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Hollywood’s Rogue Neighbor: The Argentine Film Industry during the Good Neighbor Policy, 1939–1945*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2015

Tamara L. Falicov
Tamara L. Falicov*
Affiliation:
University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas
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Extract

‘During World War II, the United States created a political, economic, I land cultural policy aimed at improving hemispheric relations between the U.S. and Latin America. Dubbed the “Good Neighbor Policy,” its objectives were twofold: 1) to insure that nations in Latin America were joined in the Allied war effort and were not associated with the Axis or Communist sympathizers, and 2) to allow the U.S. access to Latin America as a source of raw materials and a market for goods, including films. Because Argentina did not side with the Allies, instead preferring neutrality, it was castigated by an economic boycott. Beginning in 1941, the U.S. sold small rations of raw film stock to Argentina, and over time, refused to sell it all together. The film industry in Argentina, at the time considered the most profitable and advanced in Latin America, began to lose its hold on the Spanish-language market.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Americas , Volume 63 , Special_Issue 2: Latin American Film History , October 2006 , pp. 245 - 260
Copyright
Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 2006 

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Footnotes

*

The author wishes to acknowledge Tony Rosenthal, Ana M. Lopéz and Seth Fein for enabling me to improve this essay. I also would like to thank Barbara Hall at the Margaret Herrick Library, and Erwin Levold and Thomas Rosenbaum at the Rockefeller Archive Center for their assistance in obtaining archival documents. An NEH Summer stipend enabled me to visit the abovementioned archives. Thanks to Chris Ehrick for organizing a panel on Latin American film that allowed us to publish our work as a group effort.

References

1 Balio, Tino, The American Film Industry (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1976), p. 223 Google Scholar.

2 “B.A. vs. 42nd St.” Variety, July 28, 1942, p. 15.

3 “Argentina Top Producer of Spanish Pictures,” Motion Picture Herald, November 7, 1942. For more information on what studios, both large and independent were operating during this period, see España, Claudio, ed., Cine argentino: industria y clasicismo, vol. 1 (Buenos Aires: Fondo Nacional de las Artes, 2000)Google Scholar.

4 Octavio Getino adds that “there was no previous instance of an industrial, technical, or commer cial entity, although limited, in Latin America” Getino, Octavio, Cine argentino: entre lo deseable y lo possible (Buenos Aires: Edición CICCUS, 1998), p. 28 Google Scholar.

5 “Argentina Top,” Motion Picture Herald, Nov. 7, 1942.

6 Josephs, Ray, “Argentine films show signs of leading Spanish field,” Variety, January 7, 1942, p. 91 Google Scholar.

7 Statistics from Table 1 in Getino, Octavio, Cine argentino: entre lo posible y lo deseable (Buenos Aires: Ediciónes CICCUS, 1998), p. 337 Google Scholar.

8 Smith, Peter, The Talons of the Eagle: Dynamics of U.S.‐Latin American Relations (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 87 Google Scholar.

9 For example, a riot ensued after a screening of the Hollywood film Argentine Nights. According to the Detroit Free Press article “Get the Facts Straight” (May 21, 1941), the author quotes a film critic of the Argentine newspaper La Nación. The critic states: “As long as Hollywood insists on seeing Argentina as an incredibly ridiculous tropical country, no Pan-American understanding is possible no matter how many good-will travelers are sent here.”

10 “The Motion Picture Society of the Americas Report, 1944–45” (Beverly Hills, CA: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), Margaret Herrick Library, p. 11.

11 Rowland, Donald W., History of the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1947), pp. 68, 74Google Scholar. Cited in Ana M. López, “Are All Latins from Manhattan? Hollywood, Ethnography and Cultural Colonialism” in King, John, Lopéz, Ana M. and Alvarado, Manuel, eds., Mediating Two Worlds: Cinematic Encounters in the Americas (London: British Film Institute, 1993), p. 69 Google Scholar.

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13 “Resume of Activities Directed to the Argentine in the Field of Motion Pictures.” No date, [1942] OCIAA collection, Motion Picture Division folder, box 7, p. 6, RAC.

14 Smith, Talons, p. 85.

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17 “Argentina Bans 20th Pic at Jap Request,” Hollywood Reporter, August 12, 1942 and “The Invaders Banned by Argentina after 10 Days,” Hollywood Reporter, August 13, 1942.

