1 9 5 7 (1st) / 'Metido a bacana' / Yvonne de Carlo / 'Garotas e samba' / 'The girl can't help it' /

 

6 January 1957 - Five years after the success of 'O Cangaceiro', Milton Ribeiro still rode on that wave...in 'A lei do sertão'.  

10 February 1957 - coming up 'Samba na Vila' with comedians Simplicio at Cines Republica and Marabá on the 20th. Songs and multiples singes like Angela Maria, João Dias, Trio de Ouro, Gilda de Barros etc.

24 February 1957 - Herbert Richers' 'Metido a bacana' starring comedian Ankito who seemed to have won the public's favours after he substituted older comedian Oscarito in the duo with Grande Otelo. Angela Maria 'Rainha da cor', Cauby Peixoto ('Ela foi fundada'), Dora Lopes who rarely appeared in the movies sings 'Maria Navalha', plus Carlos Galhardo, Dircinha & Linda Baptista, Jorge Veiga and Nelson Gonçalves. 

24 February 1957 - at Cine Rio on Rua da Consolação and Cine Jardim, on Rua Fradique Coutinho in Pinheiros, 'Rock, rock, rock' with Tuesday Weld as a 13-year old who can't persuade her dad to buy her a strapless gown and has to get money herself in time for the prom. Performances introduced by New York's WINS D.J. Alan Freed, Chuck Berry, LaVern Baker, Teddy Randazzo, Connie Francis, the Moonglows, the Flamingos and the Teenagers with Frankie Lymon as a lead-singer. 

24 February 1957 - Universal studio's 'The desert hawk' (O gavião do deserto) with Yvonne de Carlo (real name Margaret Yvonne Middleton, born in Vancouver, Canada) the Queen of Technicolor adventure movies.

3rd March 1957 -  Carlos Manga's 'Garotas e samba' had all the ingridients for a successful Brazilian musical comedy: comedian Zé Trindade's sexual innuendos, show-girl Sonia Mamede's zany behaviour, ugly-duckling Zezé Macedo's platitudes and a lot of singers and songs to fill out the flimsy plot. See the staggering number of movie houses showing the flick and you'll see that it was a big hit no matter how disparaging columnist wrote about it. 

12 May 1957 - 20th Century-Fox presents curvaceous (curvilínea) Jayne Mansfield to the world in 'The girl can't help it' ('Sabes o que quero') that would figure in rock-movie history. See the line-up: Julie London, Ray Anthony, Fats Domino, the sensational Platters, Little Richard & his band, Nino Tempo, Gene Vincent & the Blue Caps etc.

1 9 5 7 (2nd) 'Trapeze' / 'Marcelino' / 'A doutora é muito viva' / 'Zwei blaue Augen'

 

7 July 1957 - Eurides Ramos' 'O barbeiro que se vira' an obvious pun on 'O barbeiro de Sevilha' (The barber of Seville) does excellent business for the 2nd week straight. TV clown Arrelia teams up with Eliana Macedo, Brazil's answer to Mary Pickford, plus a young Paulo Goulart & others. 

7 July 1957 - The ad says: The most beautiful woman in the world (Lollobrigida) in the most sensational show on earth. Brazilians fell in love with 'Trapeze' (Trapezio). It's one of those movies that were constantly being re-released up to the mid-1960s. 

21st July 1957 - angelic Pier Angeli becomes a downright slut in 'Pecadoras de Porto Africa' (Port Afrique) while Gianna Maria Canale plays 'Teodora, Imperatriz de Bizâncio' (Theodora, Slave Empress).

Theodora accepts caresses from slave women... 

28 July 1957 - Alberto Ruschel, Luigi Picchi, Fada Santoro, Francisco Negrão & Rubens de Falco star in 'O Capaganga', directed by Alberto Severi, on Cine Art Palácio, Bandeirantes etc.

Alberto Ruschel, Luigi Picchi & Fada Santoro.

18 August 1957 - a western tailor-made for Yvonne De Carlo & Rory Calhaoun 'Raw edge' (Onda de paixões) looks really 'raw' by its stills...

Miss DeCarlo & Rory Calhoun collect pines in the wild; Calhoun & DeCarlo have a laugh after shooting. 

Yvonne De Carlo being passionate with Calhoun; DeCarlo being rough-handed by Tex Kirby.

23rd September 1957 - Helio Souto plays 'Dioguinho', a dangerous outlaw who lived in the state of São Paulo. Based on a book by João Amoroso Netto.

