being a movie critic, was also the Artistas Argentinas Associados attorney. He tells about the director:
When he returned to Spain, his brother Lucio got him a job as custodian in the Rio de la Plata cinematographic studios. In 1937, he was hired as director and screen-writer for the movies Dos amigos y un amor (Two friends and one love) and Veinticuatro horas de libertad (Twenty-four hours of liberty), both starring comedy actor Pepe Iglesias. In 1939, he directed El hijo del barrio (1940, Son of the neighborhood), Corazón the Turco (1940, Turkish Heart) and Chingolo (1941) all of them with their own script.
This movie was well received by the public and critics, “It consolidated the exceptional tech team accompanied by Artistas Argentinos Asociados: his brother Lucio on the music band, the assistant Hugo Fregones, the montajussta Carlos Rinaldi, the set builder Ralph Pappier, the lighting specialist from the United States Bob Roberts (from the American Society of Cinematographers), the cinematographer Humberto Peruzzi, the electrician Serafín de la Iglesia, the make up artist Roberto Combi and some others.”
The following movie was El cura gaucho, in which he met Enrique Muriño, but even with his abundant commercial success, he was fired from Pampa Films.
but they were told that it was better to do it in winter due to summer being flood season. Demare travelled to Salta to reconnoiter the area. Later, the crew and equipment moved to an old estate and big house. They worked on a big ballroom and had two small rooms; each crewman had a cot and an upside down beer wooden box as night-stand. The actresses and Enrique Muiño, due to his age, stayed in a hotel.
At their arrival in Salta, they met with the local military commander, Colonel Lanús, but he was not eager to help, instead placing obstacles in their way. Demare told how they solved the problem:
Demare had brought gaucho clothing for the cast, but he realized they were not appropriate for the feel he wanted in the movie as they were brand-new, so he traded the new clothing for local gauchos' own clothing. Demare sent Magaña and Chiola on long horse rides to "weather" their uniforms and accustom the actors to riding. The locals were surprised to encounter two soldiers in antiquated uniforms.
Lucas Demare shows up in the film as an extra a few times. The scene in which the town burns had to be done in one take as they could not afford to rebuild it. Demare had the cameramen and the rest of the crew dressed as gauchos or royalist troops so that if they were accidentally included, they would not ruin the shot. While directing this scene, a sudden wind change moved the fire towards Demare himself making him lose his wig and singeing his fake beard and mustache.
In another scene, Demare played the part of a Spanish soldier who, being attacked by the gauchos, receives a lance hit through the chest. Magaña tells
In another scene where the characters played by Amelia Bence, Petrone and Magaña argue, the latter was supposed to fall down the stairs but doubted his ability to do so. Demare stood at the top of the stairs with his back to it and rolled down, to demonstrate that the scene could be done without undue risk. This was in fact the sequence shown in the movie.
A scene where a group of horses ran down a hill with burning branches tied to their tails needed to be filmed from in front, so the crew built a hut made of wood, stones, and rocks in which stood Peruzzi the cameraman, who tells that "At the order of Action! I saw this mass of heads and hooves coming at me at full speed, and did not breath until I saw them open up to the sides of the hut, right in front of me. We had to improvise and replace the lack of technology with smarts, ingenuity and valor."
The filming included more than 1,000 actors as extras for the crowd scenes, although only eighty actors had speaking parts. Among the extras there were local gauchos hired by the producers and others provided as laborers by their employer, the Patrón Costa, a wealthy local family. There were also the aforementioned fencing trainer and soldiers lent by the military garrison and two pato
players from Buenos Aires, experts falling from horses. As the gauchos did not want to be dressed as Spaniards, military conscripts played the part.
They brought material from Salta in fifty trucks to build a village. It had an area of about a thousand square meters, fifteen houses, a church with a belfry, hospital, horse barn, corrals, commander's office, cemetery, and ovens, all of which was destroyed by the fire in the final scenes. The director requested five hundred horses, four hundred cattle, oxen, mules, burros and chickens. Also many props such as wheelbarrows, wagons, and period-military equipment.
