La perla
Encyclopedia
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.
In 1945, Emilio Fernández, who was in love with Olivia de Havilland
(Gone with the Wind
), thought she was the ideal actress to play the starring role of this movie. He planned to produce the film for Óscar Dancigers, the Franco
-Russia
n head of Águila Films who had arrived in Mexico three years earlier escaping the horrors of war in Europe. Dancigers prepared the production of the film with a script written by Fernández and Steinbeck, the author of the novel of the same name (The Pearl), in both Spanish and English versions.
After the success of this costly film, Dancigers became one of the most important producers of the Cinema of Mexico and Fernández obtained international recognition. De Havilland never knew of the love of Fernández but he was able to get the government of Mexico City
to change the name of the street he grew up on to Dulce Olivia ("Sweet Olivia").
In 2002, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
, the local doctor (a foreigner) refuses to treat the child and the boy is taken to a curandera
. Later the doctor and his brother (Wagner), a loan shark meet Kino again, after he finds an expensive pearl
and decide to steal it from him.
Nominated
The Pearl (novel)
The Pearl is a novella by American author John Steinbeck, published in 1947.- Analysis :A story based on a Mexican folk tale, The Pearl explores the secrets of man's nature, the darkest depths of evil, and the disastrous effects of stepping out of an established system...
by John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the movie.
In 1945, Emilio Fernández, who was in love with Olivia de Havilland
Olivia de Havilland
Olivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
(Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
), thought she was the ideal actress to play the starring role of this movie. He planned to produce the film for Óscar Dancigers, the Franco
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n head of Águila Films who had arrived in Mexico three years earlier escaping the horrors of war in Europe. Dancigers prepared the production of the film with a script written by Fernández and Steinbeck, the author of the novel of the same name (The Pearl), in both Spanish and English versions.
After the success of this costly film, Dancigers became one of the most important producers of the Cinema of Mexico and Fernández obtained international recognition. De Havilland never knew of the love of Fernández but he was able to get the government of Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
to change the name of the street he grew up on to Dulce Olivia ("Sweet Olivia").
In 2002, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot
In a fishing village, Kino (Armendáriz) and his wife Juana (Marqués) are in anguish because their little son Coyotito was stung by a scorpionScorpion
Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
, the local doctor (a foreigner) refuses to treat the child and the boy is taken to a curandera
Curandero
A curandero or curandeiro is a traditional folk healer or shaman in Latin America, who is dedicated to curing physical or spiritual illnesses. The role of a curandero or curandera can also incorporate the roles of psychiatrist along with that of doctor and healer. Many curanderos use Catholic...
. Later the doctor and his brother (Wagner), a loan shark meet Kino again, after he finds an expensive pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
and decide to steal it from him.
Premio Ariel (1948)
Awarded- Emilio FernándezEmilio FernándezEmilio "El Indio" Fernández 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.-Early life:Fernández was born in Mineral del Hondo, Coahuila...
Ariel de Oro ("Golden Ariel") - 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...
(actor) - Juan GarcíaJuan GarciaJuan Garcia* Juan Tyrone Garcia, Famous Mexican Marial Artist and actor* Juan M. Garcia, U.S. politician, Texas State Representative* Juan Garcia Abrego drug lord, Gulf Cartel* Juan García Esquivel , Mexican band leader...
(supporting actor) - Gabriel FigueroaGabriel FigueroaGabriel Figueroa Mateos was a Mexican cinematographer who worked both in Mexican cinema and Hollywood....
(photography)
Nominated
- Gilberto Diego González (supporting actor)
- María Elena Marqués (actress)
- Gloria Schoemann (editing)
- Antonio Díaz Conde (score)
- Emilio Fernández (screenplay)
- Emilio Fernández (director)
External links
- La Perla at the Cinema of Mexico site of ITESM.
- La perla at Red escolar.
- New York Times Movie Review