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Viva Zapata!

Alternate Title: Emiliano Zapata Director: Elia Kazan (Dir) Release Date: Mar 1952 Premiere Information: New York opening: 7 Feb 1952; Los Angeles opening: 12 Mar 1952 Production Date: 29 May--late Jul 1951 Duration (in mins): 110 or 112-113 Duration (in feet): 9,910 Duration (in reels): 12			Print this page Display Movie Summary

Cast:	Marlon Brando	([Emiliano] Zapata)
	Jean Peters	(Josefa [Zapata])
	Anthony Quinn	(Eufemio [Zapata])
	Joseph Wiseman	(Fernando [Aguirre])
	Arnold Moss	(Don Nacio)
	Alan Reed	(Pancho Villa)
	Margo	(Soldadera)
	Harold Gordon	([Francisco Indalecio] Madero)
	Lou Gilbert	(Pablo)
	Frank Silvera	([Victoriano] Huerta)
	Florenz Ames	(Señor Espejo)
	Richard Garrick	(Old general)
	Fay Roope	([Porfirio] Díaz)
	Mildred Dunnock	(Señora Espejo)
	Nina Varela	(Aunt)
	Will Kuluva	(Lazaro)
	Bernie Gozier	(Zapatista)
	Frank De Kova	(Col. Jesús Guajardo)
	Pedro Regas	(Innocente)
	Ross Bagdasarian	(Officer)
	Marc Krah	(Officer)
	Leonard George	(Husband)
	Abner Biberman	(Captain)
	Phil Van Zandt	(C.O.)
	Fred Sadoff	(Soldier)
	Irving Winter	(Soldier)
	Henry Silva	(Soldier)
	Salvador Basquez	(Soldier)
	Peter Mamakos	(Soldier)
	John Gonatos	(Soldier)
	Guy Thomajan	(Eduardo)
	Ric Roman	(Manager)
	Henry Corden	(Senior officer)
	Nestor Paiva	(New general)
	Alex Montoya	(Rurale)
	Carols Vives	(Rurale)
	George J. Lewis	(Rurale)
	Joe Herrera	(Rurale)
	Marc Snow	(Attendant)
	Nick Thompson	(Delegate)
	Henri Sidoni	(Driver)
	Jack Carr	(Huerta's aide)
	Ed Colmans	(Secretary)
	Carlo Tricola	(Photographer)
	Rico Alaniz	(Guard)
	David Fresco	(Guard)
	Juan Varro	(Guard)
	Yolanda Mirelez	(Girl)
	Robert Filmer	(Captain of rurales)
	Julia Montoya	(Wife)
	José Dominguez	(Manuel)
	Miguel Contreras	(Mexican)
	Shooting Star
	Paul Lopez
	Enrique Cabrera
	Lorenzo Duran
	Ruben Holquin
	Charles Martinez
	David Nunez
	James Porta
	Daniel Armijo
	William Frescas
	Daniel Nunez
	Juan Saenz
	Danny Sands

Summary:

