Film and tango: the contribution of Luis César Amadori to Argentinean film industry in the late 1930s

Abstract

At the beginning of the sound period in film, tango was an important ally in the industrialization of Argentine cinema. The synergy of the relationship between singers, record companies, theater and cinema was a fundamental impulse for achieving a sustained system of production as much as a systematized model of representation. Many of the directors who made those successful early sound films, such as Luis César Amadori, had significant careers in popular theater. This chapter analyzes the first phase of his filmography in order to explain how songs were deployed in the mise-en-scène, and how they constructed a national imaginary tied to the tango narratives.