A town out of a movie

The first film known to have been filmed in our town is ‘La hija del penal’, shot in 1935, in which our castle is turned into a prison with a lot of wardens to watch over a single prisoner, Antonio Vico, who plays the leading role and falls in love with the daughter of the prison director, which will be closed on the death of the prisoner.

In 1944, another western film was shot in La Jarosa, curiously enough made by Germans in the middle of the Second World War. But due to the end of the war after the surrender of Germany, the film was not finished as the entire film crew disappeared leaving behind numerous debts.

The Castle of the Mendoza family became a natural setting for many films, just like the river and La Pedriza rocky outcrop, where ‘Oro vil’ the first Spanish western film was shot.

In 1947, ‘La princesa de los Ursinos’ with Ana Mariscal and Roberto Rey in the leading roles was shot, and the following year, in 1948, with the Castle as the setting, ‘Locura de amor’ was shot, a classic of our cinema, with Fernando Rey and Aurora Bautista in the leading roles.

In 1949, ‘La Duquesa de Benamejí’ was filmed in La Pedriza and ‘Alas de juventud’ was filmed in the town. From now on the town centre of Manzanares would also be used as a natural set.

In 1950 ‘Balarrasa’ was filmed, with Fernando Fernán Gómez; and in 1952, ‘La laguna negra’. In 1953, a film about bandits, was shot in El Tranco, the Hermitage and La Pedriza, ‘Carne de horca’, which tells the adventures of the bandit Lucero, who kidnapped for ransom, which reminds us of true stories that took place in La Pedriza in the 19th century. The other film from that year is ‘Jeromín’, also shot in the Castle.

In 1954, came ‘Coraza negra’, the first swashbuckler film set in the Castle. These films of knightly adventures made some neighbours sleep without mattresses, as they rented them for 25 pesetas per day to break the fall of the actors from the battlements of the Castle.

In the film ‘El Coyote’ and its sequel, ‘La justicia del Coyote’, some shots were filmed in the reservoir, another attractive spot in our town, which would sometimes become an ocean, a lagoon or a sea, as appropriate. In the same year ‘Nosotros dos’ was shot, a film that many locals have on video, because it was entirely filmed in the village and can be considered a documentary, as in addition you can see what the village looked like in that year, and many of the locals, some no longer with us.

In 1955, with the castle in the background, ‘La fierecilla domada’ with Carmen Sevilla, the thriller ‘Nunca es demasiado tarde’, and a comedy by the great actor José Luis Ozores, ‘Recluta con niño’, were filmed.

In 1956, the super-production ‘Alexander the Great’ was shot, with Richard Burton in the leading role, and inwhich many extras were needed, paid at 600 pesetas a day per rider and horse. In the same year, this time near the Hermitage and La Pedriza, ‘La vida en un bloc’ was also filmed. José Luis Ozores repeated in 1957 with the film ‘El aprendiz de malo’. From the same year is ‘The Pride and the Passion’, which was known in the town as ‘El gran cañón’ (the big cannon) because of the cannon that was used in the set, starring Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Sofia Loren and Carlos Larrañaga.

In 1958, La Pedriza was the location for the filming of ‘La rebelión de los gladiadores’, and ‘El Rodaje’ and the Mill for ‘La venta de Vargas’ with Lola Flores. ‘Llegaron dos hombres’, is from the same year, this time filmed in the town and in the Charca Verde bar. ‘Molokai’, in which the reservoir simulated the sea and its shores an island of lepers. The protagonist of the film is Padre Damián, and the little boy, who died shortly afterwards, was a child of the village. The film aroused such fervour among our inhabitants that some time later one of the streets of our village was named after the main character. The year ends with a fantastic film, ‘The 7th Voyage of Sinbad’ (Sinbad and the princess in Spanish), in which we can see a fight against a cyclops and some two-headed giant vultures which live in La Pedriza.

