The Lioness of Castille

The Lioness of Castille
File:The Lioness of Castille.jpg
Directed by	Juan de Orduña
Written by	Francisco Villaespesa (play) Vicente Escrivá Juan de Orduña
Starring	Amparo Rivelles Virgilio Teixeira Alfredo Mayo Manuel Luna
Music by	Juan Quintero
Cinematography	Alfredo Fraile
Edited by	Petra de Nieva
Production company	CIFESA
Distributed by	CIFESA
Release dates	28 May 1951
Running time	106 minutes
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish

The Lioness of Castille (Spanish: La leona de Castilla) is a 1951 Spanish historical drama film directed by Juan de Orduña and starring Amparo Rivelles, Virgilio Teixeira and Alfredo Mayo. De Orduña had directed a number of the most expensive Spanish costume films of the era for the leading studio CIFESA. The film portrays the sixteenth century noblewoman María Pacheco, in a fictitious story that has her battling foreign agents during the reign of Charles V.

Synopsis

After his defeat in the Battle of Villalar, Juan de Padilla, chief of the comuneros, is executed by beheading together with Juan Bravo and Francisco Maldonado in the presence of his wife María de Pacheco and his son. After that they swear, before the Council of the city of Toledo, to avenge her death and continue the war against Carlos I. She is a Castilian lady of high rank, with fragile health but strong character who reacts heroically and participates in dangerous combats against the tyranny of King Carlos I, becoming the Leona de Castilla, a symbol of oppressed popular freedoms.

Cast

• Amparo Rivelles as María de Pacheco
• Virgilio Teixeira as Pedro de Guzmán
• Alfredo Mayo as Manrique
• Manuel Luna as Ramiro
• Eduardo Fajardo as Tovar
• Rafael Romero Marchent as Juan de Padilla hijo
• Antonio Casas as Juan de Padilla
• Laly del Amo as Doña Isabel
• María Cañete as Sirvienta de María de Pacheco
• Nicolás D. Perchicot as Cura en ejecución
• Alberto Romea as Arzobispo
• Manuel Arbó as Noble toledano
• Francisco Pierrá as Noble toledano
• José Jaspe as Juan Bravo
• Teófilo Palou as Francisco Maldonado
• Domingo Rivas as Noble toledano
• Santiago Rivero as Líder de los Imperiales
• Jesús Tordesillas as Don López
• Faustino Bretaño
• Adriano Dominguez
• Miguel Pastor
• Arturo Marín
• Antonio Riquelme
• Luis Peña padre
• Rafael Cortés
• Carlos Osorio
• José Buhigas
• Ángel Monís
• César Guzman
• Germán Cobos
• Luis Fernandez
• Eduardo Bonada
• Francisco Maroto

Bibliography

• Bentley, Bernard. A Companion to Spanish Cinema. Boydell & Brewer 2008.

External links

• The Lioness of Castille at IMDb