Remembering Eduardo M. Brochero

Born Eduardo Manzanos Brochero on November 10, 1924. He began his artistic career after the Spanish civil war by publishing collections of poems and plays particulary with Jose García Nieto and Antonio de Lara Gavilán. In 1947, he became a film producer in the world of cinema by producing “Dulcinea”, a film directed by Lusi Arroyo starring the director's sister, Anna Mariscal, in the main role. He then became a screenwriter for two films: “Brindis has Manolete” (1948) directed by Florián Rey with Pedro Ortega in the role of the renowned matador Manolete and “Gente sin importancia” (1949) directed by José González de Ubieta, starring Antonio Riquelme. In 1952 he directed his first film “Cabaret” with Feranando Rey and Nati Mistral. The following year he directed “Buenos noticias” with Jose Luis Ozorres. He founded a production company called Unión Films which produced the 1954 film “Comiques” with Juan Antonio Bardem and in 1956 “El malvado Carabel” directed by Fernando Fernán Gómez. He also continued to direct, turning out an original comedy “Suspenso en comunismo” with Antonio Vico, Alfredo Mayo and Juanjo Menéndez, as secret agents. During the mid-1950s he began making co-productions with Italian film companies and turned out such films as “Serment d'amour” (1956) with Leonardo Bercovici and Claudio Gora, “Oublié mon passé” by Primo Zeglio and in 1957 “El anden” with Jesús Tordesillas and worked with Italian Aldo Fabrizi on the film “Le destin d'un enfant” with Marco Paoletti and Eduardo Nevola.

In the 1960s Brochero founded Copercines Productions and built a western town near Madrid. He produced some of the first Spaghetti Westerns in Spain. He also turned out political films such as “Proceso de Gibraltar” in 1967. He became very active in the 1970s as a producer, director, screenwriter including television. Some of his more well known westerns were made at this time including “Apocalypse Joe” with Anthony Steffen and Eduardo Fajardo and “The Legend of Frenchie King” with Brigitte Bardot and Claudia Cardinale. Brochero continued working in the industry until he retired in 1982. He was married to actress María Luz Galicia and died in Madrid on October 16, 1987.

Today we remember one of the founding fathers of the Spaghetti Western Eduardo Manzanos Brocehro on what would have been his 85h birthday.