“Castilla y León: cinema setting” is a photographic exhibition, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports, through the Castilla y León Film Commission that compiles images of the most notable international productions filmed in Castilla y León during the 50s-70s.
The exhibition “Castile and León: A Film Setting” opened on July 4th at the Ethnographic Museum of Castile and León (Zamora) for its third tour. It will be on display until November 3rd.
The exhibition includes some of the many scenes recorded in locations in Castilla y León, with real natural and heritage settings. The renowned director Orson Welles filmed six feature films in Spain and four of them immortalized settings in Castilla y León. Arkadin” (1955). At the Colegio de San Gregorio in Valladolid, the masked ball scene took place with almost 300 extras, among them, the writer Miguel Delibes. In “Pride and Passion”, by Stanley Kramer (1957) and with a luxury cast starring Sophia Loren, Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra, the wall of Ávila is dynamited with cannon shots in the final scene of the production.
“El Cid” (1961) is an epic film directed by Anthony Mann starring Charlton Heston and Sofía Loren, with scenes shot in Ampudia (Palencia) and Torrelobatón (Valladolid) that required the participation of hundreds of extras. In “The Fall of the Roman Empire” (1964) by Anthony Mann, the Sierra de Guadarrama, in particular La Pedriza, the Granja de San Ildefonso and the forests of Valsaín, witnessed the passage of the Roman legionaries.
“Chimes at Midnight” (1965), one of Orson Welles’ most notable films, was filmed in various locations in Ávila, Segovia and Soria. The film “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly” (1966) by Sergio Leone, filmed some of the most iconic scenes of the film in the province of Burgos: the mission was recreated in the Monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza, the prison camp was built near Carazo, and the battle between the northerners and the southerners took place on the Arlanza River, near Covarrubias, as if it were the Río Grande. In the municipality of Contreras, 250 Spanish soldiers built the Sad Hill cemetery, a setting that was recovered in 2015 and has more than 8,000 tombs. “Robin and Marian” (1976) by Richard Lester, filmed some of its scenes in the Villalonso castle (Zamora).
Castilla y León: film setting
In the late forties, the Runaway Productions phenomenon arrived in Europe: American productions intended for American audiences, but filmed outside the United States. It had previously established itself in the United Kingdom in 1948, when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer opened a studio near London, and later in Cinecittà, Italy.
The Runaway Productions Runaway productions emerged following the rise of media like television, which provided free entertainment in the postwar era. They also responded to the release of American capital tied up in Europe for film distribution. Thus, major American production companies recouped this capital by investing in films that required high production costs within Europe.
To achieve this, they initially focused on spectacle and, later, on eroticism. This included impressive outdoor shoots, thrilling action scenes, special effects, and, of course, hundreds, or even thousands, of extras surrounding the stars. Y se descubrió el potencial de España como destino de rodajes porque ofrecía unas condiciones favorables: un clima confortable con amplias horas de luz, una mano de obra barata y dócil, paisajes variopintos con localizaciones casi vírgenes, estudios equipados y técnicos cualificados.
Later, and thanks to the free publicity of the film star Ava Gardner who fell in love with Spain, the Spanish government became aware of the potential for tourist promotion that film production represented. In 1953, the Madrid Pacts were signed between Spain and the United States, and this agreement generated a new climate in the relationship between the two countries that favored a greater development of audiovisual productions.
Starting with the filming of “Alexander the Great” in 1955, Spain became a destination for numerous film productions, thanks to its immense landscape and climatic possibilities. Super-productions began to arrive that chose Castilla y León as an alternative and complement to the filming that was taking place in Madrid. Its proximity to the capital, its varied natural landscape and its rich heritage attracted directors such as Orson Welles, David Lean, Stanley Kramer and Anthony Mann, putting the Community at the center of major international production companies.