In 1909, a delegation of Indians from the Mexican state of Morelos travel to Mexico City to plead for the return of land stolen from them. They are received by president Porfirio Díaz, who has ruled as dictator for thirty-four years, and his preferential treatment of landowners is revealed by his condescending attitude toward the peasants. One of the men, Emiliano Zapata, insists that Díaz give them authority to enforce their rights, and Díaz circles Zapata's name on the petition so that he can be watched in the future. Back in Morales, when the Indians attempt to survey their stolen land, soldiers set up a machine gun and a massacre begins. Zapata leads the fight against the soldiers, and his actions make him a wanted criminal. While Zapata hides in the mountains with his brother Eufemio, friend Pablo and follower Soldadera, news of his stand against Díaz' corruption spreads, and he is visited by journalist and political zealot Fernando Aguirre. Fernando suggests that Zapata join the cause of Francisco Indalecio Madero, an exiled Mexican leader attempting to overthrow Díaz, but Zapata, reluctant to trust someone he does not know, sends Pablo to meet him. Zapata then goes with Eufemio to a nearby town, where he meets with his sweetheart Josefa, whose storeowner father, Señor Espejo, refuses to allow her to marry the outlaw. Hoping to become respectable, Zapata, renowned for his knowledge of horses, accepts a job with Don Nacio de la Torre, who succeeds in obtaining a pardon for him. When Pablo and Fernando return from meeting with Madero, they urge Zapata to join him, but Zapata, hoping for a peaceful life with Josefa, refuses. Before Zapata can win Josefa's hand, however, he is outraged by the Federales' cruel treatment of an old Indian man, and kills the soldiers. Espejo again forbids Zapata to marry his daughter, but Zapata's popularity with the people is solidified when they prevent the police from arresting him. As the weeks pass, Zapata and his followers engage in battles with Díaz' soldiers, and one day, Zapata rewards a brave youngster with his own treasured white horse. When Madera names Zapata his general in the south, as Pancho Villa is his general in the north, Espejo allows Zapata to court Josefa. After Díaz flees Mexico and Madera assumes control of the government, Josefa and Zapata marry, and on their wedding night, Josefa begins to teach her husband how to read. Soon after, Zapata visits Madera in Mexico City and is infuriated when the well-meaning but naive Madera offers him a rich estate as reward for his support, then declares that the reinstatement of the Indians' land will take time. Fernando cynically states that although Madera is honest, he is controlled by the same men surrounding Díaz, but Zapata decides to give Madera time to prove himself. Corrupt general Huerta urges Madera to kill Zapata, who he thinks is too powerful, although Pablo persuades Madera to visit Zapata in Morales and see him with the people. Madera attends a celebration in Zapata's village, where the men turn in their weapons, but the fiesta ends when Huerta sends his army in to kill Zapata. Forced again to fight, Zapata engages in many battles with Huerta's forces, while Madera is held captive and then assassinated. Soon after, an ambush on Zapata's forces leads him to suspect that a traitor has betrayed him, and when he learns that Pablo had been communicating with Madera, he executes his old friend himself. Huerta is soon defeated, and Villa and Zapata meet with other revolutionary leaders in Mexico City, where it is decided that the weary Zapata will become the president. Later, a delegation from Morales visits Zapata to inform him that Eufemio has turned into a despot, stealing land and other men's wives. Infuriated when he finds himself circling the leader's name on the petition, Zapata resigns and returns home to confront Eufemio. Eufemio defends his actions, remarking that Zapata has remained poor, then is killed by the husband of a woman he has seduced. Sick of politics, Zapata returns to his army, and the new president, spurred on by Fernando, decides that in order to consolidate his power, Zapata must be killed. Using a cache of ammunition as bait, a trap is laid, and although Josefa urges Zapata not to go, he travels to the fort where the ammunition is supposedly held. There, Col. Jesús Guajardo reunites Zapata with his beloved white horse before he is shot by dozens of soldiers. After the horse escapes, Zapata's mutilated body is displayed in a nearby village courtyard. The people refuse to accept that the corpse is Zapata's, however, and believe that his horse, running free in the mountains, is a sign that he will return when he is needed.

