Dolores del Río

Mexican-born actor

• Born: August 3, 1905
• Birthplace: Durango, Mexico
• Died: April 11, 1983
• Place of death: Newport Beach, California

Del Río was one of the few Latin American film stars to attain success in Hollywood in the early years of filmmaking. She appeared in English- and Spanish-language films from the silent era until the late 1970’s without compromising her Mexican identity, her Spanish name, or her personal values.

Early Life

Dolores del Río (doh-LOH-rehs dehl REEH-oh) was the only daughter of an aristocratic Mexican family of Spanish ancestry. Her father was a banker, and her uncle was Francisco Madero, the president of Mexico. She studied French and took dancing lessons in her youth. However, her family lost its wealth and social position during the Mexican Revolution, and they moved to Mexico City. At this time, del Río was shy and did not appreciate her brown skin. When she was sixteen, she married a friend of the family, Jaime Martínez del Río y Viñen, who took her on a two-year honeymoon to Europe, where she was introduced to dignitaries and Spanish royalty. The couple, however, divorced in 1928 after del Río suffered a miscarriage.

While she was married, del Río and her husband became friends with Edwin Carewe, a Hollywood producer and director, and this relationship launched her acting career. Del Río’s goal was to become an actor in both Mexican and Hollywood films. At this time, she acknowledged she could fail to attain this goal, but she would lose nothing if she failed, while if she succeeded “it will be for me the epitome of my artistic endeavors and for Mexico, a small glory.”

Life’s Work

In 1925, del Río starred in her first American film, Joanna, directed by Carewe. Her appearance received good reviews, and she was dubbed the “female Valentino,” a reference to actor Rudolph Valentino. She appeared in several other silent films, including What Price Glory (1926), Resurrection (1927), and The Loves of Carmen (1927). However, her rising career suffered with the introduction of sound because Hollywood executives thought her heavily-accented English would be a detriment to their productions. As a result, she had insignificant roles in many forgettable films of the 1930’s. In addition, she refused to participate in Viva Villa (1934), because she deemed this film’s depiction of Mexican revolutionary general Pancho Villa to be “anti-Mexican.”

In 1930, del Río married Cedric Gibbons, an art director and production designer at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, but this marriage ended in divorce in 1941, in part because of her relationship with actor Orson Welles. (She married her third husband, theater producer Lewis Riley, in 1959, and the couple remained together until her death.)

With her Hollywood career in ruins, del Río returned to Mexico in 1942. The following year, her first Spanish-language film, Flor silvestre, was released. This film, made in Mexico and directed by Emilio Fernández, was an unexpected success, making del Río the most famous film star in Mexico. She made several other films with Fernández, cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa, writer Mauricio Magdaleno, and actor Pedro Armendáriz in the 1940’s, including María Candelaria (1944), The Abandoned (1945), and Bugambilia (1945). Del Río starred in many other Mexican films during the 1940’s and 1950’s, for which she received three Silver Ariels, the Mexican equivalent of the Academy Award: in 1946 for The Abandoned, in 1952 for Doña Perfecta (1951), and in 1954 for El niño y la niebla (1953).

In 1954, del Río was cast in the American film Broken Lance. However, the U.S. government denied her permission to enter the country because of her alleged support of international communism, and actor Katy Jurado took over her role. Del Río was not allowed to return to the United States until 1956, when she starred in the playAnastacia. During the following two years she appeared on American television in the programs Schlitz Playhouse and The United States Steel Hour. In 1960, she starred with singer Elvis Presley in the film Flaming Star. She continued to make both American and Mexican films until the late 1970’s.

In 1975, Del Río received a Special Golden Ariel in recognition of her fifty-year acting career. She retired from acting in 1978 and began to paint, write, and manage her financial affairs and real estate. She continued to work occasionally in theater, radio, television, and as a judge at film festivals..

Significance

Dolores del Río’s film career spanned six decades. To many who knew her or saw her films, she represented the epitome of Latina beauty, talent, grace, and perseverance.

Bibliography

Agrasánchez, Jr., Rogelio. Mexican Movies in the United States: A History of the Films, Theaters and Audiences, 1920-1960. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2006. Discusses the sociopolitical, economic, and historical elements of Mexican films, both films made in Mexico and Hollywood films with Mexican actors.

Carr, Larry. More Fabulous Faces: The Evolution and Metamorphosis of Dolores del Rio, Myrna Loy, Carole Lombard, Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn. New York: Doubleday, 1979. Examines the transformation of five women, including del Río, into superstars, illustrating the changes in both physiognomy and character during their Hollywood careers.

De la Mora, Sergio. Cinemachismo: Masculinities and Sexuality in Mexican Film. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2006. A study of iconic, masculine, supermacho figures, as well as more recent representations of masculinity, such as gay men and transvestites.

Hershfield, Joanne. The Invention of Dolores del Río. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2000. Uses del Río’s career to examine Hollywood’s racism and how film stars are sold as commodities.Stock, Ann Marie, ed. Framing Latin American Cinema: Contemporary Critical Perspectives. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997. Examines the transnational status of contemporary cinema by focusing on films made in Mexico and Central and South America.