The interior and exterior scens of the Asunción ranch, the royalist encampment at night, the interior of the church and belfry, the death of the child and the musical number by the Ábalos Brothers group were filmed at the studios in Buenos Aires.
In Spain in 1933, he created the music for two movies in which he also acted. He started his work in Argentine cinema in 1936 with the musical score for the film Ya tiene comisario el pueblo ("The village now has a constable"), directed by Claudio Martínez Payva and in 1938, he continued with Dos amigos y un amor ("two friends and one love"), with Francisco Canaro, and directed by his brother Lucas Demare.
The musical numbers and native dances were played by the Ábalos Brothers group.
La Nación said:
Claudio España wrote:
The opinion of film critic José Agustín Mahieu is as follows:
Lastly, César Maranghello says:
The film stayed on the opening theaters for nineteen weeks where it was seen by 170,000 viewers, including four weeks in Montevideo
by that time.
approximately 55,000 US dollars
. The extras
in Salta were paid between 3 and 4 pesos per workday, when a theater seat cost 3 pesos. Amelia Bence was paid 5,000 pesos for about six days of filming. This was completely recouped in the nineteen weeks the film stayed at the opening theaters.
Nonetheless, due to the partners' lack of business experience and their scant resources put into starting the business, critical and public acclaim did not translate into big earnings.
Argentine films of 1942
-1942:-External links and references:* at the Internet Movie Database...
Silver Condor award winning Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
historical drama and epic film
Epic film
An epic is a genre of film that emphasizes human drama on a grand scale. Epics are more ambitious in scope than other film genres, and their ambitious nature helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film...
directed by Lucas Demare
Lucas Demare
Lucas Demare was an Argentine film director, screenwriter and film producer prominent in the Cinema of Argentina in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s....
and starring Enrique Muiño, Francisco Petrone
Francisco Petrone
Francisco Petrone was an Argentine film actor.He is best known for his roles in the 1940s in the classic film La Guerra Gaucha and Todo un hombre for which he won the Silver Condor award for Best Actor....
, Ángel Magaña
Ángel Magaña
Ángel Magaña was an Argentine film actor who appeared in some of Argentina's notable films of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.He was married to Nuri Montsé-Filmography:#Hotel de señoritas...
, and Amelia Bence
Amelia Bence
Amelia Bence is an Argentine film actress.-Career:Born as María Amelia Botwinik, Amelia Bence is one of the divas of the Golden Age of the Argentinian cinema...
. The film's script, written by Homero Manzi
Homero Manzi
Homero Nicolás Manzioni Prestera, better known as Homero Manzi was an Argentine Tango lyricist, author of various famous tangos....
and Ulyses Petit de Murat
Ulyses Petit de Murat
Ulyses Petit de Murat was an Argentine poet and screenwriter.He wrote the script for La Guerra Gaucha with Homero Manzi based on the 1905 novel by Leopoldo Lugones....
, is based on the novel
La guerra gaucha (novel)
La Guerra Gaucha is the first book, outside of his published poems of the Argentine writer Leopoldo Lugones which he wrote in 1905. It is a book of stories about the gaucho guerrilla war they fought, commanded by Martín Miguel de Güemes, against the Spanish royalist during the Argentine War of...
by Leopoldo Lugones
Leopoldo Lugones
Leopoldo Lugones Argüello was an Argentine writer and journalist.-Early life:Born in Villa de María del Río Seco, a city in Córdoba Province, in Argentina's Catholic heartland, Lugones belonged to a family of landed gentry...
published in 1905. The film premiered in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
on November 20, 1942 and is considered by critics of Argentine cinema to be one of the most successful films in history.
The film is set in 1817 in the Salta Province
Salta Province
Salta is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Catamarca. It also surrounds Jujuy...
of northwest Argentina during the Argentine War of Independence
Argentine War of Independence
The Argentine War of Independence was fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown...
. It is based on the actions taken by the guerrillas under the command of the general Martin Güemes in favor of provincial independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
, and against the royalist army under command of the Spanish monarchy
Spanish monarchy
The Monarchy of Spain, constitutionally referred to as The Crown and commonly referred to as the Spanish monarchy or Hispanic Monarchy, is a constitutional institution and an historic office of Spain...
