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

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

musical film 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 inte ...

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 making films there. A second studio was added to the original ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, 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 Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

, 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 ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

, 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 (born Antónia Lozano Guedes Infante; 18 June 1906 – after 1991) was a Portuguese film actress. She appeared in 20 films, the majority in Hollywood during the silent era. Her career began to falter following the introduction of s ...

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 {{musical-film-stub