Production Company:	Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Distribution Company:	Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
Director:	Elia Kazan	(Dir)
	Horace Hough	(Asst dir)
	Robert Snody	(2d unit dir)
Producer:	Darryl F. Zanuck	(Prod)
Writer:	John Steinbeck	(Wrt)
Photography:	Joe MacDonald	(Dir of photog)
Art Direction:	Lyle Wheeler	(Art dir)
	Leland Fuller	(Art dir)
Film Editor:	Barbara McLean	(Film ed)
Set Decoration:	Thomas Little	(Set dec)
	Claude Carpenter	(Set dec)
	Don Greenwood	(Props)
Costumes:	Charles LeMaire	(Ward dir)
	Travilla	(Cost des)
	Morris Harmell	(Ward)
	Ollie Hughes	(Ward)
Music:	Alfred Newman	(Mus dir)
	Alex North	(Mus)
	Maurice DePackh	(Orch)
Sound:	W. D. Flick	(Sd)
	Roger Heman	(Sd)
Special Effects:	Fred Sersen	(Spec photog eff)
Make Up:	Ben Nye	(Makeup artist)
	Alan Snyder	(Makeup)
	Lillian Hokom	(Hairdresser)
Production Misc:	F. E. Johnston	(Unit prod mgr)
	Max Golden	(Asst prod mgr)
	Juan José Segura	(Tech adv)
	Professor Sologuren	(Tech adv)
	José R. Barcia	(Tech adv and Spanish instructor)
	Stanley Scheuer	(Scr supv)
	William Maybery	(Unit casting dir)
	Walt Whaley	(Unit casting dir)
	Guy Thomajan	(Asst to Kazan)
	Tina Menard	(Interpreter and casting asst)
Stand In:	Rocky Ybarra	(Stunt rider)
	Virgil Guerra	(Marlon Brando's stand-in)
Country:	United States
Language:	English

Songs:	"Serenata Mexicana," music and lyrics by Manuel M. Ponce; "La rielera," Mexican folk song, music arranged by Ruth Parker Taichert; "El venadito," "La valentina," "Pajarillo barranqueno," "Las mananitas" and "Adelita," Mexican folk songs.
Composer:	Manuel M. Ponce
	Ruth Parker Taichert

Copyright Claimant	Copyright Date	Copyright Number
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.	7/2/1952 dd/mm/yyyy	LP1623

PCA NO:	15345
Physical Properties:	Sd:	Western Electric Recording
	b&w:


Genre:	Drama
	Drama
Sub-Genre:	Historical
	with songs

Subjects (Major):	Betrayal
	Mexico--History
	Political corruption
	Revolutionaries
	Emiliano Zapata

Subjects (Minor):	Ambushes
	Assassination
	Brothers
	Courtship
	Porfirio Díaz
	Executions
	Fanatics
	Friendship
	Horses
	Land rights
	Literacy
	Francisco Indalecio Madero
	Marriage
	Morelos (Mexico)
	Poverty
	Reporters
	Rural life
	Francisco "Pancho" Villa

