''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' is a

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

drama film made by Benedict Bogeaus Productions and released by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

. It was produced and directed by Rowland V. Lee with

Benedict Bogeaus Benedict Bogeaus (May 4, 1904, in Chicago – August 23, 1968, in Hollywood), was an independent film producer and former owner of General Service Studios. Biography and filmography Bogeaus' business career started when he was seventeen, workin ...

as co-producer. The screenplay by

Howard Estabrook Howard Estabrook (born Howard Bolles, July 11, 1884 – July 16, 1978) was an American actor, film director and producer, and screenwriter. Biography Born Howard Bolles in Detroit, Michigan, Howard Estabrook began his career in 1904 as a stag ...

and Herman Weissman was adapted from the novel ''

The Bridge of San Luis Rey ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' is American author Thornton Wilder's second novel. It was first published in 1927 to worldwide acclaim. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1928, and was the best-selling work of fiction that year. Premise ''The Bri ...

'' by

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...

. The music score was by

Dimitri Tiomkin Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (, ; May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian-born American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in St. Petersburg, Russia before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City ...

and the cinematography by John W. Boyle and an uncredited

John J. Mescall John J. Mescall, A.S.C. (January 10, 1899 – February 10, 1962) was an American cinematographer. He photographed such silent films as Ernst Lubitsch's ''The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg'' (1927), but he is best known for his work in the 1930 ...

. The film stars

Lynn Bari Lynn Bari (born Marjorie Schuyler Fisher, December 18, 1919 – November 20, 1989) was a film actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in roughly 150 films for 20th Century Fox, from the early 1930s through the 1940s. ...

Francis Lederer Francis Lederer (November 6, 1899 Prague – May 25, 2000) was an Austro-Hungarian Empire-born American film and stage actor with a successful career, first in Europe, then in the United States. His original name was Franz (Czech František) Le ...

, Akim Tamiroff,

Nazimova Alla Nazimova (Russian: Алла Назимова; born Marem-Ides Leventon, Russian: Марем-Идес Левентон; June 3 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._May_22.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>O ...

and

Louis Calhern Carl Henry Vogt (February 19, 1895 – May 12, 1956), known professionally as Louis Calhern, was an American stage and screen actor. Well known to film noir fans for his role as the pivotal villain in 1950's '' The Asphalt Jungle'', he was ...

's music was nominated for the Best Original Score.

Background and production

The film and novel are very loosely based on the real-life story of Micaela Villegas (1748-1819), a famous Peruvian entertainer known as ''La Perichole'', whose life was also the inspiration for the novella ''Le Carrosse du Saint-Sacrement'' by

Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, and one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, and a ...

; an ''

opéra bouffe Opéra bouffe (, plural: ''opéras bouffes'') is a genre of late 19th-century French operetta, closely associated with Jacques Offenbach, who produced many of them at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, inspiring the genre's name. Opéras bouff ...

'', ''

La Périchole ''La Périchole'' () is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote the French libretto based on the 1829 one act play '' Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement'' by Prosper Mérimée, which was revived o ...

'' by

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ' ...

; and Jean Renoir’s 1953 film '' Le Carrosse d'or'' (''The Golden Coach''). There was also an earlier

part-talkie A part-talkie is a partly, and most often primarily, silent film which includes one or more synchronous sound sequences with audible dialog or singing. During the silent portions, lines of dialog are presented as "titles"—printed text briefly ...

film version of ''

'' (1929) starring

Lili Damita Lili Damita (born Liliane Marie-Madeleine Carré; 10 July 1904 – 21 March 1994) was a French-American actress and singer who appeared in 33 films between 1922 and 1937. Early life and education Lili Damita was born Liliane Marie-Madeleine Car ...

. The film was remade once more in 2004 with the title ''

'' and starring F. Murray Abraham,

Kathy Bates Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actor and director. Known for her roles in comedic and dramatic films and television programs, she has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, includ ...

and

Pilar López de Ayala Pilar López de Ayala Arroyo (born 18 September 1978) is a Spanish actress. She won a Goya Award for Best Actress for her performance playing Joanna of Castile in 2001 film '' Mad Love''. Family Born in Madrid, López de Ayala has an older br ...

Plot

In the year of 1774, a hundred-year old bridge leading to the chapel of San Luis Rey in Peru, plunges into the deep chasm it spans, killing the five people who are crossing it. Brother Juniper (

Donald Woods Donald James Woods (15 December 1933 – 19 August 2001) was a South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the ''Daily Dispatch'', he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Biko, who was killed by police after ...

