José Manuel Martín

José Manuel Martín Pérez (born May 24, 1924) is a retired Spanish film and television actor, radio broadcaster, and screenwriter. He was a popular character actor in Spanish cinema during the 1950s and 60s, best remembered for playing villainous henchmen, appearing in more than 100 film and television productions.

José Manuel Martín
José Manuel Martín in Lo voglio morto (1968)
Born	José Manuel Martín Pérez (1924-05-24) May 24, 1924 Casavieja, Spain
Nationality	Spanish
Other names	J. Manuel Martin, Jose M. Martin, Jose Manuel Martin, José M. Martin, José Manuel Martí, J. Manuel Martín, J.M. Martín, Jose M. Martín, José M. Martín, Manuel Martín, J. Manuel Martín Pérez, J.M. Martín Pérez
Occupation	Film and television actor Screenwriter
Years active	1952–1989

Born in Casavieja, Spain, Pérez studied at Madrid's Teatro Español Universitario and the Lope de Rueda, and began working for Radio Nacional de España in 1942, before making his feature film debut in César Fernández Ardavín's 1952 war drama La llamada de África starring Ali Beiba Uld Abidin, Yahadid Ben Ahmed Lehbib and Farachi Ben Emboiric.

Pérez is particularly noted for his work in the Spaghetti Western genre, alongside regulars such as Aldo Sambrell and Andrea Scotti, with supporting roles in Savage Guns (1961), Gunfighters of Casa Grande (1964), Minnesota Clay(1964), A Pistol for Ringo (1965), Seven Dollars on the Red (1966), Arizona Colt (1966), A Bullet for the General (1966), Blood River (1967), 100 Rifles (1969), and Cut-Throats Nine (1972). He also had memorable roles in EuroHorror films such as Sax Rohmer's The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969), The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff (1973), Count Dracula's Great Love (1974), and Curse of the Devil (1974).

Early life

José Manuel Martín Pérez was born on May 24, 1924 in Casavieja, Ávila, Castilla y León, Spain . He initially studied at the Teatro Español Universitario in Madrid with José Luis López Vázquez, María Jesús Valdés and Valeriano Andrés before obtaining a scholarship at the Lope de Rueda. It was there that he started working in professional theater under Alejandro Ulloa. Starting in 1942, he was also employed as a broadcaster for Radio Nacional de España. Pérez eventually received a bachelor degree in journalism.

Career

Martín (left), with co-star José Canalejas, in the Tonino Valerii Spaghetti Western Per il gusto di uccidere (1966)

At age 28, Pérez made his feature film debut in the war drama La llamada de África (1952), written and directed by César Fernández Ardavín, and starred Ali Beiba Uld Abidin, Yahadid Ben Ahmed Lehbib and Farachi Ben Emboiric. This was followed by minor roles in Ángel Vilches' adventure film A dos grados del ecuador (1953), the Luis Lucia comedy Aeropuerto (1953), and Rafael Gil's religious-themed historical dramas I Was a Parish Priest (1953) and Judas' Kiss (1954). He received his first supporting role, as Muñoz, in Gil's next film Murió hace quince años (1954) appearing alongside Rafael Rivelles, Francisco Rabal and Lyla Rocco. He made two other films with Gil, La otra vida del capitán Contreras (1955) and El canto del gallo (1955), as well part of the supporting cast in Javier Setó's dramas Duelo de pasiones (1956) and Ha pasado un hombre (1956), Pedro Luis Ramírez's comedy Los ladrones somos gente honrada (1956), and José María Ochoa's La mestiza (1956). He appeared in one more film for Rafael Gil that same year, Miracle of the White Suit (1956), and landed an important supporting roles in Spanish Affair (1957), co-directed by Don Siegel and Luis Marquina, Sergio Corbucci's Ángeles sin cielo (1957),[1] and Luis Buñuel's Viridiana (1961).[2][3] He also started working in television joining the cast of Diego Valor in 1958. Pérez continued on in supporting roles for number of other films then being shot in Almería and elsewhere.[4]

Spaghetti Westerns

Martín as "Cherokee" in the Gino Mangini Spaghetti Western Bastard, Go and Kill (1971).

