Movie Attendance and Influence during Franco's Dictatorship in Spain (1943-1975) - Prof. R, Apuntes de Historia de España

¡Descarga Movie Attendance and Influence during Franco's Dictatorship in Spain (1943-1975) - Prof. R y más Apuntes en PDF de Historia de España solo en Docsity! This article was downloaded by: [University Rey Juan Carlosi] On: 24 October 2013, At: 02:15 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/chjf20 The Spanish remember: movie attendance during the Franco dictatorship, 1943–1975 Mari´a Antonia Paz a a Complutense University, Madrid Published online: 03 Jun 2010. To cite this article: Mari´a Antonia Paz (2003) The Spanish remember: movie attendance during the Franco dictatorship, 1943–1975, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 23:4, 357-374, DOI: 10.1080/0143968032000126645 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0143968032000126645 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. 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Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms- and-conditions Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol. 23, No. 4, 2003 The Spanish Remember: movie attendance during the Franco dictatorship, 1943–1975 MARÍA ANTONIA PAZ, Complutense University, Madrid One of the aspects of the social influence of film is the new relationship that the audience establishes with the information and with current affairs in general [1]. Some countries collected field studies, statistics, and questionnaires from the early days of filmmaking, which show film’s predominant position as a means of communication in certain periods. This, however, is not the case in Spain. In order to verify this aspect in Spain, researchers have to resort to a wide range of indirect sources: industrial rates, charity taxes, general and feature press articles, and so on. These sources provide abundant information, although fragmented and not always reliable. Since 1968, Spain has had the records of the Estudio General de Medios (General Study of Means), created for advertisers, information neither precise nor of the necessary scope to qualify as a definite source during Franco’s regime [2]. It is even more difficult to research the influence of film newsreels officially broadcast first by a dictatorship and subsequently by an authoritarian regime, as is the case with NODO, the official Franco newsreel. Opinions with respect to the actual influence of NODO are contradictory: some view NODO as very important because of its obliga- tory character and its monopoly in the field. Others claim that it hardly had any real influence. Its propaganda, they argue, was so obvious that no one could really be convinced by its contents. It is more probable that more widely distributed newsreels would have a greater influence than others seen less often. By no means, however, would this general assumption be valid in each and every case. This article, therefore, attempts to make a evaluation of the circumstances in which NODO was distributed in the context of Spanish filmmaking, as well as the cultural, political, social, and economic circum- stances of the particular period researched. This evaluation centers on the assumption that the Spanish people remember elements of these processes. The study is based on oral accounts. The analysis, therefore, basically has two main focuses of attention. The first one is a broad study of movie-going in general, with the presentation of film as entertainment in a society under a dictatorial regime, the various types of movie-going, the different tastes in movies, and the social profile of the audience. The second one more specifically refers to the perception of NODO, since during the 1940s and 1950s, this was Franco’s most important audiovisual means of propaganda [3]. The result of the analysis will provide a better understanding of the influence of film in Spain in those years, following the reconstruction by the collective memory as viewed from the present. ISSN 0143-9685 print/ISSN 1465-3451 online/03/040357-18  2003 IAMHIST & Taylor & Francis Ltd DOI: 10.1080/0143968032000126645 D ow nl oa de d by [ U ni ve rs ity R ey J ua n C ar lo si ] at 0 2: 15 2 4 O ct ob er 2 01 3 360 M. A. Paz Franco’s propaganda since early in the Spanish Civil War: the promise of Bread, Justice, and Work! for all Spaniards. The figure of the father, the patriarchy, predominated in the homes of the intervie- wees: ‘we had to do what father told us to do’; ‘my father commanded and his will was done’ [9]. The majority admitted that their parents had no educational background. This, however, did not prevent them from giving their children what they considered a good upbringing and education. Here, the interviewees coincided in relating good upbringing to ‘the Christian environment’ in which they lived (‘we used to go to church every Sunday’). They