) is one of the chapel monks, whose faith is rocked by the unfortunate incident. He travels to Lima to seek answers to his questions why these five were chosen by God to die this violent death. In Lima, Brother Juniper talks to a well known local theatre figure called Uncle Pio ( Akim Tamiroff), and asks him about a famous actress, Micaela Villegas (

). Pio then starts telling the story of his encounter with Micaela and the unfortunate events leading up to the tragic accident. Years ago, when Micaela was working in Lima, she was in love with the bold, exciting Manuel (

). His twin brother, Esteban, loathed Micaela. When Manuel left for Spain, Pio became Micaela's mentor and helped her become an excellent actress, working for the Comedia Theater. Her celebrity and beauty attracted the viceroy Don Andre's (

) interest, and he asked her to pay him a private visit at his mansion. Just before Micaela is about to go to the viceroy, Manuel returns from his journey and instead of going to the viceroy, she spends the night with her beloved Manuel. Tension rises between the twin brothers when Manuel discovers all the letters Micaela has written to him, that Esteban neglected to forward to him. Esteban apologizes and feels guilt over what he has done, to the point that he is about to take his own life, but Manuel stops him from hanging himself. When Estaban has recovered, Manuel embarks on a new long journey. When Micaela once again is invited to the viceroy, she accepts the invitation. Because of the viceroy's interest in Micaela, the Marquesa Dona Maria (

) feels threatened and decides to get rid of her. The Marquesa pretends to be Micaela's friend to win her confidence, unlike the other prominent guests of the viceroy. This is the end of Uncle Pio's telling of the story. Juniper goes on to visit the Abbess (

Blanche Yurka Blanche Yurka (born Blanch Jurka, June 19, 1887 – June 6, 1974) was an American stage and film actress and director. She was an opera singer with minor roles at the Metropolitan Opera and later became a stage actress, making her Broadway debu ...

). She tells him about the Marquesa, whose daughter eloped to Spain and married a young aristocrat. The Marquesa confided her loneliness to the Abbess, and was recommended a young companion, an orphan named Pepita, whom the Marquesa ended up treating badly because of her own bitterness. Pio was also consulted by the Marquesa, about the viceroy and Micaela, but Pio doesn't have any information to give. The viceroy falls in love with Micaela, and Esteban warns her that the noblemen are scheming to get rid of her. Micaela is upset and turns to Pio for help, and he gives her a song to use during her performance at the castle. The lyrics tell of a scheme take over the throne, and the aristocrat audience is very offended. The viceroy forces Micaela to apologize, but the Marquesa realizes how stupid she has been and in turn apologizes to Micaela. She starts pondering over the human nature and of peoples ability to transform into something better, like Esteban and the Marquesa. Manuel returns from his travels as a captain, and asks Micaela to come with him. The viceroy enters when they embrace, and demands to see Manuel at his palace. Manuel is arrested that night, since the viceroy sees him as too much competition for Micaela. When the viceroy is asked to return to Spain again, he asks Micaela to accompany him. She refuses because of Manuel's incarceration. She begs Pio for help to free Manuel from prison, before going on a trip to the mountains with the viceroy and his following. Pio manages to set Manuel free, but he is interrogated by the viceroy afterwards. Pio advises the viceroy not to kill Manuel, since it will make him a martyr. Following this advice, Manuel is pardoned, and Pio brings the signed document to where Manuel is hiding, by the bridge to San Luis Rey. Soon after, the viceroy and his small following, including Micaela, the Marquesa, Pepita and their scribe Esteban, arrive at the bridge. The viceroy crosses the bridge to the other side, and is followed by the others. Just as Micaela is about to start crossing, Manuel turns up, stops and kisses her. She manages to take only one step on the bridge when it collapses, sending the viceroy, the Marquesa, Esteban, Pepita and another man to their deaths. Micaela is pulled away and saved by Manuel.

Cast

''as'' Micaela Villegas * Akim Tamiroff ''as'' Uncle Pio *

''as'' Esteban / Manuel *

''as'' Doña Maria *

''as'' Don Andre *

''as'' Brother Juniper *

''as'' The Abbess *

Emma Dunn Emma Dunn (26 February 1875 – 14 December 1966) was an English actress. After starting her acting career on stage in London, she became known for her works in numerous films and Broadway productions. Career Emma Dunn appeared onstage in ...

''as'' Doña Mercedes * Barton Hepburn ''as'' Don Rubio *

Joan Lorring Joan Lorring (born Madeline Ellis; April 17, 1926 – May 30, 2014) was an American actress and singer known for her work in film and theatre. For her role as Bessy Watty in ''The Corn Is Green'' (1945), Lorring was nominated for the Academy Aw ...

''as'' Pepita

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bridge Of San Luis Rey, The 1944 films American historical drama films 1940s historical drama films Films scored by Dimitri Tiomkin Films based on American novels American black-and-white films Films directed by Rowland V. Lee Films set in 1774 Films with screenplays by Howard Estabrook Films about bridges 1940s disaster films American disaster films 1944 drama films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films

Background and production

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links