. For exterior filming, a village was established in the same area where the original events had occurred. The cast of some thousand participants was unprecedented in Argentine cinema until that time.
The origins and content of the film are linked to a particular moment in Argentine history in which there was an intense debate over whether the country should take the side of either the Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
or the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, or maintain its neutrality
Neutrality (international relations)
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
during the war. The film stresses the values associated with nationalism as expressed in the union of the people, the army, and the church in defense of the country, which was considered by some a prelude to the revolutionary ideology that led to, on June 4, 1943, the overthrowing of the government of president Ramón Castillo
Ramón Castillo
Ramón S. Castillo Barrionuevo was a conservative Argentine politician who served as President of Argentina from June 27, 1942 to June 4, 1943...
.
The film was produced by Artistas Argentinos Asociados (Associated Argentine Artists), a cooperative of artists created just a short time before production began. It required an investment far beyond other productions of the period but the commercial success of the film allowed it to recover the cost in the first-run theaters, where it remained for nineteen weeks.
Plot
In the Salta Province in 1817 during the War of Independence, the irregular forces commanded by General Martín Güemes carry out a guerrilla action against the Spanish army. The commander of a Spanish army contingent, Lieutenant Villarreal, is wounded, captured by the guerrillas, and put under the medical care of Asunción, the mistress of an estancia. She finds out from his idenfication paper that the Lieutenant, though serving in the Spanish army, was born in Lima. She persuades him of the justice of liberating America from Spain.The patriot forces receive help from the sacristan of a chapel located next to the grounds of the royalist troops. The sacristan fakes loyalty to the king, but during the battles he sends messages to the gaucho guerrillas hiding in the mountains by means of a messenger boy and by ringing of the bell. When the royalists discover this, they attack and burn the chapel and smash the sacristan's eyes. Blinded, the sacristan unwittingly guides the royalists to the patriot camp. The royalists then proceed to annihilate the gauchos. In the final sequence, after the battle, the only three surviving characters (the badly injured sacristan, an old man, and the lieutenant who has fallen in love with Asunción and converted to the patriot cause) see Güemes' arriving troops, which will continue the battle.
Prologue
The film begins with a prologue on screen providing the historical circumstances of the place and time in which the action is placed, and advancing the position of its authors. From 1814 to 1818, Güemes and his gauchos, on the Peruvian border left by the regular troops, resisted the royalist armies. This conflict of small battles was characterized by the heroism of the adversaries.The opening states: .
Cast
- Enrique Muiño as Sacristán Lucero.
- Francisco PetroneFrancisco PetroneFrancisco Petrone was an Argentine film actor.He is best known for his roles in the 1940s in the classic film La Guerra Gaucha and Todo un hombre for which he won the Silver Condor award for Best Actor....
(Francisco Antonio Petrecca Mesulla) as Capitán Miranda - Ángel MagañaÁngel MagañaÁngel Magaña was an Argentine film actor who appeared in some of Argentina's notable films of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.He was married to Nuri Montsé-Filmography:#Hotel de señoritas...
as Teniente Villarreal - Sebastián Chiola as Capitán Del Carril
- Amelia BenceAmelia BenceAmelia Bence is an Argentine film actress.-Career:Born as María Amelia Botwinik, Amelia Bence is one of the divas of the Golden Age of the Argentinian cinema...
as Asunción Colombres - Ricardo Galache
- Dora Ferreiro
- Elvira Quiroga
- Juan Pérez Bilbao
- Carlos Campagnale
- Aquiles Guerrero
- Roberto Combi
- Amílcar Leveratto
- Antonio Cytro
- Carlos Enzo
- Roberto Prause
- René MugicaRené MugicaRené Mugica was an Argentine actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in 13 films between 1940 and 1953...
- Raúl Merlo
- Ricardo Reinaldo
- Alberto Contreras (son)
- Antonia Rojas
- Laura Moreno
- José López
- Jacinta Diana
The novel
Leopoldo LugonesLeopoldo Lugones
Leopoldo Lugones Argüello was an Argentine writer and journalist.-Early life:Born in Villa de María del Río Seco, a city in Córdoba Province, in Argentina's Catholic heartland, Lugones belonged to a family of landed gentry...