also highly valued respect towards the elderly which they were taught. Regarding the character of their parents, the women remembered them as tolerant, while the men mostly considered them authoritarian. From this we could deduce that women were more inclined to obey. The father–son relationships were characterized by a certain lack of love and the predominance of respect: ‘they were not affectionate’, ‘too rigid’, ‘serious’, ‘their behavior was very strict’, ‘order, respect, and authority were the important things’. But they always excused them with such phrases as ‘but they had a good heart’ or ‘they were good-natured’. When asked about the political orientation of their parents, they usually brought up the Civil War. Fear and repression surfaced in this respect. The answers reflected the fear that distanced the majority of the population from political activities [10]. Precisely because of these fears, most parents did not express any political ideas (21 answers). Some claimed that speaking about politics was usually not done, others stated that keeping quiet was better. Even today, answers can be heart such as ‘well, I don’t know whether I can say this’ [11]. The older interviewees were more careful with their answers, and among them, especially the women. Three interviewees said that their parents were left-wing, although some of them were not militant: ‘my father fought with the Republicans, but my mother recom- mended him to change sides’. Others were simply afraid. One female interviewee responded that her father was a red lieutenant (Republican) during the war. He was injured (had a glass eye) and imprisoned in a concentration camp but ‘he very rarely spoke out against Franco’ [12]. Only one interviewee stated that the political orientation of his parents was centrist; 12 claimed that their parents were right-wing; and three did not reply. Surprisingly, only one person openly admitted that his parents were in favor of Franco. Others used euphemisms, such as ‘they were not against the dictatorship’ or ‘he fought with the Nationalists but did not have any political ideology’. Lastly, another type of answer should be stressed which is of great interest regarding political life at the time: ‘my father supported the one who paid him daily’ [13], ‘politics were not discussed: under the King, we obeyed the King; under the Republic, the president; and under Franco, Franco’. The family is perceived as the basic social nucleus. Virtually all daily activities were centered around survival—work—which required a continuous self-restraint, with little space for fun and entertainment. Politics did not represent a prime subject in the memories of the participants. Only a few people remember having seen their parents go to the movies. The reason was lack of money and, in the villages, the non-existence of movie theaters. The proportion of interviewees from rural areas is important here. In these areas, entertainment was linked to the cycles of the local fairs, which depended on agricultural or stockbreeding activities prevailing in the region. They offered enter- tainment in the form of dances, bullfighting, festivals, and traveling movie theaters. D ow nl oa de d by [ U ni ve rs ity R ey J ua n C ar lo si ] at 0 2: 15 2 4 O ct ob er 2 01 3 The Spanish Remember 361 In the cities, there were movie theaters but this option was limited by long working hours, small wages, and a large number of children: ‘the parents did not use to go outdoors’. In any case, if it was not the parents who went to the movies, it was their children who they took to see this show for the first time. The generational change played a positive role. At the beginning of the 1940s, the interviewees were between 9 and 14 years old. They represented a renewal of the audience, a whole new generation that started to go to the movies regularly. Except for two men and five women, the rest perfectly remembered the first time that they went to the movies. It may not have been the first time, but definitely one of the first times that they were most impressed. The majority of them remembered the film. They remembered Spanish movies better. Of them, only one was a political propaganda movie, L’Assedio dell’Alcazar [The Siege of the Castle] (Augusto Genina, Italy, 1940). Others were love stories in different settings, starring famous singers: Violetas Imperiales [Imperial Violets] (Spain, 1952) with Luis Mariano; El último cuplé [The Last Variety Song]. (Juan de Orduña, Spain, 1957), a melodrama with Sara Montiel, or, historical dramas, such as Locura de amor [The Madness of Love] (Juan de Orduña, Spain, 1948) about the oldest daughter of the Catholic monarchs. Movies with emotional stories played by children were mentioned as well. Marcelino, pan y vino [Marcelino, Bread and Wine] (Ladislaus Vajda, Spain, 1954) is about the life of an orphan taken care of by