18 Fagg, John E., Latin America: A General History (New York: McMillian, 1963), pp. 925–27Google Scholar. Cited in Usabel, High Noon, p. 154.

19 Heraldo de Cine 12:495, January 8, 1941, p. 1.

20 Interviews with film historians Daniel ‘Paraná’ Sendrós and Paula Félix-Didier, April 2004.

21 Usabel, High Noon, p. 154.

22 Heraldo de Cine 12:556, April 15, 1942.

23 “Pro-Nazi campaign Against U.S. Pix for Argentine,” Variety, October 26, 1942.

24 Usabel, High Noon, p. 170..

25 “An Oral History with Robert M. W. Vogel,” interviewed by Barbara Hall. Beverly Hills, CA: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Oral History Program, 1991, p. 185.

26 I am grateful to Daniel ‘Paraná’ Sendrós for pointing this out.

27 Pryor, “Argentine Censor Strikes.”

28 “U.S. Cos. Reported Exit from Argentina,” Variety, December 8, 1943. Cited in Usabel, High Noon, p. 154.

29 Vincent de Pascal, “Argentina,” Hollywood Reporter, February 20, 1941.

30 “The Motion Picture Society for the Americas Subcommittee Minutes” (1941-42), Record Group 229, memo no. 31, October 14, 1942, Beverly Hills, CA: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Margaret Herrick Library.

31 “Argentine Notes,” Hollywood Reporter, November 24, 1944.

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37 “U.S. Has 65 to 1 Ratio over Nazi Pix in Argentine,” Hollywood Reporter, October 29, 1943, pp. 1-2.

38 “List of Blacklist in Argentine,” Variety, June 30, 1943, p. 25. Cited in Usabel, High Noon, p. 171.

39 “Resume of Activities Directed to the Argentine in the Field of Motion Pictures,” no date [1942] OCIAA collection, Motion Picture Division folder, box 7, p. 6, RAC.

40 Memo by Norman Armour, U.S. Ambassador to Argentina to State Department, May 16, 1944. Record Group 229: Records of the Office of Inter-American Affairs, 1937-1951. National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.

41 It is important to point out that the United States was never seriously threatened by Argentina’s domination of the market, but rather, its market share may have been compromised to a certain degree by the success of Argentina’s films. As noted by Schnitman, “Even when the Argentine film industry reached a high point of 49 films in 1940, three of the large North American companies (in this case, Paramount, Metro, and Warner) could each release as many as that or more.” Cited in Schnitman, Jorge, “The Argentine Film Industry: A Contextual Study” (Ph.D. dissertation, Palo Alto: Stanford University, 1978, p. 73)Google Scholar.

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45 “Argentine Pic Biz Faces 50% Raw Film Stock Snip,” Variety, April 23, 1943.

46 Merwin L. Bohan, Counselor for Economic Affairs, U.S. Embassy in Argentina to U.S. State Department: “Reasons why American industry should give enthusiastic, strong support for plan.” May 26, 1942, OCIAA collection, Motion Picture Division Folder, box 7, RAC.

47 Bohan, “Reasons.”

48 Memo on June 15th, 1942 signed by John Hay Whitney and Francis Alstock declaring support for the Mexican moving picture industry, OCIAA collection, Motion Picture Division folder, box 7, RAC.

49 Gubern, Roman Historia de Cine, Volumen II (Barcelona: Lumen 1971), p. 95 Google Scholar.

50 Juan Carlos Garate, longtime accountant of Argentina Sono Film recounts how the company dealt with the lack of film stock: “One business tactic . . . was to work with film stock as contraband from Brazil and Chile. I flew many times with rolls of film from Santiago, and I’ve walked many nights on the port of Rio de Janeiro trying to put five to ten rolls of film on a ship [bound for Buenos Aires].” Cited in España, Claudio, Argentina Sono Film (Buenos Aires: Editorial Abril, 1984), p. 272 Google Scholar.

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52 “Argentine Pic Business Thrives: Homemade Product Taking Trade away from our films,”Hollywood Reporter, October 19, 1943.

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54 Smith, Talons, p. 83.