Pedro de Cordoba
Encyclopedia
Pedro de Cordoba was an American
actor
.
Pedro de Cordoba, who appeared in his first film, a 1915 version of Carmen
, was actually a classically trained theatre
actor who confessed he did not enjoy appearing in silent film
s nearly as much as he liked working on stage. However, de Cordoba's career during the early silent film era was prolific and he soon became a popular leading man in early Hollywood motion pictures. His Broadway
career cast him with such legendary stage actresses as Jane Cowl
and Katharine Cornell
.
His deeply–resonant speaking voice made him perfectly suited to talking pictures, unlike many silent
film stars who had neither foreseen, nor prepared for, the day when sound would meet celluloid.
He enjoyed a career as one of the busiest character actor
s in Hollywood, from the 1930s through the ‘50’s. He was most often cast as aristocratic
, or clerical characters of Hispanic
origin, as in The Keys of the Kingdom
(1944), because of his last name as well as his royal bearing.
In actuality he was born in New York City
of parents who were French
and Cuba
n in origin. He was a devout Catholic
. He was very well read and knowledgeable about the Catholic faith, and served for a time as president of the Catholic Actors Guild of America. On rare occasions, he would be cast in the role of a villain.
De Cordoba’s most memorable part is probably his portrayal of the "living skeleton" sideshow character who hides fugitive Robert Cummings
in his carnival wagon in the Alfred Hitchcock
film Saboteur
(1942). The last film in which the actor appeared, a political drama set in an unnamed South American dictatorship, Crisis (1950), was released shortly after his death.
Sound
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Pedro de Cordoba, who appeared in his first film, a 1915 version of Carmen
Carmen (1915 Cecil B. DeMille film)
Carmen is a 1915 silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is based on the novella by Prosper Mérimée. The existing versions of this film appear to be from the 1918, re-edited release.-Plot:...
, was actually a classically trained theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
actor who confessed he did not enjoy appearing in silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
s nearly as much as he liked working on stage. However, de Cordoba's career during the early silent film era was prolific and he soon became a popular leading man in early Hollywood motion pictures. His Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
career cast him with such legendary stage actresses as Jane Cowl
Jane Cowl
Jane Cowl was an American film and stage actress and playwright "notorious for playing lacrymose parts". Actress Jane Russell was named in Cowl's honor.-Biography:...
and Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York.Cornell is known as the greatest American stage actress of the 20th century...
.
His deeply–resonant speaking voice made him perfectly suited to talking pictures, unlike many silent
film stars who had neither foreseen, nor prepared for, the day when sound would meet celluloid.
He enjoyed a career as one of the busiest character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
s in Hollywood, from the 1930s through the ‘50’s. He was most often cast as aristocratic
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
, or clerical characters of Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
origin, as in The Keys of the Kingdom
The Keys of the Kingdom
The Keys of the Kingdom is a 1941 novel by A. J. Cronin. Spanning six decades, it tells the story of Father Francis Chisholm, an unconventional Scottish Catholic priest who struggles to establish a mission in China...
(1944), because of his last name as well as his royal bearing.
In actuality he was born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
of parents who were French
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...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n in origin. He was a devout Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
. He was very well read and knowledgeable about the Catholic faith, and served for a time as president of the Catholic Actors Guild of America. On rare occasions, he would be cast in the role of a villain.
De Cordoba’s most memorable part is probably his portrayal of the "living skeleton" sideshow character who hides fugitive Robert Cummings
Robert Cummings
Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings , mostly known professionally as Robert Cummings but sometimes as Bob Cummings, was an American film and television actor....
in his carnival wagon in the Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
film Saboteur
Saboteur
A saboteur is someone who commits sabotage.It may also refer to:*Morituri , a 1965 film also known as The Saboteur*Saboteur , a card game by Frederic Moyersoen, published in 2004...
(1942). The last film in which the actor appeared, a political drama set in an unnamed South American dictatorship, Crisis (1950), was released shortly after his death.
Selected filmography
Silent- The Little White Violet (1915) (*short)
- Jeanne of the Woods (1915) (*short)
- Carmen (1915)
- TemptationTemptation (film)Temptation is a 1915 drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is now considered to be lost.-Cast:* Geraldine Farrar - Renee Dupree* Theodore Roberts - Otto Mueller* Pedro de Cordoba - Julian* Elsie Jane Wilson - Madame Maroff...
(1915) - Maria RosaMaria RosaMaria Rosa is a 1916 silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It was based on a 1914 Broadway stage play Maria Rosa by Angel Guimera...
(1916) - Just a Song at Twilight (1916)
- Sapho (1917)
- One Law for BothOne Law for BothOne Law for Both is a 1917 silent film directed by Ivan Abramson.-Plot:Elga Pulsaki and her brother Ossip emigrate to the United States from Russia to escape persecution...
(1917) - Barbary Sheep (1917)
- Runaway, Romany (1917)
- A Daughter of the Old South (1918)
- The New Moon (1918)
- The Dark Mirror (1919)
- The World and His Wife (1920)
- The Sin That Was His (1920)
- The Inner Chamber (1921)
- The Young Diana (1922)
- When Knighthood Was in FlowerWhen Knighthood Was in Flower (1922 film)When Knighthood Was in Flower is a 1922 silent historical film based on the novel by Charles Major and play by Paul Kester. The film was produced by William Randolph Hearst for his 'live-in companion' Marion Davies and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The director was veteran Robert G. Vignola...
(1922) - Swords and the Woman (1923)
- Enemies of WomenEnemies of WomenEnemies of Women is a 1923 silent romantic drama film directed by Alan Crosland and starring Lionel Barrymore, Alma Rubens, Gladys Hulette, Pedro de Cordoba, and Paul Panzer. The film was produced by William Randolph Hearst through his Cosmopolitan Productions...
(1923) - Fires of FateFires of Fate (1923 film)Fires of Fate is a 1923 British-American silent adventure film directed by Tom Terriss and starring Wanda Hawley, Nigel Barrie and Pedro de Cordoba. It was adapted from the play Fires of Fate by Arthur Conan Doyle which was in turn based on his 1898 novel The Tragedy of the Korosko...
(1923) - The Purple Highway (1923)
- The Bandolero (1924)
- The New Commandment (1925)
Sound
- Hunt the Tiger (1929) (*short)
- RamonaRamona (1936 film)Ramona is a 1936 Technicolor drama film directed by Henry King, based on Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 novel Ramona. This was the third adaptation of the film, and the first one with sound...
(1936) - The Garden of Allah (1936)
- Maid of SalemMaid of SalemMaid of Salem is a 1937 film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Frank Lloyd, and starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray.-Plot:It tells the story of a young girl in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692, who has an affair with adventurer...
(1937) - The Firefly (1937)
- International SettlementInternational Settlement (film)International Settlement is a 1938 American drama film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Dolores del Rio, George Sanders and June Lang. It is set in the Shanghai International Settlement during the Sino-Japanese War...
(1938) - Juarez (1939)
- KismetKismet (1944 film)Kismet is a 1944 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film in Technicolor starring Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich, Joy Page, and Florence Bates. James Craig played the young Caliph of Baghdad, and Edward Arnold was the treacherous Grand Vizier...
(1944) - Tahiti Nights (1944)