9 October 1957 - even Mexicans made films about rock'n'roll and juvenile delinquents to export to other Latin American countries. 1956's 'Caras novas' (Caras nuevas) was just another vehicle for Sergio Corona & Alfonso Arau (Corona y Arau) Mexico's answer to USA's Jerry Lewis & Dean Martin.  

10 November 1957 - Ladislao Vajda's 'Marcelino pan y vino' was in its 8th smashing week having premiered on 15th September 1957 at Cine Normandie on Avenida Rio Branco. 

10 November 1957 - England's answer to USA's Jayne Mansfield, France's Brigitte Bardot and Italy's Sophia Loren was Diana Dors (sexo & talento)... in 'A vergonha de ser profana' which translates as 'The shame of being profane, sacriligeous, desrespectful...).

10 November 1957 - Italo-American Annamaria Pier Angeli was at her peak in 'Somebody up there likes me' (Marcado pela sarjeta) with Paul Newman. The ad was paid by Perfumaria do Farto - Farto Perfumary - no, please Farto is only a proper name in Portuguese... nothing to do with fart in English. Looking at the Farto ad one would have the impression that Pier Angeli would be at the perfume-shop in person but this is not true. Pier Angeli visited Brazil but not at this particular time. 

20 November 1957 - top box-office Brazilian actress Eliana in Ferenc Fekete's 'A doutora é muito viva'. Eliana was director Watson Macedo's own niece who starred in most of his flicks. This time though Eliana Macedo moved to Sao Paulo to make this a very Paulista movie. She plays the part of a lawyer (doutora, as Brazilians call their lawyers 'doctors') who is really clever and not to be taken advantage of. Watch the casting for Rachel Martins, lovely Luely Figueiró, Italian comedian Otelo Zeloni and Francisco Negrão as Eliana's romantic counterpart.

7 February 1958 - 'A Tribuna de Santos' - 'A doutora é muito viva' continues its success in Santos-SP.

4 December 1957 - comedian Colé stars in 'Um pirata do outro mundo' (A pirate from another world); musical numbers with Portuguese crooner Esther de Abreu, Rogeria, Conjunto Farroupilha, Trio de Ouro & Raul de Barros.

11 December 1957 - yet another flick starring Carequinha & Fred, a duo of clowns and their zany antics. See stunning Adalgisa Colombo who went on to become Miss Brazil 1958 and then runner up to Miss Universe 1958. Angela Maria and Cauby Peixoto were indeed the most popular singers in the country.

11 December 1957 - Cine Boulevard , on Rua Antonio de Godoy, 83, opens its brand-new doors to the public. 

11 December 1957 - Ads from companies & factories that furnished the newest cinema in town: Cine Boulevard. 

11 December 1957 - a brand-new movie house; Cine Boulevard - Cinema de Elite - opens for those patrons who appreciate a good European movie with Italian 'Donatella'; Cine Boulevard was actually refurbished from old Cine Paratodos that had shut its doors in December 1956.

15 December 1957 - circus clowns Carequinha & Fred star in 'Com água na boca' with Adalgiza Colombo, future Miss Brazil 1958, in a supporting role. Musical numbers written by Jair Amorim, Lourival Faissal, Dunga, Patame and Assis Valente, who would kill himself with a massive dose of poison diluted in soft-drink on 6 March 1958. 

29 December 1957 - São Paulo was a cultural melting pot circa 1957: German tear-jerker 'Zwei blaue Augen' (Dois olhos azuis) with Marianne Koch would draw crowds to Cine Bandeirantes for the 3rd week; Argentine tango singer Hugo del Carril's 'Más allá del olvido' (Além do esquecimento) was at Cine Marabá; British Alec Guiness went to France and fell in love with Odile Versois in 'To Paris with love' (Nossa querida Paris) while Austria's 1956's 'Konprinz Rudolfs lezte Liebe' (Os amantes de Mayerling) with Rudolf Prack & Christiane Hörbiger at Cine Boulevard. Cine Olido had been just inaugurated on 13 December 1957, with blockbuster 'An affair to remember' (Tarde demais para esquecer) with Cary Grant & Deborah Kerr.

Impresario Walter Pinto who thought of himself as the Brazilian counterpart of Flo Ziegfeld called his yearly extravaganza 'Folias de 1957'; 'É de xupurito' written by himself, Luis Iglesias, Max Nunes & J.Maia with a millionaire cast Walter D'Avila, Nelia Paula, Zeloni, Lilian Fernandes, Paulo Celestino, with Vicente Paiva's musical direction.

