Industry Film production Founded January 1937 | Headquarters Argentina | |
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Films produced Prisioneros de la tierra, Chingolo, Stella, The Gaucho Priest, La fuga | ||
Pampa Film was an Argentine film production company that was active in the 1930s and 1940s. It is known for its classic Prisioneros de la tierra (1939).
History
Pampa Film was founded in January 1937 by Warner Bros. in partnership with the local entrepreneur Olegario Ferrando. The company used the Lumiton facilities at first, and Lumiton was to distribute its films. Later the link with Lumiton was severed.
Luis Saslavsky directed Sueño de Una Vide Nueva for Pampa Film, released in Argentina as La fuga by Warner Bros. on 28 July 1937 with music by César Gola. It was one of the hits of the year. Jorge Luis Borges praised the romantic comedy, saying it did not "suffer from fruitless images" but flowed "the way American films do." In La fuga Amelia Bence supported Tita Merello and Santiago Arrieta. Her performance earned Bence a contract at Pampa Film and three other film appearances.
On 17 August 1939 Pampa Film released Prisioneros de la tierra, directed by Mario Soffici and starring Ángel Magaña, Francisco Petrone, Eliza Gálvez, Raúl Lange, Homero Cárpena and Roberto Fugazot. The highly successful film, based on short stories by Horacio Quiroga, has become a classic. The Argentine film historian Domingo di Núbila has called the genre launched by this film "social folkloric". It inspired many later filmmakers in Argentina, although in the short term the industry did not take up the challenge.