Manuel Zeceña Diéguez

Manuel Zeceña Diéguez (1918-1991) was a Guatemalan film producer, director and writer. As a producer, his work commenced in 1954 with De ranchero a empresario. In the early 1960s he produced Pecado, Paloma herida and Me ha gustado un hombre. As a director he worked on Amor en las nubes which was released in 1968, El deseo llega de noche in 1969, Mi mesera in 1973 and the ill-fated The Hughes Mystery which was released in 1979. The majority of his films were made in Mexico and he worked with prominent Mexican actors and filmmakers.

Manuel Zeceña Diéguez
BornJanuary 12, 1918
Guatemala
DiedJune 9, 1991
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Other namesM. Zeceña Dieguez
Occupation(s)Film producer, director
Years active1954 - 1979

Career

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1950s–1960s

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As a writer he wrote the script for the 1954 comedy film Sindicato de telemirones which was directed by René Cardona.[1] He produced the film De ranchero a empresario which was released in 1954.[2][3] For the film Pecado starring Jorge Mistral, Teresa Velázquez and Martha Elena Cervantes, he was both writer and producer. It was released around 1962.[4][5] He was asked to produce the film Paloma herida which was a joint Mexican/Guatemalan production, released in 1963. It was directed by Emilio Fernandez with cinematography by Raúl Martínez Solares, and starred Patricia Conde, Emilio Fernandez and Andrés Soler.[6][7] In the late 1960s he worked on Amor en las nubes (English title Love in the Clouds) which was produced by Panamerican Films and distributed by Peliculas Nacionales. The film, which was released in 1968, featured Leonorilda Ochoa, Eric del Castillo and Norma Mora.[8][9]

1970s

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He directed the 1970 film Una mujer para los sábados which starred Julio Alemán, Tere Velázquez and Amadee Chabot.[10] His last film in the 1970s seems to be The Hughes Mystery which starred Jackson Bostwick, Broderick Crawford, José Ferrer, Hope Holiday, Guy Madison and Cameron Mitchell. The production company was S.A. Filmadora Panamericana. It was finished by 1979 and released that year.[11][12] According to the book The Complete Films of Broderick Crawford by Ralph Schiller, there seems to be a mystery as to what happened to the film; it was never released in the United States and nobody seems to have seen it. There was an indication that it was sold in Australia. After that film Zeceña Diéguez appears to have stopped working.[13]

Death

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Zeceña Diéguez died in Guatemala on June 9, 1991, aged 73.[14]

Filmography

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Films
Title Role Year Notes #
Sindicato de telemirones Writer 1954
De ranchero a empresario Producer, writer 1954
Pecado Producer, writer 1962
Paloma herida Producer 1963
Me ha gustado un hombre Producer 1965
Alma llanera Producer 1965
Solo de noche vienes Producer, writer 1966
Amor en las nubes Director, producer, writer 1968
El deseo llega de noche Director 1969
Una mujer para los sabados Director, producer, writer 1970
Tápame contigo Director, producer 1970
Ave sin nido Director, producer, writer 1971
Mi mesera Director 1973
Renzo, el gitano Director, producer 1973
Detras de esa puerta Director, producer, writer 1975
The Hughes Mystery Director, producer 1979

[15]

References

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  1. ^ Theiapolis.com - Sindicato de telemirones | 1954
  2. ^ Historia documental del cine mexicano: 1952, Publisher: Ediciones Era, 1969 - Page 176
  3. ^ Filmweb - De ranchero a empresario (1954)
  4. ^ Csfd.cz - Pecado
  5. ^ Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía - INICIO - CINE MEXICANO - Pecado - Archived 2015-10-22 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Rethinking Juan Rulfo’s Creative World: Prose, Photography, Film, edited by Nuala Finnegan, Dylan Brennan - Notes to Chapter 1
  7. ^ Rotten Tomatoes - Paloma herida (1963)
  8. ^ World Filmography, Peter Cowie, Publisher Tantivy Press, 1968 - Page 440
  9. ^ Alicantinos en el cine. Cineastas en Alicante, By Pedro López Garcia - Page 55 1968
  10. ^ Letterboxd - Una mujer para los sábados
  11. ^ The Complete Films of Broderick Crawford, By Ralph Schiller - The Hughes Mystery
  12. ^ British Film Institute - The HUGHES MYSTERY (1977)
  13. ^ The Complete Films of Broderick Crawford, By Ralph Schiller - The Hughes Mystery
  14. ^ IMDb - Manuel Zecena Diéguez (1918–1991)
  15. ^ IMDb - Manuel Zecena Diéguez, Filmography
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