Alberto de Zavalia (4 May 1911 – 7 May 1988 in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

and film producer notable for his work during the classical era of Argentine cinema.

Biography

De Zavalía was born in Buenos Aires to a middle-class, well-off family. He completed

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

but never worked as a lawyer, instead dedicating himself to movie-making, an industry that was then thriving. In 1935, he co-founded with

Luis Saslavsky Luis Saslavsky (April 21, 1903 – March 20, 1995) was an Argentine film director, screenwriter and film producer, notable for his work during the classical era of Argentine cinema. Personal life Saskavsky was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argenti ...

the producer SIFAL, which disbanded that very same year, but each of its founders managed to debut as filmmakers: De Zavalía directed ''

Escala en la ciudad ''Escala en la ciudad'' (''A stop in the city'') is a 1935 Argentine film directed and written by Alberto De Zavalia with Carlos Aden. It was produced by SIFAL, a production company run by de Zavalia and his partner Luis Saslavsky, during the G ...

'', which he also wrote, while Saslavsky directed his second and most famous movie, ''

Crimen a las tres ''Crimen a las tres'' is a 1935 Argentine crime film from the Golden Age of Argentine cinema. It was directed and written by Luis Saslavsky Luis Saslavsky (April 21, 1903 – March 20, 1995) was an Argentine film director, screenwriter and film ...

''. De Zavalía went on to writer and direct '' The Caranchos of Florida'' in 1938, but came to prominence in 1939 when he was asked to adapt a biography of the recently deceased

Carlos Gardel Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential inter ...

to the screen, starring

Hugo del Carril Pierre Bruno Hugo Fontana, otherwise known as Hugo del Carril (30 November 1912 – 13 August 1989), was an Argentine film actor, film director and tango singer of the Golden Age of Argentine cinema. Early life Born in Buenos Aires, del Ca ...

. It was during production that he met actress

Delia Garcés Delia Amadora García Gerboles better known as Delia Garcés (; 13 October 1919 – 7 November 2001) was an Argentine film actress of the Golden Age of Argentine cinema, making almost 30 appearances in film between 1937 and 1959. She also acted ...

, who went on to become her wife and starred in most of his films then on. De Zavalía directed another 12 movies throughout his career, also writing the last two. He retired in 1950 from movie business, and died in 1988.

Filmography

*''El Otro yo de Marcela'' (1950) *''La Doctora quiere tangos'' (1949) *''De padre desconocido'' (1949) *''El Hombre que amé'' (1947) *''Rosa de América'' (1946) *''El Gran amor de Bécquer'' (1946) * (1944) *''Cuando florezca el naranjo'' (1943) *'' Malambo'' (1942) *''Concierto de almas'' (1942) *''20 años y una noche'' (1941) *''La Maestrita de los obreros'' (1941) *''Dama de compañía'' (1940) *'' The Life of Carlos Gardel'' (1939) *'' The Caranchos of Florida'' (1938) *''

'' (1935)

External links

* 1911 births 1988 deaths Argentine film directors Argentine film producers {{Argentina-film-director-stub