Mario Soffici (14 May 1900 – 10 May 1977) was an Argentine

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

of the classic era.

Biography

A native of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, Soffici moved to Argentina in the 1920s and began acting in 1931 and directing in 1935 on the film ''

El Alma de Bandoneón ''The Soul of the Accordion'' ( es, El alma de bandoneón) is a 1935 Argentine tango musical film directed by Mario Soffici and written by José A. Bugliot. It is considered one of the earliest classics of Argentine cinema. The film starred Lib ...

'', working with popular actors of the period such as

Libertad Lamarque Libertad Lamarque Bouza (; 24 November 1908 – 12 December 2000) was a Mexican-Argentine actress and singer, one of the icons of the Golden Age of Argentine and Mexican cinema. She achieved fame throughout Latin America, and became known as " ...

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

-based musical films. He directed some 40 films between 1935 and 1962, most notably ''

Prisioneros de la tierra ''Prisoners of the Earth'', also known as ''Prisoners of the Land'', (Spanish: ''Prisioneros de la tierra'') is a 1939 Argentine drama film directed by Mario Soffici. The film premiered in Buenos Aires. The film is often cited as one of the great ...

'' (1939) (often cited as one of the greatest in Argentine cinema), '' El Curandero'' (1955), '' El hombre que debía una muerte'' (1955) and '' Rosaura a las 10'' (1958). He directed and co-wrote with

Eduardo Boneo Eduardo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and sports commentator * Eduardo Carvalho, Portuguese footb ...

and Francisco Madrid''

La cabalgata del circo ''The Circus Cavalcade'' ( es, La cabalgata del circo) is a 1945 Argentine musical film directed and written by Mario Soffici with Eduardo Boneo and Francisco Madrid. The film was shot on black-and-white stock with a monaural soundtrack. It ...

,'' where

Eva Duarte Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...

played a supporting role. He died in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

in 1977.

Filmography

As director

* ''Noche federal'' (1932) * ''

El alma del bandoneón ''The Soul of the Accordion'' ( es, El alma de bandoneón) is a 1935 Argentine tango musical film directed by Mario Soffici and written by José A. Bugliot. It is considered one of the earliest classics of Argentine cinema. The film starred Lib ...

'' (1935) * '' La barra mendocina'' (1935) * '' New Port'' (1936) * ''

Cadetes de San Martín (film) ''Cadetes de San Martín'' is a 1937 Argentine film directed by Mario Soffici and written by José A. Saldías. It stars Enrique Muiño and Elías Alippi. Cast * Ángel Magaña *Enrique Muiño * Elías Alippi * Rosa Contreras *Héctor Calca ...

'' (1937) * ''

Viento Norte ''North Wind'' (Spanish: Viento norte) is a 1937 Argentine film directed by Mario Soffici. In a survey of the 100 greatest films of Argentine cinema carried out by the Museo del Cine Pablo Ducrós Hicken in 2000, the film reached the 39th posit ...

'' (1937) * ''

Kilómetro 111 ''Kilómetro 111'' is a 1938 Argentine musical film drama directed by Mario Soffici. The film premiered in Buenos Aires. The film is one of several films directed by Soffici which address the social evils of historical Argentina. The film is base ...

'' (1938) * '' El viejo doctor'' (1939) * ''

'' (1939) * ''Héroes sin fama'' (1940) * ''

Cita en la frontera ''Cita en la frontera'' is a 1940 Argentine film directed by Mario Soffici and starring Libertad Lamarque. Cast *Orestes Caviglia * Floren Delbene *Maria Esther Duckse * Elisa Galvé *Eliseo Herrero *Libertad Lamarque *Claudio Martino *José Ota ...

'' 1940) * ''Yo quiero morir contigo'' (1941) * ''El camino de las llamas'' (1942) * ''Vacaciones en el otro mundo'' (1942) * ''Cuando la primavera se equivoca'' (1942) * '' Tres hombres del río'' (1943) * ''

Wake Up to Life ''Wake Up to Life'' (Spanish:''Despertar a la vida'') is a 1945 Argentine drama film directed by Mario Soffici and starring Elisa Christian Galvé, Roberto Airaldi and Francisco de Paula. de Paula won a Silver Condor award for his performance.H ...

'' (1945) * ''

The Circus Cavalcade ''The Circus Cavalcade'' ( es, La cabalgata del circo) is a 1945 Argentine musical film directed and written by Mario Soffici with Eduardo Boneo and Francisco Madrid. The film was shot on black-and-white stock with a monaural soundtrack. It sta ...

'' (1945) * ''Besos perdidos'' (1945) * '' La pródiga'' (1945) * ''Celos'' (1946) * ''

The Sin of Julia ''The Sin of Julia'' (Spanish:''El pecado de Julia'') is a 1946 Argentine drama film directed by Mario Soffici and starring Amelia Bence, Aída Luz and Alberto Closas.Oliveri p.84 It is an adaptation of August Strindberg's 1888 play ''Miss Julie'' ...

'' (1946) * '' La gata'' (1947) * ''La Secta del trébol'' (1948) * ''Tierra del Fuego'' (1948) * ''La barca sin pescador'' (1950) * ''

El extraño caso del hombre y la bestia ''The Strange Case of the Man and the Beast'' (Spanish: El Extraño caso del hombre y la bestia) is a 1951 Argentine film. Cast *Rodolfo Crespi Rodolfo Crespi (1921 – August 6, 1980 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine film actor of the cla ...

'' (1951) * ''

The Unwanted ''The Unwanted'' is a 2014 American thriller film written and directed by Bret Wood. It is based on the novel '' Carmilla'' by Sheridan Le Fanu but was transposed from a Gothic tale set in Austria to a Southern Gothic setting. It stars Christe ...

'' (1951) * ''

Pasó en mi barrio ''Pasó en mi barrio'' is a 1951 cinema of Argentina, Argentine film directed by Mario Soffici. It was entered into the 1952 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Tita Merello * Mario Fortuna * Mirtha Torres * Alberto de Mendoza * Daniel Tedeschi * Benito ...

'' (1951) * ''Ellos nos hicieron así'' (1953) * ''Una ventana a la vida'' (1953) * '' La Dama del mar'' (1954) * ''Mujeres casadas'' (1954) * ''Barrio gris'' (1954) * '' El hombre que debía una muerte'' (1955) * '' El Curandero'' (1955) * ''Oro bajo'' (1956) * '' Rosaura a las 10'' (1958) * ''Isla brava'' (1958) * ''Chafalonías'' (1960) * ''Propiedad'' (1962)

As screenwriter

* ''El alma del bandoneón'' (1935) * ''La barra mendocina'' (1935) * ''Viento Norte'' (1937) * ''Con las alas rotas'' (1938) * ''

'' (1945) * ''Una ventana a la vida'' (1953) * ''La dama del mar'' (1954) * ''Barrio gris'' (1954) * ''Oro bajo'' (1956) * '' Rosaura a las 10'' (1958) * ''Isla brava'' (1958) * ''Los acusados'' (1960) * ''Propiedad'' (1962)

Actor

* '' Streets of Buenos Aires'' (1934)

Bibliography

Tomas Abraham article about Soffici

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soffici, Mario 1900 births 1977 deaths Italian emigrants to Argentina Argentine film directors Argentine male film actors Male screenwriters Argentine male writers 20th-century Argentine male actors 20th-century Argentine screenwriters 20th-century Argentine male writers