29 December 1957 - Comedienne Dercy Gonçalves was popular either in person or in the silver screen with 'Uma certa Lucrecia' which opened at an staggering 27 cinemas around the city. Lucrecia Borggia was a popular character in Brazilians' subconscious minds. Lucrecia and her wanton father peopled common people's sexual fantasies and Miss Gonçalves knew how to make that become a lot of dough in the box offices. Beautiful Odete Lara heads a mighty cast with bad-man Aurelio Teixeira, theatre virtuoso Eugenio Kusnet & Walter Stuart.

29 December 1957 - after being inaugurated on 11 December 1957, 'Kronprinz Rudolfs lezte Liebe' (Os amantes de Mayerling) is only the second film exhibited by the new projectors of Cine Boulevard on Rua Antonio de Godoy. 

'Donatella' with Elsa Martinelli & Walter Chiari at Cine Boulevard; 'The Halliday Brand' (Odio contra odio) with Viveca Lindfors & Joseph Cotten at Cine Opera.

'Zwei blaue Augen' (Dois olhos azuis) at Cine Bandeirantes; 'Tammy & the bachelor' (A flor do pântano) with Debbie Reynolds & Leslie Nielsen at Cine Ipiranga.

1 9 4 9 'Pinguinho de Gente'. 'Também somos irmãos'

 

18 June 1950 - 'A Tribuna' de Santos - 'Pinguinho de Gente' (Little child) released on 2nd October 1949, written and directed by Gilda de Abreu, with Anselmo Duarte, Vera Nunes, Isabel de Barros, Lucia Delor, Violeta Ferraz, Zaquia Jorger etc. Nini (Isabel de Barros) dreams of a doll that resembles a queen living in a toy store window. She knows she will never be able to own it, as her mother (Vera Nunes) hardly makes ends meet. 

2nd October 1949 - Gilda de Abreu's 'Um Pinguinho de Gente' produced by Adhemar Gonzaga premiere in Rio de Janeiro in 1949. 

5 March 1950 - José Carlos Burle's 'Também somos irmãos' with Grande Otelo, Vera Nunes, Ruth de Souza, Aguinaldo Camargo, Jorge Doria, Agnaldo Rayol, Átila Iório, Jece Valadão. Released in 1949. 

1 9 5 0 - 'Caiçara'

 

'CAIÇARA' - palisade around an indigenous village, to protect against enemies or animals - is Vera Cruz's first classic, produced in 1950, by Alberto Cavalcanti, directed by Adolfo Celi, Tom Payne andJohn Waterhouse, starring Eliane Lage, known as Brazilian Greta Garbo.  

Summary: "Marina (Eliana Lage) is the daughter of lepers and lives in a hospice, from where she is taken by Zé Amaro (Abílio Pereira de Almeida), a widower boat builder in Ilhabela, where they'll live after getting married. Her new life only brings her heartbreak: her husband binges on booze and she is the object of lust by the men around. Her only comfort is a boy Chico (Oswaldo Eugênio), whose grandmother, Sinhá Felicidade (Maria Joaquina da Rocha) is adept at witchcraft and becomes her advisor. Marina's plight only gets worse when Manoel (Carlos Vergueiro) her husband's partner, tries to rape her. Her predicament only changes after Zé Amaro dies. Soon, Alberto (Mário Sergio), a sailor arrives in town, falls in love with Marina and she finally finds true love. 

Santos' 'A Tribuna' review of Alberto Cavalcanti's 'Caiçara' on 18 November 1950.

'Caiçara' shown at Cine Atlântico on 10 January 1951.

1 9 5 2 July to December - 'Dark City', Cine Monark, 'Appassionata', 'Simão, o caolho'

 

10 August 1952 - brand-new Portuguese production of 1952 - 'Madragôa' reaches Rio de Janeiro first where  - according to the ad - it was a big hit. A love story set in Madragoa, a popular district in Lisbon.

10 August 1952 - At Cine S.Bento: 'The great Missouri raid' (A vingança de Jesse James); 1950's 'Dark city' (Cidade negra) a firm noir in which Charlton Heston, future Moses & Ben Hur makes his debut in the movies; 1937 Republic serial: 'Zorro rides again' (A volta de El Zorro) completes the scene. 

'A vingança de Jesse James' (The great Missouri raid).

Charlton Heston, Viveca Lindfors, Lizabeth Scott & Dean Jagger.