(June 13, 1874-February 18, 1938) was a prolific Argentine writer and journalist of whom Ricardo Rojas
Ricardo Rojas (writer)
Ricardo Rojas was an Argentine journalist and writer. He came from one of the most influential families of the Santiago del Estero Province; his father was Absalón Rojas, who was governor of the province...
said:
To write La guerra gaucha Lugones traveled to Salta Province
Salta Province
Salta is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Catamarca. It also surrounds Jujuy...
, to visit the actual places where the events happened and to record the oral tradition of the area. It is an epic story composed of several histories described with a wide vocabulary full of metaphors. Dialogs are short, but descriptions and subjective vision are plentiful. The landscape characteristics and Salta's nature are described in detail and have great importance in the book.
Historical context in Argentina
Ramón Castillo
Ramón S. Castillo Barrionuevo was a conservative Argentine politician who served as President of Argentina from June 27, 1942 to June 4, 1943...
, first in provisionally and after June 27, 1942 permanently. The new president was not in agreement with Ortiz's policies and from his post he condoned the fraud practices, disappointing the followers who believed in the changes proposed by his predecessor.
At the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the Argentine government declared itself neutral (on September 4, 1939), repeating the position taken during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(1914–1918). Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
supported the decision as it was interested in Argentina being neutral and continuing the supply of food during the war.
In December 1941, the United States of America declared war on the Axis powers
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In January 1942, the Third Consulting Meeting of Chancellors of the American Republics met in Río de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
as the U.S. wished other American nations to break relations with the Axis powers. Argentina, which had had frictions with the U.S. in previous years, was opposed to said goals and influenced successfully to "recommend" the breakup of relations instead of making it mandatory.
The problems associated with foreign policy took on more importance in Argentina and revived the conflict between the three political factions, the one pushing for siding with the Allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
, the neutrals, and the one more in tune with the Axis. This latter minority group included the followers of nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
and some officers of the army. The subject of the position the country should take on the war displaced other issues in the national political arena.
Starting in the 1930s, and following a general tendency in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, nationalist ideas were fortified in the countryside and many diverse sectors of Argentina. Political parties such as the Unión Cívica Radical, the Socialist Party of Argentina
Socialist Party (Argentina)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in Argentina. The history of socialism in Argentina began in the 1890s, when a group of people, notably Juan B. Justo, expressed the need for a greater social focus....
, and in the unions organized under the umbrella of the Confederación General del Trabajo the favorable currents for the State to become interventionist were growing, in order to push the preservation on the national interests and promote industrialization.
This ideological change was also observable in the cultural movements, with the vindication of the tango
Argentine tango
Argentine tango is a musical genre of simple quadruple metre and binary musical form, and the social dance that accompanies it. Its lyrics and music are marked by nostalgia, expressed through melodic instruments including the bandoneon. Originated at the ending of the 19th century in the suburbs of...
and the indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
"gaucho roots". La guerra gaucha was then selected as the subject, written and filmed in the context of expansive nationalism and debates over issues of war.
State of the film industry in Argentina
In 1938, 41 films opened and 16 new directorsFilm director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
debuted. In 1939, the number increased to 51 films. Argentine cinema was very popular. In Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, almost all Argentine films were shown. In 1940, 49 films opened, despite the shortage of celluloid due to the war. In 1941, there were 47 openings and in 1942, 57.
Artistas Argentinos Asociados
A group of unemployed artists, Enrique Muiño, Elías AlippiElías Isaac Alippi
Elías Isaac Alippi was an Argentine actor, theatrical impresario, film director and theater director. Born in Buenos Aires on January 21, 1883, he died in the same city on May 3, 1942. He is also remembered as an excellent tango dancer....
, Francisco Petrone
Francisco Petrone
Francisco Petrone was an Argentine film actor.He is best known for his roles in the 1940s in the classic film La Guerra Gaucha and Todo un hombre for which he won the Silver Condor award for Best Actor....
, Ángel Magaña
Ángel Magaña
Ángel Magaña was an Argentine film actor who appeared in some of Argentina's notable films of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.He was married to Nuri Montsé-Filmography:#Hotel de señoritas...