Note:	The working titles of this film were Zapata , The Life of Emiliano Zapata , Zapata, the Little Tiger , Emiliano Zapata , The Beloved Tiger and The Tiger . The film is based on the life of Emiliano Zapata (1879--1919), a Mexican revolutionary leader and promoter of agrarian reform. As depicted, Zapata participated in the revolt against Mexican president Porfirio Díaz, along with Francisco "Pancho" Villa and Francisco Indalecio Madero. After Madero became president in Nov 1911, Zapata grew dissatisfied with his land policies and continued the guerrilla attacks on rich hacienda owners who he believed had stolen land belonging to peasants and Indians. Zapata continued to fight against regimes lead by Gen. Victoriano Huerta and Venustiano Carranza, and established a Rural Loan Bank, Mexico's first agricultural credit organization. As depicted in the film, Col. Jesús Guajardo arranged for a secret meeting with Zapata, at which Zapata was assassinated. The real Zapata had a number of romantic relationships and illegitimate children, and the Twentieth Century-Fox Records of the Legal Department, located at the UCLA Arts--Special Collections Library, indicate that there was some question as to the identity of Zapata's legal widow. Although the character of "Eufemio," Zapata's brother, is based on fact, the characters "Fernando" and "Pablo" are fictional. According to studio records and a Nov 1948 LAT news item, writer John Steinbeck began work on a screenplay about Zapata for Twentieth Century-Fox in 1948. Steinbeck, who had previously worked on a similarly themed screenplay for an unfinished Mexican production, had been interested in Zapata for many years, according to modern sources, and studio records note that Steinbeck had conducted extensive research into Zapata's life. According to contemporary news items, Twentieth Century-Fox purchased screen rights to the novel Zapata, the Unconquerable , written by Edgcumb Pinchon, from M-G-M in 1949. In addition to the rights to Pinchon's novel, Fox purchased a screen treatment written by Pinchon, as well as research about Emiliano Zapata that M-G-M had been gathering since 1940, when it was announced that Robert Taylor would be starring in the film about Zapata. At that time, Jack Cummings was scheduled to produce the picture. Fox also purchased M-G-M-owned treatments by Lester Cole and Marguerite Roberts, but it is unlikely that their work was used by Steinbeck for Viva Zapata! It is possible that Steinbeck used Pinchon's novel as a guide for his screenplay, although it is more likely that the studio purchased Pinchon's book from M-G-M in order to control the rights to the subject matter. When Fox purchased Pinchon's book, it was announced in a 12 Jan 1949 NYT news item that Tyrone Power would be the film's star. Mar 1951 HR news items indicate that Geraldine Brooks was tested for the role of "Josefa," and Marc Lawrence was considered for the role of "Huerta." A modern source adds that Kazan was interested in casting Julie Harris as Josefa. A 17 Jul 1951 HR news item included Tiger Joe March in the cast, but his appearance in the completed film has not been confirmed. Although studio publicity included the following actors in the cast, their roles were cut from the released picture: Joseph Granby ( Gen. Fuentes ), Harry Kingston ( Don Garcia ), Fernanda Eliscu ( Fuentes' wife ), Lisa Fusaro ( Garcia's wife ) and Belle Mitchell ( Nacio's wife ). According to a Dec 1956 NYT article, Eli Wallach was offered a role in the picture but turned it down. A modern source adds Brando's future wife, Movita Castenada, to the cast as an extra, and notes that Philip Rhodes acted as Brando's makeup artist and that Sam Shaw served as the still photographer. Information in the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library indicates that other studios, including Republic, had been interesting in producing a biography of Zapata, but the PCA discouraged them from pursuing the subject. According to a Jun 1948 memo in the PCA's files, in 1940, Nelson Rockefeller, the head of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, asked Addison Durland, the PCA's chief foreign relations official, to investigate the suitability of Zapata as the subject of a motion picture. Durland concluded that it would not be advisable for any American company to produce a film about Zapata for a variety of reasons, including possible controversy over presenting a heroic portrayal of a revolutionary leader who could be perceived as Communistic. Durland also cited Zapata's unsavory reputation with Mexican religious leaders and the difficulties in presenting an accurate representation of a time period critical to Mexican history as reasons why the picture should not be made. Although Fox was apprised of the PCA's reluctance to approve the subject, the studio pursued it and eventually received approval from the PCA. According to HR news items and studio publicity, the picture was partially shot on location at sites near the Rio Grande River in Texas, including Del Rio, McAllen, Roma, Laredo, San Ygnacio and Dolores. Other sequences were filmed in Durango, CO. Although studio records indicate that Fox wanted to shoot the picture partially in Mexico, contemporary sources reported that friction between the Mexican and U.S. governments prevented filming there. According to a 17 Jun 1951 NYT article, Mexican filmmakers hoped to produce a picture about Zapata themselves, and the government did not feel it was appropriate to cooperate with an American company. In a 5 Apr 1952 letter to SatRev , however, Kazan asserted that the refusal to extend cooperation was due to political pressures from Communist leaders, who did not consider Kazan and Steinbeck's depiction of Zapata to be accurate. Fox did negotiate with the Mexican government for approval of the screenplay, however, so that the film would be distributed in Mexico. Memos indicate that in order to satisfy governmental censors' reservations about the film, Fox agreed to produce two versions of certain scenes: one for distribution in the United States and Europe, and another for exhibition in Mexico. Among the scenes contested by Mexican historian and technical advisor Professor Sologuren, and either shot twice or eliminated, were the sequence in which Zapata shoots "Pablo," which in the Mexican version was altered so that Zapata did not himself execute his friend; references to Zapata's illiteracy; and scenes of Josefa squatting on the ground to wash clothes. Although a 13 Aug 1952 HR news item stated that the general release of the film in Mexico had been approved by the Mexican government, apparently without any cuts, Var reported on 3 Sep 1952 that the film had encountered difficulties with Mexican distribution. The news item stated: "After more than six months of huddles, the National Cinematographic Board, dropped the exhibition ban on the film when it was agreed to delete two reels of the production." The item added that the scenes to be cut "allegedly glorify Gen. Emiliano Zapata...at the expense of Gen. Francisco I. Madero, the first Revolutionary president," according to Mexican officials. Viva Zapata! received an Academy Award nomination for Best Story and Screenplay, and Brando was nominated for Best Actor. Anthony Quinn won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Brando received an award for Best Male Performance at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival and also won the Best Actor award from the British Film Academy in Mar 1953. The film was also named one of the top ten films of the year by NYT . On 3 Nov 1952, Lux Radio Theatre broadcast a version of the story starring Charlton Heston and Jean Peters. A 1970 Mexican production about Zapata, entitled Emiliano Zapata , was directed by Felipe Cazals and starred Antonio Aguilar in the title role.

