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Nobleza gaucha (1915 film)
Nobleza gaucha ("Gaucho Nobility") is a 1915 Argentine silent film, loosely based on the Martin Fierro by Jose Hernandez and Santos Vega by Rafael Obligado. It was directed by Eduardo Martinez de la Pera, who shared credit with Humberto Cairo, the producer, and Ernesto Gunche, the cinematographer.
Synopsis
Don Jose Gran, a rich businessman from Buenos Aires, travels to La Pampa in search for horses. He hires Juan, a noble gaucho that tames horses for a living, to aid him in his search. On that very day, Juan rescues a damsel in distress, Maria, from a crazed horse. Don Jose Gran then kidnaps Maria and goes back to Buenos Aires with her. Juan decides to go uptown and rescue her; a fellow ranchhand, Don Genaro, tags along.
Juan and Don Genaro try to go by cart to Buenos Aires, but the vehicle gets stuck, so they take the train instead. Once in Buenos Aires, they ask for directions and end up chasing a fleeing streetcar that takes them all the way to Gran's mansion. Don Genaro gets in trouble for smoking in the streetcar, and decides not to be involved in Maria's rescue, preferring instead to go shopping for supplies. Juan infiltrates the mansion and waits for Don Gran to arrive; he then fights him and overpowers him. Maria, who had been previously assaulted by Gran, is supposed dead by Juan and mourns her.
As Maria wakes up, Gran creeps up behind Juan, ready to kill him, but Juan blocks the stab and overcomes him once more. As he is about to kill him, Maria stops him, claiming that a gaucho would never kill a defenseless man. They escape the mansion and happily board the train home. The last shot shows Don Genaro on his way to the train, loosing his step and scattering the supplies over the street. He picks them up, waving young boys away, and picks his way up. The film ends.
Reception
Nobleza gaucha was director de la Pera's debut in cinema. The film was made roughly with $20,000 in budget. The film earned about $1,000,000 upon its release, resulting in the highest-grossing Argentine film of its times. Using the money earned, de la Pera went on to make his second (and last) film in 1916, Hasta despues de la muerte ("Until After Death"). The movie did poorly and caused de la Pera to retire.
Since then, the movie has spanned a series of remakes, most notable of which is the 1937 remake, directed by Francisco Mugica.
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Nobleza gaucha (1915 film)