benevolent monks and who dies after asking Christ to take him with his mother. Another movie, Un rayo de luz [A Beam of Light] (Luís Lucia, Spain, 1960), tells the story of a nice orphan girl who makes her grandfather change his sour character and accept her. These were, on the whole, escapist-type movies. The interviewees also remembered movies with Charlie Chaplin, the Marx brothers, and cowboy stories. One of the people interviewed remembered NODO: ‘There was no movie theater in my village. The first time I went to the movies was when I joined the railroad company. I had to stay over in Zaragoza for a medical checkup. I noticed that they showed NODO and played the national anthem and all of the audience raised their hand high, because that was the fascist way of greeting. It was the first time that I saw it. I can’t remember what movie they showed’ [14]. The account clearly illustrates the various sensibilities one could encounter in relatively nearby places: the social and political pressure of the winning party to impose outwardly signs of external adherence to the triumphant regime was most prominent. The wide rural context showed a variety of different types of rooms where movies were shown: a small movie theater; outdoor; a family style neighborhood theater; at schools; in a town hall room, in ‘movies Roge’, which was housed in a wine cellar. During the first years of Franco’s regime, movies were shown in small alternative circles due to the destruction of the Civil War and, probably, because they had not existed previously. The people that accompanied the interviewees the first times that they went to the movies were varied: their parents, other family members (uncles and aunts, older brothers and sisters), friends, and boyfriends or girlfriends. They do not remember any actual clerical influence (not in favor nor against) regarding the choice of movies. Some interviewees [15] stated that ‘the priest did not say anything because the movies had already been screened for their moral content. Some movies were even shown at the church gates’; ‘Movies rated with a 3 or 3R were prohibited, for example Gilda’ [16]. This type of prohibitions was respected: ‘I have never seen a movie that was rated 3’. Other, more restrictive commentaries coming from priests, however, were not heeded. ‘The priest said that young girls shouldn’t go to the movies because they were not D ow nl oa de d by [ U ni ve rs ity R ey J ua n C ar lo si ] at 0 2: 15 2 4 O ct ob er 2 01 3 362 M. A. Paz appropriate’ [17], ‘and that the majority of the movies were sinful because they showed people kissing’ [18]. As for teachers, the interviewees hardly remembered that they talked about movies at all. When they commented on movies, however, it was to recommend them or to prohibit them. They recommended movies that taught one to ‘be good’ like Fray Escoba (R. Torrado, Spain, 1961), which was one of the most popular movies at the time [19]. It reconstructed the life of Saint Martin de Porres and displayed virtues, such as obedience, humility, resignation, and kind nature. Movie-Going Remembering the 1940s, almost all of the participants agreed on the scarcity of money to spend on entertainment. Similarly, leisure time was scarce because of the long work days. The Spanish people, however, did manage to find time for entertainment. Like their parents, there were no political militants among the participants, except for one man, born in 1943, and one woman, born in 1953, who were members of the Workers Commissions, which was a clandestine labor union. Affiliation with official associations was unusual as well. Only two women were members of the Sección Femenina (Female Section) of the Spanish Falangist Movement. Nearly all of the interviewees remembered that they started to go to the movies on a regular basis during their teenage years, between 16 and 18. At that age, many of them had already started working. However, movie-going was not an exclusive means of entertainment for them, nor was it a priority. They also went for strolls attended popular celebrations in their towns, practiced sports, met up at home, had group conversations, or went for trips. On average, they would go to the movies twice a week, usually on weekends. The participants fall into two markedly different groups. Some of them only moderately liked going to the movies and only went occasionally (once or twice per month or ‘when the movie theater came to town’). Others, who did enjoy going, went more often. The latter group consists of more females than males. They went to the movies with their friends. All stated that they liked to go with other people. It was obviously considered indecent for a woman to go to the movies by herself, except for the towns’ summer theaters where everyone knew each other. The neighborhood theaters were the preferred ones for several reasons. They offered two