Calabuch (1956)

Synopsis

Tired of working on the construction of atomic bombs and alarmed by the destructive scope of his discovery, an American scientist of international prestige flees his country and takes refuge in anonymity in a placid village on the Mediterranean coast called Calabuch. Once there, the professor is mistaken for an accomplice of a smuggler, and is arrested by the Guardia Civil and locked up in a dungeon.

Without intending to, the scientist, who is taken for a kindly and undocumented vagabond, and renamed Jorge, becomes fully integrated into the life of Calabuch. He befriends the peculiar inhabitants, helps them solve their problems and takes part in all kinds of activities. He shows films with the old cinematograph, helps the teacher at the little school and, when the patron saint’s day festivities come round, he ends up doing what he does best, building rockets and fireworks that soar to heights never before seen in the region. It is precisely these rockets that alert the international authorities to the location of the missing scientist.

When the American fleet arrives to investigate, all the inhabitants of the village, from the teacher to the father, the brigade and the smuggler, join forces to prevent the rescue. Even so, Jorge knows that it is useless to oppose and finally decides to leave of his own free will, without offering resistance and aware that he has won the friendship and appreciation of all of Calabuch.

Technical specifications

Production: Águila Films (Madrid) – Films Costellazione (Rome).

Directed by: Luis García Berlanga.

Script: Leonardo Martín.

Script: Leonardo Martín, Florentino Soria, Ennio Flaiano and Luis García Berlanga.

Photography: Francisco Sempere (B/W).

Music: Guido Guerrini [according to some sources, Angelo Francesco Lavagnino].

Editing: Pepita Orduña.

Set designer: Román Calatayud.

General production manager: José Jerez Aloza.

Assistant director: Leonardo Martín.

Continuity: Lucía Martín.

Second operator: Miguel Agudo.

Still photographer: Manuel Beringola.

Production assistant: Luis Méndez Amago.

Assistant: Enrique Carlos Jerez.

Make-up: José Luis Ruiz.

Hairdresser: Esperanza Paradela.

Make-up assistant: Manuel F. Gaitán.

Sound chief: Jaime Torrens.

Assistant editor: Alicia Castillo.

Decoration assistant: Bernardo Ballester.

Assistant directors: Giménez i Pérez Puig.

Furniture and props: Mateos-Luna-Mengíbar.

Costumes: Peris Hermanos.

Set designer: Francisco Prósper.

Studios: Sevilla Films, S.A. (Madrid).

Music editing: Elle.

Sound system: RCA.

Pyrotechnics: Luis Bronchu (Valencia).

Laboratories: Ballesteros (Madrid).

Cast

Edmund Gwenn (Jorge Hamilton)

Valentina Cortese (Eloísa, la mestra)

Juan Calvo (Matías)

Franco Fabrizzi (el Langosta)

José Isbert (don Ramón)

José Luis Ozores (torero)

Félix Fernández (capellà)

Nicolás Perchicot (Andrés)

Mario Berriatúa (Juan)

Francisco Bernal (Crescencio)

María Vico (Teresa)

Isa Ferreriro (Carmen)

Manuel Guitián (don Leonardo)

Casimiro Hurtado (Antonio)

Pedro Beltrán (Fermín)

Manuel Alexandre (Vicente, el pintor)

Lolo García (Felipe).

Awards received

Grand Prix of the International Catholic Film Office (OCIC) at the Venice Film Festival.

Best Original Plot, Best Supporting Actor (Juan Calvo) and Best Foreign Actor in a Spanish Film (Edmund Gwenn) at the Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos.

Second prize for best film from the Sindicato Nacional del Espectáculo.

Awards for Best Supporting Actor (Juan Calvo) and Best Screenplay from the Sindicato Nacional del Espectáculo.

Additional information

Premiere date: 1 October 1956.

Official rating: National Interest.

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