Evita Peron (TV 1981)

Director:

Marvin J. Chomsky

Writers:

John Barnes (book), Nicholas Frazer (book),

Stars:

Faye Dunaway, James Farentino, Pedro Armendáriz Jr.

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Faye Dunaway	...	Eva 'Evita' Duarte Peron
James Farentino	...	Gen. Juan Peron
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Cypriano Reyes
Michael Constantine	...	Jaime Yankelevich
Signe Hasso	...	Fedora
Katy Jurado	...	Doña Juana
Jeremy Kemp	...	German official
John Van Dreelen	...	Capt. von Weber
Robert Viharo	...	Juan Duarte
Kai Wulff	...	Lt .Frick
Rita Moreno	...	Renata Riguel
José Ferrer	...	Agustin Magaldi
Peter Bromilow	...	Capt. Gayado
Jon Cypher	...	Col. Imbert
Severn Darden	...	Alfredo Suero

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

based on book | based on true story | character name in title

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 February 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Evita Peron: I zoi mou

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hartwest Productions, Zephyr Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

200 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rita Moreno's character of Renata Riguel is based on the famous Argentine actress/singer Libertad Lamarque, who was rumored to have been at war with the real Eva Perón back when the latter pursued an acting career in the early to mid 1940s. Lamarque later went into self-imposed exile in Mexico after Eva became the First Lady of Argentina in 1945.

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Goofs

The real Augustin Magaldi died when he was only 39, so he would be only in his mid-thirties when the story takes place. He also toured with his own guitar and never had a back-up band and tacky background dancers.

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Connections

Featured in The 33rd Annual Emmy Awards (1981)

User Reviews

Surprising Performance by Farentino

Yes, many of the clichés about Eva Peron are presented here and certainly there are errors of historical detail.

While Faye Dunnaway overacts, there is a pleasantly restrained interpretation of the role of Juan Peron by a youngish Jim Farentino, who passed away early in 2012. He makes the Colonel seem rather likable: an easygoing, mildly dissolute, somewhat corruptible and none too ambitious army officer in whom the fiercely ambitious Evita saw possibilities.

Juan Peron completely lacked his wife's bitter vindictiveness, also.

In an iconic scene it was Evita who advised him to take off his jacket when addressing a crowd of union workers in Argentina's important meat packing industry, transforming the previously stiff and awkward Colonel to a man of the people and the people to his devoted followers.