Cinematic Golden Age Still Shines

By Laura Tillman, The Brownsville Herald, Texas

Feb. 24–While Hollywood may echo the glory and grace of early film in many ears, Mexican film scholar Rogelio Agrasanchez, Jr. has managed to salvage visual proof of some of the smoldering images of Mexico’s cinematic gold age with his archive of Mexican film posters.

Today, an exhibit of “Charros and Folklore in Mexican Cinema Posters” will open at the Brownsville Heritage Complex at 2 p.m.

Agrasanchez authored “Cine Mexicano,” a collection of 150 of the posters he spent his youth archiving.

“During World War II, American cinema focused more on propaganda films,” said Jessica Villescaz, the curator of the museum. “Mexico had a phase of prosperity. Many of the films were a lot better, a lot prettier than American films.”

Mexico’s golden age of cinema was from 1935 to 1960. In the 1940′s the market took off, dominating Latin American theaters.

Hollywood attempted to produce Spanish language films for Latin American audiences, but the strange accents were unfamiliar and the films failed to win the hearts of Mexican moviegoers.

Bombshells like Maria Felix, who frequently played independent, fiery protagonists, charmed the nation. The actress never accepted work in Hollywood, where directors offered her only stereotypical Latina roles, according to the New York Times.

While experimental directors like Luis Bunuel found their own voice in the medium, some Mexican actors were inevitably compared to Hollywood stars.

“Catinflas,” a character played by Mexican film star Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes, continues to be known as the Mexican Charlie Chaplin.

Jose Pedro Infante Cruz, more commonly known as Pedro Infante, was a talented actor and singer; he was frequently referred to as the Mexican Frank Sinatra.

The posters in this month’s exhibit recall the melodrama and breathtaking aesthetic skill of the country’s early cinematographers.

Agrasanchez will be selling many of the posters on display, ranging in price from $60 to $600.

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