Mexicanos al grito de guerra

When the plane he was piloting crashed in the Yucatan in 1957, Mexican singer-actor Pedro Infante was mourned on a scale not seen since Rudolph Valentino died in 1926. One of Mexico's biggest stars, comparable to Bing Crosby or Elvis Presley, Infante's death created mass hysteria. Crowds swarmed the funeral home where he lay in state, riots broke out, and women are said to have committed suicide over him. Even today, the anniversary of his death is marked by fans with celebrations and masses for his soul. In 1943, the year that he made his first recordings, Infante starred in Mexicanos al grito de Guerra, directed by Ismael Rodríguez and Álvaro Gálvez y Fuentes, who also co-wrote the film with Joselito Rodríguez and Elvira de la Mora. The Mexican national anthem, Himno Nacional Mexicano, unofficially known as Mexicanos al grito de Guerra (Mexican Battle Cry), had been written as a poem by Francisco González Bocanegrao in 1853. The following year, composer Jaime Nunó added the music. The song had been officially adopted by the government in 1943. To capitalize on it, co-directors Fuentes and Rodríguez created a fictional story of a young man, Lt. Luis Sandoval (Infante), who falls in love with Esther DuBois [Lina Montes, in her second film]; she is the niece of the French Ambassador at the time of the French Intervention (also known as the Franco-Mexican War, which lasted from 1862-1867) and he must choose between love and patriotism. The film's co-director, Ismael Rodríguez thought of his films as "reveal[ing] the problems that affect Mexicans, our way of thinking, and the character that distinguishes us." Although Rodríguez is credited with discovering the legendary Pedro Infante, he himself said, "At the most, I would say that he developed at my side. He was singing at [radio station] XEB [beginning in 1939] and had had two or three small movie roles. I called him and I had faith in him. It is possible that some of my suggestions might have been useful to him. [...] Pedro, by the way he handled himself, by gaining the audience's sympathy, and by charisma, managed to be his co-actor's equal." Mexicanos al grito de Guerra was released on September 16, 1943, at the beginning of what has been termed the Epoca Dorada, or "Golden Age" of Mexican film. When the United States entered World War II, the government, like Germany in World War I, wanted to guarantee that Mexico would be an ally. In return, Mexico was allowed to send their residents into the United States to work and was given celluloid film stock, which directly contributed to the rise of the Mexican film industry. Director: Álvaro Gálvez y Fuentes, Ismael Rodríguez Screenplay: Elvira de la Mora, Álvaro Gálvez y Fuentes, Joselito Rodríguez (writers) Cinematography: Ezequiel Carrasco Music: Raúl Lavista Cast: Pedro Infante (Lt. Luis Sandoval), Lina Montes (Esther Dubois), Miguel Inclán (President Benito Juárez), Miguel Arenas (Count Dubois), Miguel Ángel Ferriz (Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza), Carlos Riquelme (Francisco González Bocanegra), Salvador Carrasco (Jaime Nunó), Margarita Cortés (Lupe), Salvador Quiroz (Antonio López de Santa Anna), Armando Soto La Marina (Baker). BW-101m. by Lorraine LoBianco SOURCES: Nevares, Beatriz Reyes The Mexican Cinema: Interviews with Thirteen Directors Paranagua, Paulo Antonio Mexican Cinema IMDB