La producción cinematográfica en Almería durante los años 60: el Hollywood español

Abstract

Since 1951 the province of Almería has frequently served as a screen set for the making of fi lms, television series and publicity spots. The most spectacular increase in this activity took place at the end of the 50's and the beginning of the 60's, coinciding with the collapse of the system of production in Hol lywood and a certain opening up of Franco's Spain. The landscapes of the area became the scenario for an immense variety of westerns, musicals, war films or detective thrillers. And the productions were not only large-scale ones, such as Lawrence of Arabia or Patton, but also those of representatives of the so-called independent cinema, such as Carlos Saura or Richard Lester. The present paper offers a brief overview of this golden period in Almería' s cinema history, which was s o importan! to the local economy. W e describe the beginnings, the peak years and the main protagonists, that is, the birth of what carne to be known as the Spanish Hollywood.