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| Mamoulian (third from right) on the set of The Gay Desperado, a major hit when I played the film at Morelia International Film Festival in October 2025 |
Catalogue note for the Imaginary Mexico section of Morelia International Film Festival. — EK
It was not only Mexico that Rouben Mamoulian’s imagination transformed into a cinematic feast over the course of his illustrious career. Born in Tbilisi to an Armenian family, this classic Hollywood master used cinema as both a painter’s canvas and a musical score to reimagine cultures, countries, and cities—including those he knew well and had lived in. Thus, through a series of films now considered canonical classics, Soviet Moscow, Victorian London, and Imperial Sweden were rendered in unexpected colours, where life often unfolds with a lyrical, almost musical, rhythm.
Three of Mamoulian’s films have connections to Mexico: The Gay Desperado (1936) is set in Mexico but was actually shot in Arizona. The Mark of Zorro (1940) takes place in Alta California, filmed in Southern California. Blood and Sand (1941) is set in Spain, but was partially shot in Mexico. Even if these portrayals stem from the familiarly ahistorical blend of Hispanic culture, Hollywood glitter, and Mexican imagery, they nevertheless brim with joy and visual splendour, flourishing within their imaginary and impossible terrains.
