The Dancer and the Worker (1936)
Film directed by Luis Marquina.
Screenplay: Luis Marquina, based on the comedy of Jacinto Benavente Nobody knows what he wants or The dancer and the worker.
Director of photography: Henri Barreyre.
Assembly: Angel del Río.
Music: Francisco Alonso.
Interpreters: Ana María Custodio, Antoñita Colomé, Irene Caba Alba, Roberto Rey, Antonio Riquelme, José Isbert, Enrique Guitart, Mariano Ozores.
Premiere: January 1, 1936, at Cine Capitol, Madrid.
Synopsis: A young woman of good social standing maintains relationships with a boy whose only merit is having won a waltz competition. To make him a man with a future, the young woman’s father uses him in a cookie factory, something that the bride does not like that much.
The dancer and the worker is an interesting film that contains some musical numbers considered by moviegoers as excellent. Among the aforementioned numbers what stands out is the “Romagosa Biscuits”, with chorus of workers and another one of children asking their mother for cookies. In addition, a song dedicated to the work, performed by the main character was praised. In the press at the time the following critique was available the day after the premiere: “Although the maestro Alonso features in this film, purely as the author of the work, his muse could not resist the temptation to stand out. A march and a” blues ” of line and modernized invoice prove his talent. The popularity of this music began yesterday. “
Celsa Alonso, from the University of Oviedo, has written an interesting work: “De la zarzuela y la revista a la música de cine: El maestro Francisco Alonso y el cine de la República” which offers fascinating information about this movie. The study of C. Alonso is included in the volume edited by Matilde Olarte Martínez: “Reflexiones en torno a la música y la imagen desde la musicología española” (Salamanca, 2009).