Cinco fueron escogidos

Cinco fueron escogidos
Directed byHerbert Kline
Written byRafael F. Muñoz
Xavier Villaurrutia
Story byBudd Schulberg
StarringAntonio Bravo
Fernando Cortés
María Douglas
Edmundo Espino
Conchita Gentil Arcos
María Gentil Arcos
María Elena Marqués
Ricardo Montalbán
Joaquín Pardavé
Andrés Soler
Julio Villarreal
CinematographyJack Draper
Music byRaúl Lavista
Release date
  • 8 July 1943 (1943-07-08)
Running time
126 minutes
CountryMexico
LanguageSpanish

Cinco fueron escogidos (English: Five Were Chosen) is a 1943 Mexican war film directed by Herbert Kline and co-directed by Agustín P. Delgado.[1] The film's screenplay was written by Rafael F. Muñoz and Xavier Villaurrutia, adapted from an original story by Budd Schulberg.[2] It stars Joaquín Pardavé, Julio Villarreal, Andrés Soler, and Fernando Cortés, and features an early-career appearance by Ricardo Montalbán.[3]

Produced by Alpha Films and premiering in Mexico on July 8, 1943, the production is historically notable as the first explicit anti-Nazi feature film produced within the Mexican film industry.[1] Set during the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, the narrative chronicles the bravery and deep solidarity of five diverse citizens who choose to sacrifice themselves to a Nazi firing squad to protect their town.[4] It was filmed simultaneously alongside an English-language version titled Five Were Chosen utilizing a primarily American cast, though that version is considered a lost film.[1]

Plot

The film is set in Yugoslavia occupied by the Wehrmacht. In a small town, a Nazi official is killed, whereupon the occupiers carry out retaliatory measures. Five of the residents of the village are sentenced to death. They represent the different groups of the city: One of them is an aristocrat, one is the mayor, one is one of the city's policemen, one a barber and one an employee. In addition to these five, a homeless man is also to be executed. Their families and neighbors try to obtain the annulment of death sentences.

Cast

Production

There are reports that Cinco fueron escogidos was simultaneously shot alongside an English-language version. In this version appeared, among others, Art Smith, Victor Kilian, Howard Da Silva, Ricardo Montalbán (who also appeared in the original Spanish-language version) and Leonid Kinskey.[5][6] However, there is no information as to whether this version has ever been released.[6] Cinco fueron escogidos was produced by Alpha Films. It had its premiere in Mexico on 8 July 1943.

Release

Before the film could be exhibited in Kansas, the Kansas Board of Review required the removal of all scenes of "three soldiers leaving column and retiring behind straw stack and coming out rearranging clothes."[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Herbert Kline and the transnational itineraries of anti-fascist filmmaking". Carlos III University of Madrid Institutional Archive. pp. 68–69. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Cinco fueron escogidos (1943)". IMDb. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Cinco fueron escogidos (1943)". FilmAffinity. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Cinco fueron escogidos (1943)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  5. ↑ Beck, p. 152.
  6. 1 2 Wilt, p. 57.
  7. ↑ "Kansas Board of Review Movie Index - Kansas Historical Society". www.kansashistory.gov. Retrieved 2025-11-13.

Bibliography

  • García Riera, Emilio (1987). México visto por el cine extranjero. Volume 3. Ediciones Era.
  • Hernández-Girbal, F. (1992). Los que pasaron por Hollywood. BPR Publishers.
  • Richard, Alfred Charles (1993). Censorship and Hollywood's Hispanic image: an interpretive filmography, 1936–1955. Greenwood Press.
  • Beck, Nicholas (2001). Budd Schulberg: A Bio-bibliography. Scarecrow Press.
  • Wilt, David E. (2004). The Mexican Filmography. 1916 through 2001. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. Inc.
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