Santa (1932)

Born in Oaxaca, Mexico, Lupita Tovar came to Hollywood as a teenager to pursue acting, first appearing in silent films for the Fox studio. At Universal she starred in the Spanish-language versions of The Cat Creeps (La Voluntad del muerto, 1930) and Dracula (1931), filmed at night on the same sets used during the day for the English-language versions of these films. Tovar played the title character in Santa, the first popular sound film produced in Mexico using the newly developed Rodríguez Sound System. Her portrayal of an innocent small-town girl whose life is ruined when she is abandoned by her soldier lover created a sensation in her home country; the film is now considered a classic.

In 1932 Tovar married Czech émigré producer and later agent Paul Kohner, beginning a Hollywood film dynasty that includes their son, producer Pancho Kohner; their daughter, Academy Award-nominated actress Susan Kohner (Imitation of Life); and their grandsons, the writer-director team of Paul and Chris Weitz (About a Boy). Tovar continued to act on screen until 1945 and ultimately appeared in over 30 films. She will participate in an on-stage conversation with historian Bob Dickson (Cita en Hollywood, Los que pasaron por Hollywood) prior to the screening of Santa.

Cast Lupita Tovar, Carlos Orellana, Mimí Derba, Juan José Martínez Casado, Ernesto Guillén (aka Donald Reed), Antonio R. Frausto.

Director Antonio Moreno; Screenplay Carlos Noriega Hope, from the novel by Federico Gamboa; Cinematography Alex Phillips; Film Editor Aniceto Ortega; Art Director Fernando A. Rivero; Assistant Director Ramón Peón; Chief of Production G. Saenz de Sicilia; Music Agustín Lara; Music Director Miguel Lerdo de Tejada; Sound Engineers Los Hermanos Rodríguez; Makeup Tilly (Capilla); Compañía Nacional Productora de Películas, S.A. de México. Print courtesy of the Filmoteca UNAM and the Academy Film Archive. Black and white. Spanish with English subtitles. 35mm. 81 minutes. 1932.