movies, in addition to NODO; ‘tickets were cheaper and you could stay for the next session if it was cold or you really liked the movie’ (because they showed them continuously) and ‘the ticket would pay for itself’. Town movie theaters or movies shown in neighboring towns and in the open air, where ‘you brought your own chair’, are mentioned most. These were, however, seasonal movie theaters. Only a few of the participants went to the premiers at large movie theaters because they were more expensive. Only one younger woman remembered that she had attended the Art and Rehearsal Halls. This confirms that the audience of these halls, created in 1964, was reduced, young, and composed of college students. The majority of the interviewees used to go to the movies to entertain themselves. The answers about this aspect greatly differed. This explains the different reasons for which the Spanish people went to the movies: to rest, to be with people (as a social activity), or simply because ‘it was a habit’, as one woman admitted that she used to go even though she did not like movies. Indeed, going to the movies as a habit seemed to be quite usual. The majority of the participants said that they almost always went to the D ow nl oa de d by [ U ni ve rs ity R ey J ua n C ar lo si ] at 0 2: 15 2 4 O ct ob er 2 01 3 The Spanish Remember 365 ‘There were shootouts, but they were not violent’. Next, comical movies were men- tioned and romantic ones—more so by females than by males—drama, suspense, and action (war, adventures). These preferences correspond with the tendencies in popular literature mentioned above. The three movies that the participants remembered the most were Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, US 1939), Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, US 1943), and High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, US 1951), which are possibly the ones that have been shown most on television. The film director mentioned most is Alfred Hitchcock. Among the Spanish movies mentioned are the folkloric ones, as well as romantic and historical movies. Bienyenido Mister Marshall [Welcome Mister Marshall] (José Luis Garcia Berlanga, Spain, 1952) was remembered. However, some of the interviews coincided with the return of the movie on television by several TV channels because of its 50-year anniversary. The Italian movies mentioned are those that belong to Italian neorealism [27]. However, Italian actresses, such as Silvana Mangano, were mentioned the most. Regarding French movies, the participants remembered Nouvelle Vague, but only generally and only by younger people with higher education. It is clear from the answers that all of the Spanish liked NODO. Only the younger females (those born between 1947 and 1953) stated that they did not like NODO because it was party propaganda, ‘it was obligatory and a nuisance’. This generation has a higher education and is used to more varied information, as far as the means are concerned (television, radio, newspapers). However, one of the female interviewees recognized that ‘the political news aside, NODO was sort of interesting’ and another interviewee stated that ‘I don’t remember it as awkward’. The positive attitude of the interviewees towards NODO might be explained by the fact that it was viewed as a medium that provided information despite the ideological content. ‘It was a newsreel that provided information, which was a scarce phenomenon at the time’ [28]; it provided news and images from other countries. Movie program- ming appeared to be very well viewed before the spread of television: ‘we were informed about things that happened because we didn’t have television at home’ [29]. There are various degrees of valuation that go from ‘it was okay’ or ‘it had its good things’ to ‘yes, I liked it very much’ and ‘I wouldn’t miss it for the world’, which were the most frequent answers. The competition of television is viewed as an important factor in the loss of audiences for the newsreels (which also affected book sales), and is generally related to the crisis in the movie industry and not to a loss of seduction of news broadcasting through movie theaters. In fact, the interviewees viewed the ‘entertaining’ way it was presented as very positive, in addition to the fact that it was ‘part of the show’. They remembered quite keenly the duration of the newsreel (between 10 and 15 minutes) and its place in the programming (at the beginning of the session). The participants remembered the most frequent contents of the newsreels: ‘about every- thing, it was like a newspaper, with interesting topics, wars and news’; ‘current affairs’, ‘what happened in Spain and outside of the country’; ‘the things that were going on’. When asking them about any particular news topics, everyone responded: matters concerning Franco, political goings-on of the prime minister, inaugurations—both