, the director Lucas Demare
Lucas Demare
Lucas Demare was an Argentine film director, screenwriter and film producer prominent in the Cinema of Argentina in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s....
and the chief of production of a movie company Enrique Faustín (son) met regularly at the beginning of the 1940s at the "El Ateneo" cafe in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
.
The Ateneo Group ("Barra del Ateneo") decided to found a cooperative film production company following the style of the American United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
, so on September 26, 1941 they started "Artistas Argentinos Asociados Sociedad Cinematográfica SRL".
Origins of the film
Artistas Argentinos Asociados had the idea of making this movie since the company had been established. Homero ManziHomero Manzi
Homero Nicolás Manzioni Prestera, better known as Homero Manzi was an Argentine Tango lyricist, author of various famous tangos....
had the idea since he wrote the script to the film "Viento Norte" ("North Wind") and convinced director Lucas Demare of the project's viability. Francisco Petrone proposed that the script be written by Manzi and Ulyses Petit de Murat
Ulyses Petit de Murat
Ulyses Petit de Murat was an Argentine poet and screenwriter.He wrote the script for La Guerra Gaucha with Homero Manzi based on the 1905 novel by Leopoldo Lugones....
. The rights for the movie were purchased from Leopoldo Lugones (son) for ten thousand pesos received two jazz records that were unavailable in the country.
Remembering the proposal to write the screenplay, Ulyses Petit de Murat said:
Due to having had spent all the monies with El viejo Hucha that were needed for La guerra gaucha, the partners at Artistas Argentinos Asociados decided to increase the firm's capital with the monies they were due. This financial effort was insufficient and they had to partner with San Miguel Studios and undersell early the exhibition rights for the film in some areas. These decisions allowed them to make the film with "a little less belt-tightening but without splurging".
Homero Manzi
Santiago del Estero
Santiago del Estero is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 244,733 inhabitants, making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a surface area of 2,116 km². It lies on the Dulce River and on National Route 9, at a distance of...
), Argentina. He was interested in literature and tango since he was young. After a brief incursion in journalism, Manzi worked as a literature and castilian
Castilian people
The Castilian people are the inhabitants of those regions in Spain where most people identify themselves as Castilian. They include Castile-La Mancha, Madrid, and the major part of Castile and León. However, not all regions of the medieval Kingdom of Castile think of themselves as Castilian...
professor but for political reasons (in addition to his membership in the Unión Cívica Radical) he was expelled of his professorship and decided to dedicate himself to the arts.
In 1935 he participated on the beginnings of FORJA (Fuerza de Orientación Radical de la Joven Argentina – Force of Radical Orientation of the Young Argentina), a group whose position has been classified as “peoples nationalism”. It was centered in the problematic Argentina and Latin America and on its discussions suggested “reconquer the political Sunday from our own land” since it considered the country was still under a colonial situation. It supported neutrality in WWII on the premise that was no great interest was in play in Argentina or Latin America, it was more of a rejection position towards fascism just as much as communism.
In 1934, Manzi founded Micrófono ("Microphone") magazine which covered subjects related to radiotelephony, Argentine movies and film making. He wrote the screenplay for Nobleza Gaucha in 1937 in collaboration with Hugo Mac Dougall, and a remake of Huella ("Footprint") (1940), for which they received second prize from Buenos Aires City Hall and also Confesión ("Confession") (1940), without achieving commercial success with any of these movies.
In 1940 Manzi started what would be a long collaboration with Ulyses Petit de Murat, writing the screenplay for Con el dedo en el gatillo ("Finger on the trigger") (1940) and later Fortín alto ("High Fort") (1940).
Ulyses Petit de Murat
Ulyses Petit de Murat was born in Buenos Aires on January 28, 1907 and was interested in literature and journalism from a young age. He was in charge of the music page in the daily magazine Crítica and, with Jorge Luis BorgesJorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
, co-directed its literary supplement.
Horacio Quiroga
Horacio Silvestre Quiroga Forteza was an Uruguayan playwright, poet, and short story writer....
, made with his son, Dario Quiroga, who later in 1940 wrote Con el Dedo en el Gatillo, with the collaboration of Homero Manzi.
