Production
Luis Buñuel began working with screenwriter Phillip Ansel Roll in 1950 on a script. Mexican-Canadian Alex Phillips was hired as the cinematographer. Dan O'Herlihy, who played Macduff in Orson Welles' Macbeth, was cast in the lead role. More than 300 actors were considered for the lead role. Negotiations with Herlihy occurred at the last moment and under strict conditions of secrecy to prevent a wealthier motion picture studio from rushing a similar story into production.
Jaime Fernández was cast as Friday. Fernández was the younger brother of the noted Mexican actor Emilio Fernández, director and star of 1947's La perla, based on author John Steinbeck's novella The Pearl. Jaime Fernández was working as a grip when discovered by Buñuel. He spoke no English, and learned it on the set much as his character did.
Filming began on July 7, 1952, on the west coast of Mexico. Principal photography was scheduled for seven weeks, with both an English language and Spanish language version shot simultaneously. Both films were budgeted at a total of $350,000. Exterior shots were filmed near the city of Manzanillo in the Mexican state of Colima. There were 60 individuals in the production crew. The crew took daily doses of Diodoquin and aralen to guard against dysentery and malaria, respectively. A security squad of local Manzanillans kept snakes, wild boar, and other dangerous animals at bay with guns and machetes. Interior shots were filmed on Sound Stage 3 at Tepeyac Studios in Mexico City. The negatives were flown to Hollywood, where they were developed and color-corrected. Three times a week, Buñuel, Phillips, the producers, O'Herlihy, and others watched the rushes in a local movie theater. Editing and scoring also occurred in Mexico City.
According to O'Herlihy, Buñuel saw the central theme of the story as that of a man who ages and almost loses his mind, only to find that companionship is his salvation. O'Herlihy also said that the script was used only for the first week of shooting. Afterward, Buñuel and O'Herlihy would merely discuss the story and how O'Herlihy should act and react.
The producers initially believed the film would be ready for distribution by December 1952. But numerous delays upset these plans. On October 14, 1953, the producers announced that United Artists had signed an agreement for worldwide distribution rights to the film. The film premiered in New York City on August 4, 1954, at the Normandie Theatre.
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