the most memorable and the most exaggerated ones—choir and dance performances of the Female Section, sports, everyday events, anecdotes. They did not remember any specific news items that were particularly impressive. When they did, they were mistaken for television. They did remember, however, what they liked least and what they liked most about the news. In general, they did not like D ow nl oa de d by [ U ni ve rs ity R ey J ua n C ar lo si ] at 0 2: 15 2 4 O ct ob er 2 01 3 366 M. A. Paz the political news that was shown, the associations with the regime, the political propaganda, which was not objective: ‘The bad part was that the things they showed were imposed on us’ [30]. There were also exceptions to this: ‘We thought it was good, because this way we were included in Franco’s regime’ [31]. ‘We were brilliant, the best in the whole world. In a way, we believed it and we felt proud of the great Spanish discoveries’ [32]. Regarding the issues they liked most, opinions are less uniform. Several of them stated that they liked NODO because it showed the sea (people from mountain villages). Others singled out the start of the program, such as the theme music and the opening images, as their favorite part of the program, perhaps because the start of the program was more associated with the entertainment side of it. National news was mentioned most frequently and, secondly, sports news and bullfighting. Film Memory After leaving the movie theater, people went back home. There was no money for any further entertainment. Moreover, single women had to be home early—this was a social norm of decency. Even for married people, it was normal to go back home after the movie had ended. Some went for a walk afterwards, especially in summer, or they went to a bar café, which was a habit that became more frequent as from the second half of the 1960s. While going home or at home, people discussed the movie. There was no intellectual discussion nor excitement in talking about the movie. People simply stated whether they had liked it or not and ‘what it was about’. These conversations therefore concerned the narration of the story, as one interviewee responded: ‘I didn’t explain the movie because the people with whom I went to see it had seen the same as I had’. They do not remember any mention of other artistic elements of the movie or the applied film techniques. NODO, however, was not discussed after the movie. Several interviewees answered, ‘yes, but not that much’; others said no: ‘my husband doesn’t like to talk about politics, religion, or money’ [33], which most likely was not an exception. One of the female interviewees responded, intuitively, that ‘they were not discussed because they were the same as the ones that were shown on television’ [34]. The rest did not respond. Regarding fiction movies, the actors especially were remembered most. The ones that were cited were mostly American and next Spanish. Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, and Clark Gable were the most famous actors. Among the actresses mentioned were Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, Elizabeth Taylor, and Ingrid Bergman. The Spanish actresses were mostly known for their folkloric roles: Imperio Argentina, Carmen Sevilla, Lola Flores, Paquita Rica, Juanita Reina. Among the Spanish actors mentioned were heroes like Alfredo Mayo or Vicente Parra, and comedy actors such as Tony Leblanc, Pepe Isbert, and Paco Martínez Soria. Sometimes actors were mistaken for characters of fiction, for example, Gilda for Rita Hayword. This type of mistakes only occurred with American movies. As for Italian movies, only actresses were mentioned (Sofia Loren, Anna Magnani). Regarding French movies, neither actors nor actresses were mentioned. Only seven of the interviewees admitted that movie stars influenced their habits, particularly in the way they dressed (‘I liked his sweaters’) or did their hair: ‘Clark Gable’, said one of the interviewees, ‘made the Mexican scarf and the center hair part fashionable’; ‘We fashioned our hair the same as Marisol (Spanish child star) did we all D ow nl oa de d by [ U ni ve rs ity R ey J ua n C ar lo si ] at 0 2: 15 2 4 O ct ob er 2 01 3 The Spanish Remember 367 wanted to be blond like her’. The female interviewees recognized this particular influence more often, referring to external aspects, than the male participants. The objective of the question whether the participants had seen the same movie more than once was to distinguish between those who went to the movies for entertainment and each time wanted to see a different story, and those who felt more personally attracted to the audiovisual message. The first ones argued that ‘it is stupid to repeat the same movie’, ‘it loses its interest’, ‘why pay for the same thing twice’, ‘once you have seen it, you are not going to see it a second time’. The logic behind it is quite simple. Among the ones who sometimes repeated a movie, the cinematography interest in the movie was relative. Some of the interviewees who saw the same movie more than once did so during continuous sessions; they only paid once. Many others saw replays of movies on television, and not in the movie theater. The most enthusiastic respondent had seen the same movie five times. Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, USA, 1939), Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, USA, 1943), West Side Story (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, USA, 1961), and The Bridge on the River Kwai (David Lean, UK, 1957) are the British and American movies that are mentioned most. Locura de amor [The Madness of Love] (Juan de Orduña, 1948), Currito de la Cruz (1936), and La Lola se va a los puertos [The Flamenco Singer] (1947) are the movies by Spanish producers that have been repeated most often and are examples of the most successful genres in Spain during the 1940s and 1950s. This was the period in which movie-going was at its peak. The first movie, which was enormously successful, is semi-historical: it renders the tragic fate of Joanna, wife of Philip the Fair and mother of Charles V, who loses her mind because of her ambitious and adulterous husband. The second movie is an adaptation of a novel about bullfighting and in which for the first time the Spanish sound system Laffon-Selgas was used (for which the movie is probably remembered rather than for its story or quality). The third movie is a Spanish folkloric movie, which was the trend in those years, based on work by the Machado brothers. When viewed as cultural expressions, the reasons to go to the movies were diverse. Those who went to the movies to be entertained or to enjoy themselves (and did not go twice to same movie even if they liked it very much) were of the opinion that nothing could be learned from them: ‘A movie is a movie’ and ‘I went being convinced that movies were fiction’. A sole focus on the perception of the story is more frequent among the female participants. Those who stated that they learned useful things referred first to the elegance, the etiquette, and the behavior of the characters (during that particular period of the regime, appearance was the most valued virtue in women): ‘I learned how to walk down a staircase in an elegant fashion or how to behave at the table’ [35]; ‘to behave in certain circumstances and to dress well’ [36]; ‘to behave, knowing what was right and what was wrong’ [37]. Only three respondents talked about getting to know other ways of life: ‘the way the rich and foreigners lived their lives’ [38]; ‘the life of historical characters, discovering other cultures, other countries’ [39]. Lastly, the response of one of the female interviewees stood out in which she mentioned the ways of love, timidly using the third person, which suggests that other female participants might have wanted to mention a similar thought, but were afraid to do so: ‘Not many people talked to their family about things such as kissing and so on and could therefore take the movie as a model to see and learn’ [40]. People did not learn that much either this way because, as one of the respondents stated, ‘censorship took out the most interesting messages’. Comments made by the male interviewees are more explicit, leaving aside the group D ow nl oa de d by [ U ni ve rs ity R ey J ua n C ar lo si ] at 0 2: 15 2 4 O ct ob er 2 01 3 370 M. A. Paz movies did not boost any investments. When, however, the most urgent needs of the population were met, movie-going increased, which was largely due to the parents who encouraged their children to go to the movies. There was hardly any passion for the art of filmmaking, which might have been the cause that motion pictures had such an impact on the collective memory. Fiction movies seem to have had the most influence on audiences. This is probably due to the efficient use of emotive resources, i.e. sentimental ones. These movies not only entertained, they also gave direction, taught, and broadened people’s horizons and expectations. American movies were the most popular ones. In this respect, the Spanish were in immediate league with their European neighbors. In short, neither nationalism nor censorship could avoid, if such was contemplated, the distribution and largely peaceful acceptance of the values and models displayed by Hollywood in those years. Moreover, in general, these values did not deviate from the essential values of Franco’s regime. Censorship was imposed anyway whenever it was needed. The same happened with Spanish movies: they generally supported the cultural, religious, and social values of the regime [56]. Informative film—NODO—on the other hand was seen as more distant and cold. It also contributed, however, to shape the national identity