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[AMIA-L] PAMPA BARBARA (Artistas Argentinos Asociados, 1945)
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- Subject: [AMIA-L] PAMPA BARBARA (Artistas Argentinos Asociados, 1945)
- From: Jorge Finkielman <finki_1@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 20:38:50 -0700
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- Reply-to: Association of Moving Image Archivists <AMIA-L@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Good evening:
A few months ago, I was able on On Demand a rare film called "Savage Pampas". It is rare because it is considered, essentially, as a western although it is an Argentinean story.
The film is Argentinean production although it was co-produced by the United States and Spain and shot on location there. Although it was shot in English, it is obvious that except for the principal actors, everybody in the cast has been dubbed. An alternate version in Spanish exists.
"Savage Pampas" was a box office flop, directed by Hugo Fregonese, and a very inferior partial remake of a 1945 production called "Pampa bárbara", which he partially codirected.
Hugo Fregonese was an Argentinean director who achieved great success in his native land. After only a few films, all classics, he moved to Hollywood where he never managed to achieve the same kind of
success. "Savage Pampas" was an attempt to resurrect his carreer and a partial return to Argentina (he eventually fully returned). But it was a failure.
The people in charge of the remake made a number of changes, moving the story from 1830 to 1870, changing and rearranging incidents, reducing important characters to superfluous parts, and trying to make the indians look more sympatetic. To all of these problems we can add that the majority of the cast, except for Robert Taylor, was miscat and the film features one of the most idiotic endings of all times.
The remake was a fictional story while the original film, directed by Lucas Demare, was actually based on authentic incidents. It is such a masterpiece that it has been partially copied or imitated by some important Hollywood filmmakers like John Ford and William A. Wellman.
In Argentina,
the remake is almost never shown on TV. The original film, however, has been shown many times in the past, although not anymore, unfortunately.
To watch the remake was a boring experience that put me to sleep several times. The original film can kept me awake!
It is frankly an insult that the remake is available on TV and DVD while the 1945 original is in obscurity in the United States. Well, not anymore...
I was eager to watch "Pampa bárbara" again. It was difficult to locate it but I did. Now, you can watch it too. The film is in the public domain, and the video version is the same unrestored one that has been circulating in Argentina for years. But it is such a good film and its visual problems are irrelevant (one of its cinematographers was John Alton's disciple while another one was a Robert Flaherty veteran).
"Pampa bárbara" deals with
an unusual theme for the Argentinean film: the expansion of the frontiers. Around the late 1820's to mid 1830's Buenos Aires Governor (and dictator) Juan Manuel de Rosas decided to expand the limits of the nation in the days of the restoration (the civil war). So, the army campaigned in indian territories and build forts. But the first desert campaing, as it was called, was a disaster and the native americans drove the settlers away.
The script by Ulyses Petit de Murat and Homero Manzi considering all of this issues is based in a Rosas decree for which 50 women were sent to a fort in order to prevent the troops to desert and join the indians. Nobody is presented in a glamorous way, not even the indians. Not to be erroneously consider racists, the filmmakers finish the film with the indians actually winning.
"Pampa bárbara" was the best film of its year and one of the very best of
all times. Although Hugo Fregonese is listed as codirector, the director was Lucas Demare and this is his film. Ut was he who probably shot most of the footage and was involved in postproduction.
It is a great film and I happy to have a copy to share (at least for now).
PAMPA BARBARA(1945)
Produced by Francisco Petrone (uncredited)
Directed by Lucas Demare and Hugo Fregonese
Written by Ulyses Petit de Murat and Homero Manzi
Music by Lucio Demare and Juan Elhert (orchestrations)
Cinematography by José María Beltrán (interiors),
Bob Roberts and Humberto Peruzzi (exteriors)
Camera: Vicente Cosentino
Editing by Atilio Rinaldi and Carlos Rinaldi
Sound: Ramón Ator, Leopoldo Orzali, Alejandro P. Bousquet
Production design by Germán Gelpi
Wardrobe by Sastrería Casa Machado
Assitant directors: Rubén Cavalloti and Enrique de Rosas (h)
Production company & distributor: Artistas Argentinos Asociados
Running time: 98 minutes
Release date: October 9, 1945
at the Ambassador Movie Theater (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Cast (in credits order):
Francisco Petrone, Luisa Vehil,
Domingo Sapelli, Froilán Varela, María Esther Gamas,
Judith Sulián, Roberto Fugazot, Margarita Corona,
Juan Bono,
Pedro Codina, Aurelia Ferrer, María
Concepción César, Luis Otero, Pablo Cumo, Jorge
Molina Salas, Mónica Varela, Tito Alonso, José Ruzzo,
René Mugica, José Prause, Raúl Luar, Francisco García
Garaba, Cleo Contreras, Carlos Betot.
Opening narration by Enrique Muiño (uncredited)
Awards:
Buenos Aires City Government
Best film
Best actress (Luisa Vehil)
Best actor (Francisco Petrone)
Best screenplay (Ulyses Petit de Murat and Homero Manzi)
Best sound
Best music
Best cinematography
Asociation of Argentina's film reporters
Best supporting actor (Froilán Varela)
Enjoy it.
JORGE FINKIELMAN
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