The screenwriters started by selecting the stories that would provide them with the elements for the work. Dianas was chosen as the main source, some characters were taken from Alertas and some from other stories. They compiled the words, traditions, life styles and idioms from that era for which they used books and even a trip was made to Salta to talk with the locals. A script Then a text was made from the tales and a first draft of the images. At this point the director and actors collaborated with their comments and finally the final script was written.
Direction
Born July 14, 1907 Demare was a music scholar. In 1928, he traveled to Spain as a bandoneón player for the Orchestra Típica Argentina, where his brother Lucio also played. In 1933 he worked as an interpreter and singer for Spanish movies Boliche and Aves sin rumbo.Emilio Zolezzi, aside from being a movie critic, was also the Artistas Argentinas Associados attorney. He tells about the director:
When he returned to Spain, his brother Lucio got him a job as custodian in the Rio de la Plata cinematographic studios. In 1937, he was hired as director and screen-writer for the movies Dos amigos y un amor (Two friends and one love) and Veinticuatro horas de libertad (Twenty-four hours of liberty), both starring comedy actor Pepe Iglesias. In 1939, he directed El hijo del barrio (1940, Son of the neighborhood), Corazón the Turco (1940, Turkish Heart) and Chingolo (1941) all of them with their own script.
This movie was well received by the public and critics, “It consolidated the exceptional tech team accompanied by Artistas Argentinos Asociados: his brother Lucio on the music band, the assistant Hugo Fregones, the montajussta Carlos Rinaldi, the set builder Ralph Pappier, the lighting specialist from the United States Bob Roberts (from the American Society of Cinematographers), the cinematographer Humberto Peruzzi, the electrician Serafín de la Iglesia, the make up artist Roberto Combi and some others.”
The following movie was El cura gaucho, in which he met Enrique Muriño, but even with his abundant commercial success, he was fired from Pampa Films.
Filming
Lucas Demare thought that January and February (summer) were the best months to work on the filming in SaltaSalta
Salta is a city in northwestern Argentina and the capital city of the Salta Province. Along with its metropolitan area, it has a population of 464,678 inhabitants as of the , making it Argentina's eighth largest city.-Overview:...
but they were told that it was better to do it in winter due to summer being flood season. Demare travelled to Salta to reconnoiter the area. Later, the crew and equipment moved to an old estate and big house. They worked on a big ballroom and had two small rooms; each crewman had a cot and an upside down beer wooden box as night-stand. The actresses and Enrique Muiño, due to his age, stayed in a hotel.
Demare had brought gaucho clothing for the cast, but he realized they were not appropriate for the feel he wanted in the movie as they were brand-new, so he traded the new clothing for local gauchos' own clothing. Demare sent Magaña and Chiola on long horse rides to "weather" their uniforms and accustom the actors to riding. The locals were surprised to encounter two soldiers in antiquated uniforms.
Lucas Demare shows up in the film as an extra a few times. The scene in which the town burns had to be done in one take as they could not afford to rebuild it. Demare had the cameramen and the rest of the crew dressed as gauchos or royalist troops so that if they were accidentally included, they would not ruin the shot. While directing this scene, a sudden wind change moved the fire towards Demare himself making him lose his wig and singeing his fake beard and mustache.
In another scene, Demare played the part of a Spanish soldier who, being attacked by the gauchos, receives a lance hit through the chest. Magaña tells
In another scene where the characters played by Amelia Bence, Petrone and Magaña argue, the latter was supposed to fall down the stairs but doubted his ability to do so. Demare stood at the top of the stairs with his back to it and rolled down, to demonstrate that the scene could be done without undue risk. This was in fact the sequence shown in the movie.
A scene where a group of horses ran down a hill with burning branches tied to their tails needed to be filmed from in front, so the crew built a hut made of wood, stones, and rocks in which stood Peruzzi the cameraman, who tells that "At the order of Action! I saw this mass of heads and hooves coming at me at full speed, and did not breath until I saw them open up to the sides of the hut, right in front of me. We had to improvise and replace the lack of technology with smarts, ingenuity and valor."