In 1959 ‘Carmen la de Ronda’, with Sara Montiel. Then came the blockbuster ‘Spartacus’, with Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier and Tony Curtis among others. ‘The Last Days of Pompeii’ (‘Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei’ in the original), with Esteve Reeves, and ‘Solomon and Shaba’, with Yul Brynner and Gina Lollobrigida, closed the year.

In 1960, ‘El príncipe encadenado’ was filmed, in which many locals returned to work as extras. Plaster annexes were built to the castle and people also remember that to give the impression that there were lots of soldiers, they would come out several times in a row from behind a set that imitated the castle and walk in front of the camera. A neighbour, Santiago M., known as Santiagón, was hired as captain of soldiers and was given a short skirt with his armour. His white legs had barely seen the sunlight apart from what his trousers filtered through, and after take, after take of riding under the summer sun he got sunburnt. But he did justice to his name and did not miss any shooting. The film director was full of admiration and could not understand how he had been able to put up with so much. The last film shot that year was ‘La rebelión de los esclavos’.

Again, in 1961, more cinema classics were shot. ‘The Cid’ with the Castle and ‘El Rodaje’ as settings, and Charlton Heston and Sofia Loren in the leading roles. ‘El Coloso de Rodas’, in which our reservoir is once again the sea, this time the Mediterranean Sea. ‘King of Kings’, a super-production in which the village of Nazareth was recreated in ‘El Rodaje’. ‘De Ursus’, a film with muscular warriors, Antonio L. remembers that all the professional wrestlers in Madrid came as extras. On one occasion, one of them, Ochando, gave him an affectionate blow that knocked him senseless and scared. In the same year Fernando Fernán Gómez’s ‘La venganza de Don Mendo’ was also filmed.

In 1962 more movies with muscular warriors were filmed: ‘Il gladiatore invincibile’, ‘Goliath contro i giganti’, ‘I sette gladiatori’ and an adventure film, ‘El valle de las espadas’, with Espartaco Santoni.

In 1963, a western, Gringo, and another adventure film, ‘El caballero negro’, gave way to ‘La chica del trébol’, filmed in the Castle and in the village, and starring Rocío Dúrcal. To round off the year, another great blockbuster, ‘The Fall of the Roman Empire’, starring Sofia Loren again.

It was in 1964 when a long series of western films began in Colmenar Viejo, where a set had been built to recreate a village of the American Wild West. Many scenes from these films were shot in our town. ‘Aventuras del Oeste’, ‘Fuera de la ley’, ‘Joaquín Murrieta’, ‘La tumba del pistolero’, ‘Los rurales de Texas’ and ‘Antes llega la muerte’. In the latter, a gold prospectors’ village was built in the Cortecero Rill!

Westerns continued in 1965. ‘El séptimo de caballería’; ‘El zorro cabalga otra vez’, which was known here as ‘La Pimpinela de California’; ‘La ley del forastero’; ‘Minnesota Clay’; and ‘Los tres invencibles’, of a different genre than the previous ones.

1966 continues to mark the boom in Westerns. The following films were shot in La Pedriza: ‘Django’, ‘La muerte cumple condena’, ‘Mestizo’, ‘Un hombre y un colt’ and the famous ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ with Clint Eastwood (‘Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo’ in its original title). Also from the same year are the comedy ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’ (‘Golfus de Roma’ in Spanish) and the war film ‘Lost command’, starring Anthony Quinn, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale.

During 1967 and 1968 the production of westerns and its spaghetti sub-genre continued: ‘Texas, addio’; ‘La resa dei conti’; ‘Los despiadados’; ‘The vengance of She’, not released in Spain; ‘Land Raiders’; ‘Bandidos’; ‘Faccia a faccia’; ‘Tutto per tutto’; ‘The Desperados!’; ‘Custer of the West’; ‘15 forche per un assassino’; ‘Uno dopo l’altro’; and ‘Villa Rides’, known here as ‘Villa cabalga’.