because it created a sense of unity, singularity, and, above all, confidence in Franco’s regime. These general ideas were expressed in the movies through their characters, whose plots were far remote from Spanish reality of those years. This way, they made their way to the vast audiences that went to the movies. The fresh memories of the Civil War, the postwar purges going on, the omnipresent repression, and the gradual improvement of the conditions of life facilitated the relationship between a yearning for peace and well-being, which all felt, and the regime which paradoxically seemed to make it attainable. In this particular context, people did not question the symbols, myths, and stereotypes portrayed in the movies. These included both the role of women in society or of education and government policy or lifestyles. Obviously, the film industry was not alone in this: popular literature worked along the same lines. Similarly, radio and later television—the contents of both means were entirely controlled—showed similar traits in their respective programming. The perception of movies as a means of entertainment did not change noticeably until the second half of the 1960s. There was, therefore, continuity throughout this long period. This shows that social change was slow in coming and was hardly perceptible. In fact, in many cases the answers of the interviewees did not show an internal time. This could be because the individual memory functions this way, in large blocks, or because the regime was able to unite the past (memories of the war) with the present and the future, presenting its victory as the culmination of the history of Spain. In short, the film industry as a whole—official newsreels, American and Spanish fiction movies— acted in favor of showing the forms of the national identity which the regime exploited to ensure its continuity and stability for almost 40 years. Correspondence: María Antonia Paz, Departmento de Historia de la Comunicación Social, Facultad de Ciencias de la Información, Cuidad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain. E-mail: manpaz@tiscali.es NOTES [1] Pierre Sorlin, L’Immagine e L. ’Evento: L’Uso Storico delle Fonti Audiovisive (Torino, 1999), p. 6. [2] José Vidal Pelaz and Pablo Pére, Los Espanoles v el Cine, 1969–2000 [The Spanish and film, D ow nl oa de d by [ U ni ve rs ity R ey J ua n C ar lo si ] at 0 2: 15 2 4 O ct ob er 2 01 3 The Spanish Remember 371 1969–2000]. in Pelaz and Rueda (eds). Ver Cine: Los Públicos Cinematograficos en el Siglo XX [Film Audiences in the 20th Century] (Madrid, 2002), pp. 211–244. [3] See Rafael R. Tranche and Vicente Sánchez-Biosca. NO-DO: El tiempo v la memoria [Nodo: Time and Memory] (Madrid, 2001). [4] On the scope and areas of these studies, see Paul Thompson, The Voice of the Past (Oxford, 1978); Paul Connerton. How Societies Remember (Cambridge, 1989); J. Fentres and C. Wickham, Social Memory (Oxford, 1992); and Bustillo (ed.), Memoria e historia, Ayer, 32 (1998). [5] Instituto de Estadística [Statistics Institute]. Estadísticas de Población de la Comunidad de Madrid [Statistics on the Population of the Autonomous Region of Madrid] (Madrid, 2001, 2002). [6] The entire lay legislation of the Second Republic was abolished, the confessional State was declared and the regime generously financed church activities. The 1953 Concordat granted the Church all sorts of privileges and benefits. Essential books on this issue are: J. Casanova, La Iglesia de Franco [Franco’s Church] (Madrid, 2001), J. J. Ruiz Rico, El papel político de la Iglesia Católica en la España de Franco (1936–1971) [The Political Role of the Catholic Church in Franco’s Spain] (Madrid, 1971) and J. Tussell, Franco y los católicos [Franco and the Catholics], La política interior española entre 1945 y 1977 [Spanish Domestic Politics between 1945 and 1977] (Madrid, 1984). [7] Interview 4, Isidro B. J., 1921, Chercholes (Soria), railroad employee, retired. [8] Interview 2, Fidel C. D., 1940, Brozas (Cáceres), civil servant. [9] Interview 13, María Dolores D. T., 1948, Sevilla, secretary. [10] Javier Tussell, Los hijos de la sangre: la España fr 1936 desde 1986 [Sons of Blood: Spain from 1936 until 1986] (Madrid, 1986). In this essay the author shows that the memory of the Spanish Civil War made the political transition a peaceful one. [11] Interview 15, Francisca H. B., 1919, Mazalvete (Soria), housewife. [12] Interview 39, Gloria F. G., 1929, Madrid, factory employee, retired. [13] Interview 10, Sacramento S. A., 1929, Navalmorales (Toledo), butcher, retired. [14] Interview 4. [15] Interview 22, Carmen C. B., 1923, Córdoba, housewife, and Interview 24. Heráclito C. R., Xauen (Morocco), lawyer. [16] During the regime’s first years, the episcopate’s prime concern was the legitimation of the political power and its reductionist moral did not get beyond an obsession of