Adventures of Casanova. 1948. Mexico/USA. Directed by Roberto Gavaldón. Screenplay by Crane Wilbur, Walter Bullock, Karen DeWolf. With Arturo de Córdova, Lucille Bremer, Turhan Bey. World premiere. Courtesy Cineverse. 83 min.
Shot at Mexico’s newly established Estudios Churubusco, this handsome swashbuckler demonstrates Mexican cinema’s ability to match Hollywood production values at their height. The film reimagines Casanova as a Sicilian freedom fighter, with the colonial-era Mediterranean setting allowing the studio to repurpose the extensive period architecture and costumes it typically used for Spanish colonial dramas. Eagle-Lion Films’ choice to produce at Churubusco, then emerging as Mexico’s premier facility through its partnership with RKO, paired Mexican superstar Arturo de Córdova with Hollywood talent Lucille Bremer and Turhan Bey. Under the assured direction of Roberto Gavaldón, fresh from his masterwork La Otra (1946), and with superb cinematography credited to Poverty Row veteran Jack Greenhalgh, the film exemplifies the technical sophistication of Mexico’s Golden Age cinema while offering a unique hybrid of Hollywood adventure and Mexican production craft.
Restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.