Lucha film
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The sport of Lucha Libre (Mexican professional wrestling) became so popular in Mexico, that it spawned a genre of Luchador films (wrestling/action/science-fiction/horror films) starring some of the most popular masked luchadores in the sport. These masked superheroes engaged in battles against a range of characters from spies, to vampires and martians. Luchador films were produced quickly on a modest budget and were reminiscent of American B-films. Nearly all lucha films included fist-fighting and wrestling action sequences which were choreographed and performed by the stars themselves without the aid of stunt doubles. The genre's popularity peaked during the mid-60s to mid-70s. At least 150 luchador films were produced starting with the 1952 film "Huracan Ramirez", which is considered to be the the first true luchador film.
The most famous luchador action film star was El Santo, who is also the most famous luchador in the history of the sport. He would star in a total of fifty-two lucha films. Enrique Vergara, the producer of the then-successful Santo movies, decided to diversify by offering luchador Blue Demon a series of his own. Blue Demon would star in twenty-five lucha films. In 1965, Santo walked out on producer Vergara over a contractual dispute and his other star, Blue Demon, had been injured. This led Vergara to approach a young judo martial artist with an offer to star in a lucha film. Mil Mascaras (A Thousand Masks) was the first lucha libre personality created specifically for the movies. Mascaras would star in seventeen lucha films, and go on to have a legendary career as a professional luchador.
Lucha films also starred other masked luchadores including Tinieblas, Rayo de Jalisco, Sr. (Lightning from Jalisco), El Medico Asesino (The Medic Assassin), El Fantasma Blanco (The White fantasm) and Superzan. The most successful luchador film in Mexico is Las Momias de Guanajuato ("The Mummies of Guanajuato"). In the film, El Santo, Blue Demon, and Mil Mascaras team-up to battle a group of re-animated mummies. The real-life existence of a group of mummies in the city of Guanajuato, Mexico most likely contributed to the success of the film. When producer K. Gordon Murray bought the rights to two of Santo’s lucha libre films, he dubbed them into English for domestic release and changed the name of the wrestling hero to "Samson". The best known luchador film outside of Mexico is 1962s' Santo vs. Las Mujeres Vampiro ("Santo vs. the Vampire Women"), which was featured in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. The production values in this film are better and it was successful at the box office. El Santo en el Museo de Cera (aka "Samson in the Wax Museum") is also considered to be one of the better films in the genre. Not all Mexican wrestlers were male, Las Luchadoras ("The Wrestling Women") appeared in six films, the most famous being "The Wrestling Women vs. the Aztec Mummy" (1964) and "Doctor of Doom" (1962). The popularity of lucha films started to decline by the late-70s, and essentially came to the end by the early-80s.
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[edit] External links
- NPR audio clip discussing lucha films
- From Parts Unknown (Pop-culture resource for Mexican wrestling, lucha films, and masks, notes on live appearances, blog and a discussion forum)
- Trailer for Santo vs the Vampire Women
- santoandfriends.com, Mexican lucha films
