Ana María Arroyo Mariscal (31 July 1923 – 28 March 1995) better known as Ana Mariscal was a classic Spanish film actress, director, screenwriter and film producer. Mariscal worked in well over 50 films between 1940 and 1968, often starring in films she also wrote and directed. She is iconic in 1940s and 1950s Spanish cinema. She also acted in Argentinean films. Her brother Luis Arroyo (1915–1956) was also an actor and film director.
Early life and education Mariscal was born in Madrid in 1923 to a middle-class family. Her father owned a furniture store and a theater that would provide Mariscal much of her early exposure to acting. While occasionally appearing in theater productions with her brother, Mariscal intended to go to university to study mathematics. In 1936 she performed in a revival of El Trovador by the amateur theater group Anfistora, directed by Pura Maortua de Ucelay. She decided to pursue acting after being incidentally cast in her first film role.
Career Ana Mariscal began her career after accompanying her actor brother Luis Arroyo to an audition for El Ultimo Husar. Almost by chance, she was noticed by the director Luis Marquina and cast in the film. This would start a prolific career in acting and directing.
Over the next decade, Mariscal starred in over 20 films, becoming a household name in Spain. A few notable films from this time include The Queen's Flower Girl, Raza, A Shadow at the Window, and The Princess of the Ursines. After a decade of typecast roles, Mariscal started her own production company called BOSCO and begin writing and directing her own works. She made her directorial debut with Segundo Lopez, a film she also wrote and starred in. It was a critically well-received comedy with Italian Neo-realist influences. She later directed her esteemed work They fired with their lives that deals with the Spanish Civil War; an event Mariscal herself lived through during her childhood.
In her later career, she shifted among film, television, and theater pursuits, still using her production company to fund her projects. During this period, she directed or became involved with Occidente y sabotaje, El Camino, and The Other Woman. She began teaching classes at the IIEC (Institute of Investigations and Cinematographic Experiences) while still balancing acting and directing jobs. She eventually receded from the world of film making and dedicate her time entirely to the study of literature.
Just a few months before her death, she received the gold medal for Merit in the Fine Arts in 1995.Official Gazette clipping boe.es (in Spanish) 4 January 1995
Filmography YearFilmActressDirectorProducerWriter1940El último húsar1940Amore di ussaro1940The Queen's Flower Girl1942Raza1942¡Qué contenta estoy!1942Siempre mujeres1942Vidas cruzadas1943Cuarenta y ocho horas1944Cabeza de hierro1945A Shadow at the Window 1945¡Culpable!1945Viento de siglos1945El obstáculo1947Dulcinea1947Noche sin cielo1947The Princess of the Ursines1948The Drummer of Bruch1948Amanhã Como Hoje1948La próxima vez que vivamos1948La vida encadenada1949Aquellas palabras1949Pacto de silencio1949Doce horas de vida1949A Man on the Road1950Woman to Woman1950La fuente enterrada1951The Great Galeoto1953Segundo López, aventurero urbano1953Jeromín1953Vértigo1954Morena Clara1954En carne viva1955Un día perdido1955Baccara1955De noche también se duerme1956Los maridos de mamá1956Enigma de mujer1958The Violet Seller1958Hay que bañar al nene1958Patio andaluz1958Carlota1959Juego de niños1959They Fired with Their Lives1959The Magistrate1960The Football Lottery1961Hola, muchacho1962Feria en Sevilla1962Queen of the Chantecler1962Occidente y sabotaje1963El Camino1964The Other Woman1966Los duendes de Andalucia1966Vestida de novia1968El paseíllo1987El polizón del Ulises
Awards YearAwardCategoryFilm1945CEC MedalBest Leading ActressA Shadow at the Window1949CEC MedalBest Leading ActressA Man on the Road1950CEC MedalBest Leading ActressWoman to Woman1994Gold Medal for Merits in Fine ArtsN/AN/A
Further reading Victoria, Fonseca, . Ana Mariscal : una cineasta pionera. [Madrid]: EGEDA. . OCLC 432886850.
References
External links