''Suburban Melody'' (Spanish: ''Melodía de arrabal'') is a 1933 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

directed by

Louis J. Gasnier Louis Joseph Gasnier (September 15, 1875 – February 15, 1963) was a French-American film director, producer, screenwriter and stage actor. A cinema pioneer, Gasnier shepherded the early career of comedian Max Linder, co-directed the enormously ...

and starring

Imperio Argentina María Magdalena Nile del Río (26 December 1906 – 22 August 2003) was an Argentine professional singer and movie actress, better known as Imperio Argentina; she became a citizen of Spain in 1999. María Magdalena Nile del Río was born ...

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 ...

and

Vicente Padula Vicente Padula (July 14, 1898 – January 16, 1967) was an Argentine film actor. Padula moved to the United States, and appeared regularly in Hollywood films. He also made films in Mexico. Padula was a friend of the Argentine film star Carlos Gard ...

. The film was made at the

Joinville Studios The Joinville Studios were a film studio in Paris which operated between 1910 and 1987. They were one of the leading French studios, with major companies such as Pathé and Gaumont Film Company, Gaumont making films there. A second studio was a ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, who produced a large number of films in different languages at the studios. The film was made in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, primarily for release in Spanish-speaking countries. Carlos Gardel appeared in a string of such productions during the 1930s. The film was extremely popular in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, the native country of its three stars, where it was one of the highest-grossing releases.Finkielman p. 183

Synopsis

After she hears his voice, a music teacher encourages a gambler to pursue a career as a professional singer. He enjoys success, but his former criminal connections threaten to wreck his progress.

Cast

as Alina *

as Roberto Ramírez *

as Gutiérrez * Jaime Devesa as Rancales *

Helena D'Algy Helena D'Algy (1906 - ?) was a Portuguese stage and film actress. D'Algy performed on Broadway in the ''Ziegfeld Follies of 1923'' and ''The Sex Fable'' (1931). She appeared in 20 films, the majority in Hollywood during the silent era. Her care ...

as Marga

References

Bibliography

* Bentley, Bernard. ''A Companion to Spanish Cinema''. Boydell & Brewer, 2008. * Finkielman, Jorge. ''The Film Industry in Argentina: An Illustrated Cultural History''. McFarland, 2003. * Nataša Durovicová, Kathleen E. Newman. ''World Cinemas, Transnational Perspectives''. Routledge, 2010.

External links

* 1933 films American musical films 1933 musical films 1930s Spanish-language films Spanish-language American films Films directed by Louis J. Gasnier Paramount Pictures films Films shot at Joinville Studios American black-and-white films 1930s American films Films scored by Marcel Lattès Films scored by Raoul Moretti {{musical-film-stub