The Mexican Film Industry (1940 – 1950)

Number of films created

• 1940: 27
• 1940: 124

Mexican society

• increased political stability
  • Camacho (40 – 46)
  • Valdés (46 – 52)
• Rapid industrialisation & modernisation
• Strong economic growth (the “Mexican Miracle”)
• Shift of demographics from rural to urban areas

Mexican/US Relations

• Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, est. 1940
  • Mexico receives film stock, filmmaking equipment, and production support from US govt.
• WWII provides numerous opportunities for the growth of Mexican (film) industry

With onset of WW2 , Mexican industry has:

• decreased composition
• increased US support for film industry
• economic opportunity
• a growing audience at home and abroad
• unprecedented political stability and state support

To close “gloss gap” Mexico’s film industry adapted the Hollywood filmmaking model including:

• a studio system featuring marketable stars
• powerful producers
• recognisable genres
• well developed exhibition and distribution networks
• conventions of editing and storytelling

Mexican cinema and the state (40 – 45)

• Government enforced mandatory exhibition of Mexican films in all Mexican theatres.
• 41: implemented first censorship regulations in 20 years
  • all foreign films must be dubbed or subtitled in spanish
  • images deemed ‘offensive’ to Mexico were banned
• 42: Banco Cinematografico, a public/private partnership to fund film production
• 43: World’s leading Spanish-language cinema
  • Mexican films, starts, and genres popular across Latin America, Spain, and in the USA
  • Mexican studio films commonly idealised the Mexican nation, its people, and its customs. I.E. “Indianist” cinema

Dir. Emilio “El Indio” Fernandez

• Indian heritage, worked as an actor in Hollywood
• Often collaborated with Figueroa
• Known for films that idealised the Mexican countryside and indigenous people

Genres

• Melodrama prevalent
• ‘Cantinflas’ nonsense language poked fun at Mexican society and institutions.
• Mario Moreno: the Charlie Chaplin of Mexico

Mexican cinema and the state (45 – 50)

• After WWII, faces several challenges
  • Decreased demand, and assistance
  • Increased competition
• Govt. responds with subsidies and strengthened protectionism
  • 46: Cinema exempt from income tax
  • 47: State begins buying theatres and studios from US investors

Postwar Genres

• Darker side of Mexico’s modernisation
  • Nightclubs, brothels, city streets
  • Female protagonist ensnared by urban life
  • Mix of Noir, melodrama, and musical

45<, state subsidies/ protectionism contributed to a growing crisis in national film industry

• FPWU “closed door policy” prevented new talent from entering industry
• BNC policies encourages production of cheap, formulaic films