In 1969 the Western genre began to decline due to the saturation of titles, but ‘Kidnapping! Paga o uccidiamo tuo figlio’, ‘Manos torpes’, ‘Una lunga fila di croci’ and the unreleased in Spain ‘A talent for loving’ were still filmed. In the same year, Paul Naschy’s ‘La marca del hombre lobo’, a Spanish horror film, was shot.

In 1970 some Westerns were still being shot: ‘Un par de asesinos’, ‘Cannon for Cordoba’ and ‘Red Sun’, with Ursula Andress, Charles Bronson and Alain Delon taking part in the latter. Also from that year are ‘Julius Caesar’, known here as ‘The Assassination of Julius Caesar’ and filmed in the vicinity of the Canto del Berrueco, starring Charlton Heston, and ‘The Horsemen’, starring Omar Shariff, in which the surroundings of the reservoir are used to represent the territory of Afghanistan.

In 1972 we find the following titles: ‘El Quijote cabalga de nuevo’, a comedy by Mario Moreno Cantinflas filmed in Canto del Berrueco; ‘Antony and Cleopatra’, with Charlton Heston as director and star; and ‘The Man Called Noon’, for which a stone hut was built in ‘El Rodaje’, and then eventually burnt and of which there are still remains.

In 1975, the film ‘Potato Fritz’ was shot, an ecological western filmed by Germans, for which a camp was set up in ‘El Rodaje’.

The following year, some episodes of the famous television series ‘Curro Jiménez’, starring Sancho Gracia, were filmed.

During 1980, several chapters of another TV series are filmed under the title ‘La máscara’.

From 1981 is the well-known ‘Conan the Barbarian’, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, where we can see, but not recognise because he was covered, Dionisio on his chariot pulled by cows with big horns taking Conan captive. ‘La hija rebelde’ was also filmed in the same year.

In 1983 the western returned with ‘Al oeste de río Grande’, with shots in Charca Verde, and ‘Hundra’, a female version of Conan, in which the sets and costumes of the latter were used.

1984 brings us two comedies: ‘Al este del oeste’, with Fernando Esteso, Antonio Ozores and Juanito Navarro, and ‘La Biblia en pasta’, by Manuel Summers.

Two films of the fantasy genre mark 1985: ‘El caballero del dragón’, with Klaus Kinski, Fernando Rey and Miguel Bosé, and ‘Tex e il signore degli abissi’, based on a comic book.

During 1986, two westerns are shot simultaneously in Canto Cochino and Charca Verde: ‘Apache Kid’ and ‘¡Sclaps! Venganza india’.

In 1987 ‘Hot Blood’ was filmed and in 1988 the reservoir was used in some shots of ‘Esquilache’, in which Fernando Fernán Gómez, J. L. López Vázquez, Ángela Molina, Ángel de Andrés, Concha Velasco and Adolfo Marsillach, among others, took part.

The film ‘The Return of the Three Musketeers’ was shot at the Castle during 1989. It starred Michael York, Oliver Reed, Franck Finlay, Richard Chamberlain and Christopher Lee. A pit was needed for the filming, and during the excavation a suspicious bone was found, which kept filming at a standstill until it was confirmed to be that of a dog. Many will remember this film for the hot air balloon hanging from a crane above the castle.

During 1990, some episodes of two television series were filmed: ‘El Quijote’, with Fernando Rey and Alfredo Landa, and ‘El Zorro’, a North American production.

In 1996, specifically in the Quebrantaherraduras site, sequences of the Spanish comedy ‘Airbag’ were shot.

For the exterior scenes of the 1998 film ‘Los años bárbaros’, La Camorza was used as the background for a model recreating the construction of the Basílica del Valle de los Caídos.

Finally, we find ourselves in 1999 with ‘Un dólar para los muertos’ and in 2001 with ‘El Bola’, awarded with 4 Goyas.

So much for our knowledge of films shot in Manzanares el Real. Surely there will be many more. If you know of any other film, come to the Association and tell us about it. And thank you so much to all of you who have contributed to remembering so many films.