Movies - Golden age of the cinema of Mexico

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	Movies - Golden age of the cinema of Mexico

The Golden age of the cinema of Mexico (in Spanish: Época de oro del cine mexicano) is the name given to the period between 1935 and 1959 where the quality and economic success of the cinema of Mexico reached its peak.

The golden area is thought to have started with the film ¡Vámonos con Pancho Villa!
(1935), which is to this date considered the best of the cinema of Mexico. A box-office failure by Fernando de Fuentes that followed his box-office smash hit Allá en el Rancho Grande. The quality and box-office success of Mexican films continued after the end of World War II and a Hollywood that stopped being used as a medium of propaganda of the United States and focused on commercial films.

Background

In 1939 Europe and the United States were involved in World War II and the film industries of these regions were severely affected. The first because it was where the war was taking place and the second one because it rationalized materials used for armament, cellulose (used to produced film) was included. In 1942, German submarines destroyed oil tankers of PEMEX and Mexico joined the allies in the war against the German nation. Mexico gained status of most favored nation and after a reduction in manufacture of many consumer goods, including films, the film industry of Mexico found new sources of materials and equipment to save itself. The low competition from the cinema of France, Italy, Spain and Argentina and the world leader, the United States, focused on war films made it possible for the national movie industry to conquer the Mexican and Latin American markets.

The golden era

One of the first box-office successes was the film Allá en el rancho grande of Fernando de Fuentes which became the first classic of the cinema of Mexico. This producer completed the film after Vámonos con Pancho Villa but because of post-production problems with the second he released the first one a film he had not had many artistic aspirations for but was a success in the box office. The artistic quality of the second film was significantly higher but only lasted in theaters for two weeks. Jalisco canta en Sevilla (starred by ranchera singer Jorge Negrete) was another production of de Fuentes and the first co-produced with Spain. These films are all in the rural genre but also in the musical/comedy genre. The rural genre also produced drama films such as María Candelariz and La perla
. This last film was written by Pullitzer-winning author John Steinbeck and adapted to the screen by Emilio Fernández "El Indio" who also directed it.

Another genre of urban comedy with stars like Cantinflas and Tin Tan produced many important films. The first films were produced and written by Arcady Boytler and take place in the middle-class neighborhoods and low-class barrios of Mexico City. These places also inspired urban reality films such as Los olvidados
of Luis Buñuel and Nosotros los pobres starred by singer Pedro Infante. The biggest diva of the cinema of Mexico was María Félix who made rural dramas playing as well the roles of a native or a peasant than roles of socialites in La diosa arodillada and La mujer sin alma. However, the role that gave her the nickname "La Doña" was Doña Bárbara.

Decades of labor disputes between studios and talent played a role in bringing about the end of the golden age, but the primary cause was concentration of studio ownership. During the land reforms of President Lázaro Cárdenas, American sugar plantation owner and bootlegger William O. Jenkins sold his land holdings and made a comparatively safer investment in Mexican movie theaters. By the mid-1940s, Jenkins owned two theater chains and controlled all film showings in 12 states. His chains began limiting the exhibition of Mexican films to allow more Hollywood films to be shown. He also used his influence in the industry to dictate regulations that limited film production to a few genres. These low-budget, low quality films became known as "churros".

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