supressing the use of low-cut dresses and short skirts and condemning movies such as Gilda, which was erroneously considered erotic. J. A. Biescas and M. Tuñón de Lara, España bajo la dictadura franquista [Spain Under Franco’s Dictatorship] (Barcelona, 1990), p. 471. [17] Interview 10. [18] Interview 30, José Antonio O. C., 1939, Lastres (Asturias), journalist. [19] Román Gubern and J. E., Monterde (eds), Historia del cine español [History of Spanish Film] (Madrid, 1995), p. 262. [20] Interview 4. [21] Interview 14, Pilar G. R., 1920, Cuenca, housewife. [22] Interview 40, Laurentina S. L., 1914, Trabazos de Aliste (Zamora), cattle farmer, retired. [23] The first broadcastings started in 1956: only in Madrid and at certain times in the afternoon. Until 1963, however, major televised broadcasting had not started yet. Manuel Palacio, Historia de la Televisión en España [History of Television in Spain] (Barcelona, 2001), p. 56. [24] Interview 4. [25] Doctor Rodríguez de la Fuente made nature documentaries popular in Spain with varied series on fauna and the environment. Pedro Medina, L. M. González and José Velázquez (eds), Historia del Cortometraje Español [History of Spanish Short Movies] (Alcalá de Henares, Spain, 1996), p. 272. [26] Interview 31, Prudencio M. J., 1928, Madrid, plumber, retired. [27] Basically two movies are mentioned: Ladri di biciclette (Rossellini, Italy, 1948) and Miracolo a Milano (V. de Sica, Italy, 1950). [28] Interview 25, Juan R. V., 1918, Alcabón (Toledo), railroad worker, retired. [29] Interview 12, Carmen P. R., 1933, Lestedo (Galicia), hotel manager, retired. [30] Interview 36, Francisco F. B., 1925, Molinaseca (León), mailman, retired. [31] Interview 16, Abel D. E., 1920, Mazalvete (Soria), farmer, retired. [32] Interview 32, Domingo P. P., 1943, Madrid, administrative assistant. [33] Interview 22. [34] Interview 23, Trinidad F. P., 1923, Sanchonuño (Segovia), civil servant, retired. [35] Interview 9, Enedina T. A., 1931, Castañera (Asturias), lotery saleswoman. D ow nl oa de d by [ U ni ve rs ity R ey J ua n C ar lo si ] at 0 2: 15 2 4 O ct ob er 2 01 3 372 M. A. Paz [36] Interview 40. [37] Interview 22. [38] Interview 13. [39] Interview 37. Maria Dolores V. G., 1955, Viveiro (A Coruña), housewife. [40] Interview 39. [41] Interview 7, Benito N. B., 1928, Ugena (Toledo), farmer, retired. [42] Interview 32. [43] Interview 33, Ladislao T. L., 1938, Venialbo (Zamora), sales engineer. [44] NODO distributed an undefined number of copies that circulated in movie theaters, according to their category: first the movie theaters with new releases, next those with new release previews, and so on. In some cases, newsreels only reached remote movie theaters a year later. [45] Interview 31. [46] Interview 25, Juan R. V., 1918, Alcabón (Toledo), railroad worker, retired. [47] Interview 37, There were not that many water reservoires inaugurated. This is, however, the element that is remembered most, possibly because people made jokes about it. [48] Interview 23. The fear for a new civil war is also apparent in the memoires of public figures, such as Antonio Jiménez Blanco, Los niños de la guerra ya somos viejos [We, the Children of the War, Are Already Old] (Madrid, 1994), p. 197 and following. [49] Interview 27, Adolfo S. P., 1920, Cuenca, veterinary, retired. [50] Interview 16. [51] Interview 17, Concepción R. H., 1919, Salamanca, housewife. [52] Interview 23. [53] Interview 2. [54] Interview 30. [55] Interview 39. [56] Román Gubern and Domènec Font, Un cine para el cadalso [A Movie for the Scaffold] (Barcelona, 1975). Appendix. Interview Model: movie-going audience during Franco’s regime Personal Data Name and last name(s) of the interviewee. Date and place of birth. Education.Professions and postings. Current work/situation. Religion. Political orientation. Marital status. Name and profession of parents. Number of siblings. Name and profession of spouse, date of marriage. Children, profession or education. 1. Family background, early childhood, and childhood Which region does your family come from? What type of work did your parents and grandparents do? Has your family, parents or grandparents emigrated? How many persons did your family consist of when you were a minor? What was the family feeling like? What memories do you have of your childhood? What sort of family education did you receive at home when you were a child? Where did you live the first years of your life—in a city, village, or city quarter? Please tell us about your parents. What work did they do? What education did they have? What attitudes did they have? Did your parents have any political opinion? Do you remember whether your parents went to the movies? Did they discuss the movie at home? Did they attend any other means of entertainment? Which? D ow nl oa de d by [ U ni ve rs ity R ey J ua n C ar lo si ] at 0 2: 15 2 4 O ct ob er 2 01 3