Bibliographic Sources:	Date	Page
American Cinematographer	1 Apr 52	pp. 1954-55, 183
Box Office	9 Feb 1952.
Daily Variety	6 Feb 52	p. 3.
Film Daily	6 Feb 52	p. 6.
Hollywood Citizen-News	13 Mar 1952.
Hollywood Reporter	17 Mar 41	p. 1.
Hollywood Reporter	22 Sep 1947	p. 1.
Hollywood Reporter	11 Nov 1948	p. 3.
Hollywood Reporter	12 Jan 49	p. 1.
Hollywood Reporter	27 Feb 50	p. 4.
Hollywood Reporter	30 Mar 51	p. 2.
Hollywood Reporter	2 Mar 51	p. 4.
Hollywood Reporter	2 May 51	p. 9
Hollywood Reporter	21 May 51	p. 3, 8
Hollywood Reporter	31 May 51	p. 4.
Hollywood Reporter	6 Jun 51	p. 4.
Hollywood Reporter	19 Jun 51	p. 4.
Hollywood Reporter	2 Jul 51	p. 3.
Hollywood Reporter	5 Jul 51	p. 4.
Hollywood Reporter	17 Jul 51	p. 4.
Hollywood Reporter	18 Jul 51	p. 6.
Hollywood Reporter	27 Jul 51	p. 5, 11
Hollywood Reporter	23 Jan 52	p. 16.
Hollywood Reporter	1 Feb 52	p. 1.
Hollywood Reporter	6 Feb 52	p. 3.
Hollywood Reporter	8 Feb 52	p. 1.
Hollywood Reporter	3 Mar 52	p. 6.
Hollywood Reporter	12 Mar 52	p. 6.
Hollywood Reporter	12 May 52	p. 1.
Hollywood Reporter	13 Aug 52	p. 2.
Hollywood Reporter	13 Mar 53	p. 3.
Los Angeles Daily News	5 Jul 1951.
Los Angeles Examiner	13 Jan 1949.
Los Angeles Times	8 Nov 1948.
Life	25 Feb 1952.
Motion Picture Daily	6 Feb 1952.
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest	9 Feb 52	p. 1229.
New York Times	25 Sep 1940.
New York Times	31 Aug 1947.
New York Times	12 Jan 1949.
New York Times	17 Jun 1951.
New York Times	7 Feb 1952.	p. 31.
New York Times	8 Feb 1952.	p. 19.
New York Times	17 Feb 1952.
New York Times	16 Dec 1956.
Newsweek	4 Feb 1952.	p. 78.
Saturday Review	9 Feb 1952.
Saturday Review	1 Mar 1942.
Saturday Review	5 Apr 1952.
Time	11 Feb 1952.
Variety	6 Feb 1952.	p. 6.
Variety	5 Mar 1952.
Variety	3 Sep 1952.

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.



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