José Antonio Nieves Conde (22 December 1911http://dbe.rah.es/biografias/45978/jose-antonio-nieves-conde José Antonio Nieves Conde. Diccionario biográfico español.

Real Academia de la Historia The Royal Academy of History (, RAH) is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of c ...

. Access 15 february 2020. in

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is located in the Meseta central, Inner Pl ...

Castilla y León Castile, Castille or Castilla may refer to: Places Spain * Castile (historical region), a vaguely defined historical region of Spain covering most of Castile and León, all of the Community of Madrid and most of Castilla–La Mancha * Kingdom o ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

– 14 September 2006) was a Spanish film maker, journalist, and

screenplay writer A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, the director of feature films such as ''Surcos'' 'Furrows''(1951), ''Angustia'' 'Anguish''(1947), and ''Balarrasa'' 'Reckless''(1951).

Biography

Nieves Conde, part of a large family and with a military father, was interested in film from the time he was a child. Upon finishing secondary school in Segovia, he began to study law in Madrid, joining the

Falange Española de las JONS The Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (; FE de las JONS) was a fascist political party founded in Spain in 1934 as merger of the Falange Española and the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista. FE de las JO ...

(Spanish Phalanx of the Councils of the National Syndicalist Offensive), a fascist political party, whose social ideology would have a profound impact on his cinematographic works. At the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, he joined the front as a voluntary Falangist as part of the Nationalist or Rebel faction, opposing the unification of the Falange and the Requetés decreed by Franco, allying himself in the Falangist faction with the "hedillistas" (supporters of Manuel Hedilla, the successor of

José Antonio Primo de Rivera José Antonio Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, 1st Duke of Primo de Rivera, 3rd Marquess of Estella GE (24 April 1903 – 20 November 1936), often referred to simply as José Antonio, was a Spanish fascist politician who founded the Falan ...

, at the head of the Falange that was opposed to the unification as decreed by Franco) and reaching the rank of Infantry Second Lieutenant. He did not complete his university studies. At the end of the war he returned to Segovia where he worked in the press and radio until he returned to Madrid to become a movie critic for the newspaper ''Pueblo.'' Between 1939 and 1942 he was an editor at the film magazine ''Primer Plano'' in charge of the section "Fuera de cuadro" (off-screen). A friend of Carlos Fernández-Cuenca, Luis Gómez Mesa, and

Rafael Gil Rafael Gil (22 May 1913 – 10 July 1986) was a Spanish film director and screenwriter. His film ''La guerra de Dios'' (1953) won the Bronze Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1953 and also won best film and best director at the San Sebastián ...

, he began to work professionally in film with Gil in 1941 as a directing assistant. He worked with Gil on five of his movies from 1941 to 1946, including ''Viaje sin destino'' 'Journey to Nowhere''(1942) and ''Tierra sedienta'' 'Thirsty Land''(1945). From 1942 onward he left ''Primer Plano'' and ''Pueblo''—seemingly over disagreements over its direction—and dedicated himself professionally to film.

Career

He directed his first film, ''Senda ignorada'' 'Unknown Path''(1946), a gangster movie set in the United States, in 1946. This was followed by ''Angustia'' 'Anguish''(1947), featuring Rafael Bardem and Julia Caba Alba, another crime film, which was declared of "national interest," and ''Llegada la noche'' 'Night Arrival''(1949), with a script from Carlos Blanco. In 1950 he directed '' Balarrasa'' 'Reckless''(1950) with a script from Vicente Escrivá and with actors such as

Fernando Fernán Gómez Fernando Fernández Gómez (28 August 1921 – 21 November 2007), better known as Fernando Fernán Gómez, was a Spanish actor, screenwriter, film director, theater director, novelist, and playwright. Prolific and outstanding in all these fiel ...

, María Rosa Salgado, Maruchi Fresno, Luis Prendes, and José Bódalo. This film was also categorized as being of national interest and is viewed as his first great popular and economic success. In 1950 he also co-directed '' Jack el negro'' 'Black Jack''with

Julien Duvivier Julien Duvivier (; 8 October 1896 – 29 October 1967) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930–1960. Amongst his most original films, chiefly notable are ''La Bandera (film), La Bandera'', ...

. He reached the summit of his career as a film maker in 1951 with ''Surcos'' 'Furrows''(1951). This film, which has a clear social inspiration from a Falangist perspective, is considered to be one of the great films of Spanish cinema. It has a script from Natividad Zaro and Gonzalo Torrente Ballester based on a plot by Eugenio Montes and features Luis Peña and María Asquerino as its protagonists. The film caused controversy and was attacked by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

for depicting taboo themes of the time, such as poverty, the black market, and rural migration, and as a result the ending of the film had to be changed before it could be screened. Additionally, despite winning national prizes it did not achieve commercial success.

Filmography

* '' Unknown Path'' (1946) * ''

Anguish Anguish (from the Latin ''angustia'' "distress") is "extreme unhappiness caused by physical or mental suffering." The feeling of anguish is typically preceded by a tragedy or event that has a profound meaning to the being in question. Anguish can ...

'' (1947) * '' Night Arrival'' (1949) * '' Black Jack'' (1950) a.k.a. ''Captain Blackjack'' * '' Balarrasa'' (1951) a.k.a. ''Reckless'' *'' Surcos'' (1951) a.k.a. ''Furrows'' * '' Devil's Roundup'' (1952) * ''

Rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

'' (1954) ''Duell der Herzen'' * '' The Red Fish'' (1955) * '' We're All Necessary'' (1956) * '' The Legion of Silence'' 1956) * ''

The Tenant ''The Tenant'' () is a 1976 French psychological horror thriller film directed by Roman Polanski from a screenplay he co-wrote with Gérard Brach, based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Roland Topor. The film stars Polanski, Isabelle Adj ...

'' (1957) a.k.a. ''The Tenant'' * '' Don Lucio y el hermano pío'' (1960) * '' Prohibido enamorarse'' (1961) * '' Por Tierras de las Siete Villas'' (1963) * '' El Sonido prehistórico'' (1964) ''Sound from a Million Years Ago'' * '' El Diablo también llora'' (1965) * '' Cotolay'' (1966) *'' Marta'' (1971) * '' Historia de una traición'' (1971) a.k.a. The ''Great Swindle'' * '' Las señoritas de mala compañía'' (1973) * '' The Marriage Revolution'' (1974) * '' Más allá del deseo'' (1976) * '' Volvoreta'' (1976) * '' Casa Manchada'' (1977) a.k.a. ''Impossible Love''

References

External links

José Antonio Nieves Conde
obituary . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nieves Conde, Jose Antonio 1911 births 2006 deaths People from Segovia Spanish film directors Spanish male screenwriters 20th-century Spanish screenwriters 20th-century Spanish male writers