''Sombrero'' is a 1953 American

musical romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

directed by

Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

and starring

Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG (; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for performances in a var ...

, Pier Angeli,

Vittorio Gassman Vittorio Gassman (; born Gassmann; 1 September 1922 – 29 June 2000), popularly known as , was an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. He is considered one of the greatest Italian actors, whose career includes both important productions ...

and

Cyd Charisse Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American actress and dancer. After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilit ...

Plot

Three couples involved in budding romances are caught in the middle of a feud between two Mexican villages.

Cast

Production

The film was based on the 1945 book ''Mexican Village'' by Josefina Niggli. It was a collection of 11 short stories set in the north Mexican town of Hidalgo. ''The New York Times'' called it "remarkable...one of the finest books about Mexico." In June 1951, MGM announced they had bought the screen rights as a "possible vehicle for Ricardo Montalbán" and assigned Jack Cummings to produce. In July, Norman Foster was signed to direct and co-write the script with Niggli; the cast was Montalbán,

and

Fernando Lamas Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos (January 9, 1915 – October 8, 1982) was an Argentine-American actor and director, and the father of actor Lorenzo Lamas. Biography Argentina Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos was born in Buenos Aires, Arg ...

, plus one American –

Joseph Cotten Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' and ''Sabr ...

Wendell Corey Wendell Reid Corey (March 20, 1914 – November 8, 1968) was an American actor and politician. He was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was a board member of the Screen Actors Guild. Biography Early years Corey was ...

and

John Hodiak John Hodiak ( ; April 16, 1914 – October 19, 1955) was an American actor who worked in radio, stage and film. Early life Hodiak was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Anna (Pogorzelec) and Walter Hodiak. He was of Ukrainian and ...

were the favorites for this. (Both Cummins and Foster had made movies in Mexico.) Eventually the role of an American character was removed. Niggli and Foster collaborated on the script over six months. In April 1952,

Cornel Wilde Cornel Wilde (born Kornél Lajos Weisz; October 13, 1912 – October 16, 1989) was a Hungarian-American actor and filmmaker. Wilde's acting career began in 1935, when he made his debut on Broadway. In 1936 he began making small, uncredited app ...

was being sought for a lead role. By this stage the title of the film had changed from ''Mexican Village'' to ''Sombrero''. Vittorio Gassman, Pier Angeli and

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...

joined the cast; it was Gassman's second American film after ''

The Glass Wall ''The Glass Wall'' is a 1953 American drama film noir directed by Maxwell Shane and starring Vittorio Gassman and Gloria Grahame. The black-and-white film was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The title refers to a design feature o ...

''. Gardner dropped out in late April and was put on suspension by MGM (lifted when she agreed to make ''Mogambo''). Then Lamas refused to make the film because it meant going on location in Mexico; MGM suspended him until he agreed to star in ''

The Girl Who Had Everything ''The Girl Who Had Everything'' is a 1953 American romantic drama film directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Armande Deutsch for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film features William Powell in his last MGM feature and one of his last film roles b ...

''. By May, Yvonne de Carlo, Nina Foch and Kurt Kaznar joined the cast.

Rick Jason Rick Jason (born Richard Jacobson; May 21, 1923 – October 16, 2000) was an American actor, born in New York City, and most remembered for starring in the ABC television drama ''Combat!'' (1962–1967). Childhood An only child of Jewish parents ...

joined the cast (presumably replacing Lamas), making his film debut.

Dore Schary Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed just one feature film, '' Act One'', the film bio ...

said he expected Gassmann and Jason to become big stars. Filming started June 1952. The movie was shot on location in Mexico City, Cuernavaca, Tetecala and Tepoztln, Mexico.FOCUS ON 'SOMBRERO' BELOW THE BORDER By JOHN ROTHWELL ''New York Times'' 28 Sep 1952: X4. De Carlo did all her scenes with Gassman. "We got along wonderfully," she said. "He's a wonderful actor."YVONNE Marches on! Hopper, Hedda. ''Chicago Daily Tribune'' 5 Oct 1952: g9.

Reception

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $1,071,000 in the U.S. and Canada, and $1,389,000 in other markets, resulting in a profit of $592,000.

Proposed follow-up movie

In September 1952, before the film was released, MGM announced Foster would write a follow-up movie based on three or four other stories in the collection ''Mexican Village'' that were not used in ''Sombrero'', but no film was made.

References

External links

* * {{Norman Foster 1953 films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films set in Mexico 1950s romantic musical films American romantic musical films Films directed by Norman Foster Cockfighting in film 1950s English-language films 1950s American films