Joseph Krumgold, who began his career as a screenwriter in Hollywood, made ...And Now Miguel as a film for the United States government. During World War II Krumgold had worked with the Office of War Information and began making documentaries for the U.S. State Department. Krumgold and his wife lived with the Chavez family in Los Cordovas, New Mexico for several months throughout the filming of ...And Now Miguel. The location scenery provides a stunning backdrop even in black and white.
...And Now Miguel was so well received that the Thomas Y. Crowell publishing company asked Krumgold to write a children's book based on the film. The book, published in 1953, won Krumgold the prestigious Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature. Krumgold continued his career as an author and became the first person to ever win the Newbery Medal twice. The second time was in 1960 for his book Onion John.
After ...And Now Miguel was completed, Joseph Krumgold encouraged Miguel Chavez to move to New York and take acting lessons. However, Chavez's father did not allow it. "I've lived the way I wanted to live," said Chavez in a 2008 interview looking back at the impact the film had on his life. "And I wouldn't change my life...for millions and millions of dollars." Currently Miguel is semi-retired after spending 30 years in the hand-crafted furniture business and raising a family with wife Frances. He runs a small vacation rental business in New Mexico and is also a skilled woodcarving artist. "Even today when I walk into a grocery store," said Chavez, "someone yells out, 'Hey, it's now Miguel!' I swear one of these days I'm going to die and they're going to write on my tombstone, 'And Now Miguel Passed Away.'...Because of the film and the book, I still get letters and calls from people all over the world."
In 1966 Universal Pictures made a feature version of ...And Now Miguel in Technicolor starring actor Pat Cardi as Miguel.
Director: Joseph Krumgold
BW-62m.
by Andrea Passafiume
