Conrado San Martín

Life

Conrado San Martin, born Conrado Asan San Martín Prieto, left behind a career as an amateur boxer to take small roles in the theater in the company of Cayetano Luca de Tena and to act as an extra in some films. He made his film debut with Oro vil (1941) a film directed by Eduardo G. Maroto. During the 1940s, San Martín became an actor in secondary roles and was very much in demand in some of the most important Spanish film of that period: El fantasma y Doña Juanita (1944) directed by Rafael Gil, Los últimos de Filipinas (1945) directed by Antonio Román; La princesa de los Usinos (1947), by Luis Lucia and La Lola se va a los puertos (1947) and Locura de amor (1948), both films directed by Juan de Orduña. These roles led the Catalan production company Emisora films to give him an exclusive contract and he starred in the comedies: Siempre vuelve de madrugada (1948) (He always come back at dawn): Despertó su corazón Awoke his heart (1949) and Mi adorado Juan My beloved Juan (1949) a film directed by Jeronimo Mihura.

San Martín also took roles in the thriller Apartado the corrreos 1001 (1950); Mail box 1001, a film directed by Julio Salvador which was a great hit with audiences; and Relato Policiaco (1954) by Antonio Isasi. The success of some of these productions gave him the starring role in Amenaza (1950) Threat a film directed by Antonio Roman; La patrulla, 19540 a film directed by Pedro Lazaga; Pasión en el mar (1956) o...y eligio el infierno (1957). He created his own production company, Laurus films, producing the melodramas: Lo que nunca muere (1954) and Sin la so rosa de Dios (1955).

As his career consolidated, he began to work in international co-productions like: Le legioni di Cleopatra (1959) by Vittorio Cottafavi, The Colossus of Rhodes (1960), the first film directed by Sergio Leone, King of Kings (1961), La Muerte silva un blues (1962), directed by Jesús Franco; the Spaghetti Western All'ombra di una colt (In the Shadow of a Colt) (1966) directed by Giovanni Grimaldi; Los largos días de la venganza (1967) directed by Florestano Vancini; Simon Bolivar (1969) a film directed by Alessando Blasetti.

The failure of his production company eventually made him retire from the big screen in the early 1970s. He came back to take on important secondary roles a decade later in films like: Asesinato en el comité central (Murder in the Central Committee) (1983); A la palida luz de la Luna (1985)' a film directed by Jose Maria Gonzalez Sinde; Extramuros (1985), a film directed by Miguel Picazo; Dragon Raptide (1986) by Jaime Camino Boom boom (1989) by Rosa Verges; Riders of the Dawn (1990) by Vicente Aranda and A solas Contigo (1990), a film directed by Eduardo Campoy.