The Pearl

The working titles of this film were Pearl of the World and The Pearl of La Paz (La perla de la paz). The Spanish-language release title was La perla. In the opening credits, John Steinbeck's name appears above the film's title. Steinbeck's novel was serialized in Woman's Home Companion on December 1945 under the title Pearl of the World. It was not published in book form in the United States until after the film's completion. Some of the credits on the viewed print differ from credits recorded in the copyright cutting continuity, which was submitted on May 4, 1948. Ignacio Villarreal, Victor Lewis, Galdino R. Samperio, Armando Meyer and Alberto A. Ferrer are listed in the cutting continuity, but not on the viewed print. On the viewed print, Clem Portman is credited as a sound recorder, but receives no credit in the cutting continuity. Writer Jackson Wagner's first name is listed as "Jack" on the viewed print. RKO re-issued the film in 1954, and it is possible that the credits were redone at that time.
       Two versions of the film, one in English and one in Spanish, were made. As noted in Hollywood Reporter, The Pearl was the first Mexican-made English language picture to be distributed in the U.S. According to a modern source, RKO put up 50 percent of the film's financing. Hollywood Reporter news items indicate that in early 1946, three months of location shooting was done outside Mexico City, some in the coastal region of Guerrero, and that, in addition to RKO's Churubusco Studios, other scenes were filmed at the RKO ranch in Encino, CA, and at Universal Studios. The underwater pearl diving scenes were filmed in a tank at RKO in late May 1946, according to Hollywood Reporter. According to a Los Angeles Examiner news item, Steinbeck went to Mexico in August 1946 to put "the final personal supervision on his picture." A January 1947 New York Times item claimed that Steinbeck delayed the picture's completion because he requested that Manuel Esperón, who is not credited on the film, rewrite the score to include more "Indian elements in the music." The extent of Esperón's participation in the final film has not been determined. An August 1946 Hollywood Reporter item reported that José Noriega, "producer of features at...Churubusco studios," had "recently completed" The Pearl. Noriega is not listed in any other source, however, and his contribution to the final film has not been confirmed.
       Some modern sources list the starting date of the production as mid-October 1945. Hollywood Reporter commented that because most of the picture was made in Mexico, the final budget for both versions was a meager $400,000. The film's West coast premiere on August 12, 1948 was sponsored by the Comité de Beneficencia Mexicana, according to Hollywood Reporter. The Spanish language version of the picture did not include the song "Huapango." The Pearl won five "Ariels," awards given by the Mexican Motion Picture Academy, for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Photography, Best Male Star (Pedro Armendáriz) and Best Character Role (Juan García).