Welcome Mr. Marshall!

Welcome Mr. Marshall!
Theatrical release poster by Francisco Fernández Zarza
Directed by	Luis García Berlanga
Produced by	Vicente Sempere
Written by	Juan Antonio Bardem Luis García Berlanga Miguel Mihura
Starring	José Isbert Manolo Morán Lolita Sevilla
Music by	Jesús García Leoz
Cinematography	Manuel Berenguer
Editing by	Pepita Orduña
Release dates	4 April 1953 (1953-04-04)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish

Commemorative plaque in Guadalix de la Sierra, Spain

Welcome Mr. Marshall! (Spanish: ¡Bienvenido, Mister Marshall!) is a 1953 Spanish comedy film directed by Luis García Berlanga and considered one of the masterpieces of Spanish cinema. It tells the story of a small Spanish town, Villar del Río, which hears of the visit of American diplomats and begins preparations to impress the American visitors in the hopes of benefitting under the Marshall Plan.

A central theme of the film is the stereotypes held by both the Spanish and the Americans regarding the culture of the other. Hoping to demonstrate the side of Spanish culture with which the visiting American officials will be most accustomed, the citizens of Villar del Río (Soria) don unfamiliar Andalusian costumes, hire a renowned flamenco performer, and redecorate their town in Andalusian style. A flamenco impresario (Manolo Morán) advices the locals to think what they will ask from the Americans. Later in the film, each of the central characters has a dream in which different aspects of stereotypical American culture and history are featured. One consists of a Western-like bar brawl, another the arrival of a conquistador on New World shores, in other the Americans are shown as the Three Kings parachuting their gifts over the village. At the end, the American motorcade speeds through the village without stopping, disappointing the locals who will have to remove the decorations and pay for the expenses.

The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.^[1]

Production

Initially it was intended as a comic vehicle for the flamenco singer Lolita Sevilla, but Berlanga decided to give it a deeper meaning.

Influence

The title is often mentioned in discussions of American investment in Spain as a caveat against delusion. An example is the 2012-2013 Eurovegas project.^[2][3]

Cast

• Fernando Rey as Narrator (voice)
• José Isbert as Don Pablo, the mayor, a hear-impaired old man.
• Lolita Sevilla as Carmen Vargas, a flamenco artist from Andalusia.
• Alberto Romea as Don Luis, the hidalgo.
• Manolo Morán as Manolo, the scheming agent for Carmen Vargas.
• Luis Pérez de León as Don Cosme, the priest, concerned about the American heretics.
• Elvira Quintillá as Miss Eloísa, the teacher.
• Félix Fernández as Don Emiliano, the doctor
• Nicolás D. Perchicot as the pharmacist (as Nicolás Perchicot).
• Joaquín Roa as the town crier.
• Fernando Aguirre as the secretary.
• José Franco as the general delegate.
• Rafael Alonso as the enviado
• José María Rodríguez as José
• Elisa Méndez as Doña Raquel
• Matilde López Roldán as Doña Matilde

References

External links

• Bienvenido Mister Marshall at the Internet Movie Database

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