The filming included more than 1,000 actors as extras for the crowd scenes, although only eighty actors had speaking parts. Among the extras there were local gauchos hired by the producers and others provided as laborers by their employer, the Patrón Costa, a wealthy local family. There were also the aforementioned fencing trainer and soldiers lent by the military garrison and two pato
Pato
Pato is a game played on horseback that combine elements from polo and basketball. It is the national sport of Argentina.Pato is Spanish for "duck", as early games used a live duck inside a basket instead of a ball. Accounts of early versions of pato have been written since 1610. The playing field...
players from Buenos Aires, experts falling from horses. As the gauchos did not want to be dressed as Spaniards, military conscripts played the part.
Location
For the scenes in the local village where the royalists had established their headquarters, they selected the village of San Fernando. Nearby is the Gallinato Creek, where they filmed the gaucho encampment scenes and the assault against Miranda's woman.They brought material from Salta in fifty trucks to build a village. It had an area of about a thousand square meters, fifteen houses, a church with a belfry, hospital, horse barn, corrals, commander's office, cemetery, and ovens, all of which was destroyed by the fire in the final scenes. The director requested five hundred horses, four hundred cattle, oxen, mules, burros and chickens. Also many props such as wheelbarrows, wagons, and period-military equipment.
Soundtrack and choreography
The music score was done by Lucio Demare. Born in Buenos Aires on 9 August 1906, he studied music from the age of six and from the age of eight he was playing piano in movie theatres –it was still the age of silent movies.In Spain in 1933, he created the music for two movies in which he also acted. He started his work in Argentine cinema in 1936 with the musical score for the film Ya tiene comisario el pueblo ("The village now has a constable"), directed by Claudio Martínez Payva and in 1938, he continued with Dos amigos y un amor ("two friends and one love"), with Francisco Canaro, and directed by his brother Lucas Demare.
The musical numbers and native dances were played by the Ábalos Brothers group.
Reception
La guerra gaucha was well received by the critics and the public and received several awards. The article in the El Heraldo de Buenos Aires said:Claudio España wrote:
The opinion of film critic José Agustín Mahieu is as follows:
Lastly, César Maranghello says:
The film stayed on the opening theaters for nineteen weeks where it was seen by 170,000 viewers, including four weeks in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
by that time.
Awards
La guerra gaucha received the following awards:- The Silver Condor for Best Picture, Best Director (L. Demare), and Best Screenplay (Ulyses Petit de Murat y Homero Manzi) from the Argentine Film Critics Association
- The Condor Diploma for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay (Petit de Murat and Manzi), Main Actor (Francisco Petrone), Best Sound Editing and Best Cinematography from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of ArgentinaAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Argentina AwardsThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Argentina Awards are given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Argentina to honor achievement in Argentine cinema by Argentina-based filmmakers....
- Best Screenplay (Petit de Murat and Manzi) from the Comisión Nacional de Cultura
- First prize for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Lead Actress (Amelia Bence), Best Actor (Francisco Petrone), Best Photography, Best Music and Best Sound Editing from Municipalidad de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires
- Best Foreign film in Cuba shown in 1947 from the Asociación de Cronistas Cinematográficos de La Habana (Cuba / 1948)
Economic aspects
Filming delays meant that the producers spent part of the monies they had earned on the film El Viejo Hucha. To recoup this, they had to undersell the exhibition rights in advance in some areas. Spending as little as possible, the production ended up costing 269,000 pesosArgentine peso moneda nacional
The peso moneda nacional was the currency of Argentina between November 5, 1881 and December 31, 1969. It was subdivided into 100 centavos, with the argentino worth 5 pesos. Its symbol was m$n or $m/n. Its ISO 4217 code was ARM.-History:...
approximately 55,000 US dollars
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
. The extras
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
in Salta were paid between 3 and 4 pesos per workday, when a theater seat cost 3 pesos. Amelia Bence was paid 5,000 pesos for about six days of filming. This was completely recouped in the nineteen weeks the film stayed at the opening theaters.
Nonetheless, due to the partners' lack of business experience and their scant resources put into starting the business, critical and public acclaim did not translate into big earnings.
External links
- La guerra gaucha at Cinenacional