Welcome Mr. Marshall! (1953)
"Bienvenido Mister Marshall" (original title)

After finding out that North American people are visiting the Spanish villages, the citizens of Villar del Río start preparing themselves to welcome them when they arrive.

Director:

Luis García Berlanga

Writers:

Juan Antonio Bardem (story), Luis García Berlanga (story),

Stars:

Lolita Sevilla, Manolo Morán, José Isbert

5 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lolita Sevilla	...	Carmen Vargas
Manolo Morán	...	Manolo
José Isbert	...	Don Pablo, el alcalde
Alberto Romea	...	Don Luis, el caballero
Elvira Quintillá	...	Señorita Eloísa, la maestra
Luis Pérez de León	...	Don Cosme, el cura
Félix Fernández	...	Don Emiliano, el médico
Fernando Aguirre	...	Geronimo - el secretario
Joaquín Roa	...	Julían - el pregonero
Nicolás D. Perchicot	...	Boticario (as Nicolás Perchicot)
José Franco	...	Delegado general
Rafael Alonso	...	Enviado
José María Rodríguez	...	José
Elisa Méndez	...	Doña Raquel
Matilde López Roldán	...	Doña Matilde

Storyline

The little village of Villar del Río is awaiting the song performance of Carmen Vargas, 'The Great Andalusian Star'. The quiet village is governed by a deaf, naughty and good-natured Mayor, who's only seeking the way to give life to the place. By the same time good news comes to the village: the arrival of North American high personalities that will give economical aid to the nation city by city, village by village. The Mayor doesn't know what to do to welcome them. Carmen Vargas's agent throws surprising initiatives, moving all the village people just to prepare a better reception for the foreigners. His idea is to disguise all the farmers as Andalusians and add colour to every street with typical decorations. All of them start to work, and also to dream and think about what they're going to request the Americans, who will come with lots of dollars. The day of the arrival everybody at Villar del Río is in the streets, from the Mayor to the newborn child...

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Plot Keywords:

mayor | american | dream | dancer | satire | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish Latin English

Release Date:

4 April 1953 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Welcome Mr. Marshall!

Filming Locations:

C.E.A., Ciudad Lineal, Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 543,113 (Spain)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Unión Industrial Cinematográfica (UNINCI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min 78 min (censored)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Voted fifth best Spanish film by professionals and critics in 1996 Spanish cinema centenary.

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Connections

Referenced in ¡Que vienen los socialistas! (1982)

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Soundtracks

"Ni cariño ni dinero"
Music by Juan Solano as Maestro Solano
Song by José Antonio Ochaíta and Antonio Valero
Performed by Lolita Sevilla

User Reviews

Spanish classic movie

This movie is well considered all over the world and it is not difficult to see why. It was made in 1952 but it still remains as one of the truly classic movies of Spanish cinema.

Of course its cinematographic values are impressive. From the very beginning the techniques used in this film are different from those used in American cinema of the same time, a narrator introduces the small town and the characters to the audience, he seems to know everything about them, he is capable of stop the movement and take out the people of the screen. An audacious resource from one of the main directors in Spanish cinema history, Luis García Berlanga. This beginning is modern for the time and it can be linked to the European cinema of the era.

On one hand, we are about to see a description of Spanish traditions and characters depicted with lots of humor and irony. On the other hand, we see a critic of some of these statements and mentalities of Spanish people and institutions. This critics is plenty of melancholy in some cases and plenty of humor in other cases. Just about the end of the film, there are several dream scenes that satirizes some of the American cinema of the era and some American traditions and characters (as those of the Western movies).

The script is superb, the actors are very well chosen for their roles, the cinematography is excellent and so is the photography, direction is extraordinary taking into account that this is one of the first movies by Berlanga.

Finally, I have to say that this is a Spanish classic movie and one of my must sees.