17 August 1952 - a 1948 production 'Serra Brava' is back at Cine Broadway, starring Leonor Maia & Antonio de Souza, directed by Armando Miranda who brought us 'Capas Negras' in 1947. 

17 August 1952 - 'Mulher maldita' (Another man's poison') is Bette Davis follow up to 'All about Eve' that had brought her stardom back after a few year on the wane... and a brand-new husband Gary Merrill...  

21 August 1952 - 'Mulher maldita' (Another man's poison) opens Cine Monark on 21 August 1952, located at Avenida Brigadeiro Luiz Antonio, 886. Cine Monark shut down shop circa 1965 and was rented by TV Tupi that used it as its downtown auditorium for a decade. 

21 August 1952 - another brand-new cinema will open in Sao Paulo downtown area: Cine Joia at Pça.Carlos Gomes. 

10 September 1952 - Vera Cruz kept on releasing good films. 'Appassionata' had Tonia Carrero divided between the charms of two leading hunks: Anselmo Duarte and Alberto Ruschel. See playwright Abilio Pereira de Almeida playing an actor's part. 

Tonia Carrero & Anselmo Duarte.

Cine Joia inaugurates on 10 September 1952.   

28 September 1952 - another movie house opens its doors to the public... Cine Roma, Rua da Mooca, 617 and Rua Placidina. 

28 September 1952 - at S.Bento Johnny Weismüller is Junge Jim for the 4th time in 1950 'Captive girl' (Lagoa dos mortos) with former 'Flash Gordon' star Buster Crabbe & the Jungle Girl Anita Lhoest; child-actress Margaret O'Brien in 1951's 'Her first romance' (Idade da inocência); then 1943 Republic serial 'Secret Service in darkest Africa' (Adaga de Salomão) with Rod Cameron and Joan Marsh. 

Anita Lhoest & a dangerous friend; Buster Crabbe in the Olympics in 1928.

Johnny Weissmüller in 1924; Kay Aldridge in 1942.

28 September 1952 - 

12 October 1952 - yet another brand-new cinema house is opened in São Paulo: Cine Leblon, on Rua Vergueiro, 934, would show films produced by MGM. See the ad with cables congratulation Cine Leblon's inauguration received from the U.S.A. sent from such stars as Howard Keel, Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, Robert Taylor, Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor. 

12 October 1952 - David O.Selznick presents 'The 3rd man' (O 3o. homem) based on a Graham Greene novel. Haunting music provided by Anton Karas and his zither. Vera Cruz's 'Nadando em dinheiro' with Mazzaroppi would open on 27 October 1952. 

9 November 1952 - Bibi Ferreira in Clemence Danes' 'Divorcio' at Teatro Colombo; Dercy Gonçalves in 'Paris de 1900' at Teatro Santana. Maria Antonieta Pons in the flesh at Cine Broadway with 'Maria Cristina'. 

9 November 1952 - Walter Wanger's 1945 production 'Salome, where she danced' (A irresistivel Salomé) was Canadian bombshell Yvonne De Carlo's breakthrough at the silver screen.

1st December 1952 - Even though Cine Coliseu, in Santos-SP, premiered Alberto Cavalcanti's 'Simão, o caolho' on 12 January 1952, this comedy was first shown in São Paulo on the 1st day of December 1952. 

Alberto Cavalcanti directed Mesquitinha, Rachel Martins, Isaura Bruno, Carlos Araújo, Nair Bello, Gessy Fonseca & a great cast in a story based on chronicles written by Galeão Coutinho. 

gorgeous Yvonne De Carlo.

7 December 1952 - at Cine S.Bento double-feature: 1944's 'Berlim na batucada'; 1933's Laurel & Hardy's 'Desert sons' (Os filhos do deserto) and a Republic serial made in 1944 'O porto fantasma' (Haunted harbor) with Kane Richmond & Kay Aldridge who had been the star of  1942's 'The perils of Nyoka'. 

Kay Aldridge in all kinds of perils in the 1944 serial 'Haunted harbor'.

7 December 1952 - a 1944 musical directed by Luiz de Barros, 'Berlim na batucada' is back on the silver-screen 8 years later due to Francisco Alves' automobile-crash and instant death on 27 September 1952, on the S.Paulo-Rio highway.  Chico Viola's body was charred and greatly shocked the whole country. His weekly broadcast on midday Sunday at Radio Nacional was sadly missed and his songs were played non-stop for weeks. Brazil was in mourning for months... 

21st December 1952 - Oscarito stars in 1946's 'Fantasma por acaso' with a very young Mary Gonçalves who would turn into a singer in the 1950s.