In the early-1960s, Eurowesterns, which would evolve into the popular Spaghetti Westerns, were being shot in Almería. Pérez was among a number of Spanish character actors to find fame in this new genre. His background playing villains made him ideal for being cast as a Mexican bandit or henchman. Pérez's prolific appearances made him was one of the most recognizable Spanish actors involved in the genre, rivaling those of fellow Spaghetti Western regulars such as Aldo Sambrell and Andrea Scotti, and is considered one of the best villains of the era.[5]

His first roles were in Savage Guns[6] and Gunfighters of Casa Grande (1964), one of the genre's earliest films, and continued working at its height with memorable performances in Bullets Don't Argue (1964),[6] Minnesota Clay(1964), A Pistol for Ringo (1965),[5][6] Seven Dollars on the Red (1966), Arizona Colt (1966), A Bullet for the General (1966),[5] Blood River (1967),[7][8] I Want Him Dead (1968), 100 Rifles (1969), A Bullet for Sandoval (1969),[2][9] and into the "twilight" Spaghetti Westerns Bastard, Go and Kill (1971), Amigo, Stay Away (1972), and Cut-Throats Nine (1972).[10] His last Italo-Western appearance, Amigo, Stay Away, was an uncredited role as a peddler.

In between Spaghetti Westerns, Pérez also had supporting roles in The Ceremony (1963),[2] Operation Atlantis (1965),[11] Fall of the Mohicans (1965),[12] Con el viento solano (1966), and Bewitched Love (1967).

Later career

In the late-1960s and 70s, Pérez starred in Spanish horror films such as Sax Rohmer's The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969), The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff (1973), Count Dracula's Great Love (1974), and Curse of the Devil (1974). An author of numerous poems, he occasionally tried his hand at screenwriting. His first script was for Rafael Romero Marchent's The Student Connection (1974), co-written with Luciano Ercoli, José Luis Navarro, and Marchent.

Pérez went into semi-retirement in the late-1970s. He made several guest appearances on the popular action-adventure television series Curro Jiménez, starring Sancho Gracia, in 1977. Other notable performances included supporting roles in Alberto Vázquez Figueroa's Oro rojo (1978), Mariano Ozores' comedy western Al este del oeste (1984), Jaime Camino's Spanish Civil War film Dragón Rapide (1986), and the Peter Lilienthal sports film Der Radfahrer von San Cristóbal (1988). His last regular film was an uncredited role in Montoyas y Tarantos (1989) followed by a final appearance in the crime-drama film Amor propio (1994) directed by Mario Camus. He also wrote two more scripts during the decade: Ángel Martínez Astudillo short film El pisito (1996) and the comedy Maestros (2000), which he co-wrote with director Óscar del Caz.

In the early-2000s, Pérez made one-time guest appearances on television series Policías, en el corazón de la calle and Los Serrano. He also had a cameo on Dunia Ayaso and Félix Sabroso's dramady Descongélate! (2003), starring Pepón Nieto, Candela Peña and Loles León.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1952	The Call of Africa
1953	A dos grados del ecuador
	Airport		(uncredited)
	I Was a Parish Priest
1954	Judas' Kiss		(as J.M. Martín Pérez)
	He Died Fifteen Years Ago	Muñoz	(as J. Manuel Martín Pérez)
1955	La otra vida del capitán Contreras
	The Cock Crow
1956	Duelo de pasiones
	Ha pasado un hombre
	We Thieves Are Honourable	Antón, el mayordomo
	La mestiza
	Miracle of the White Suit	Jugador
1957	Spanish Affair	Fernando
	Ángeles sin cielo	Curro
1958	El aprendiz de malo	Socio de Bautista
	Die Sklavenkarawane
1959	Molokai, la isla maldita		(as José M. Martín)
	Luna de verano
	Gayarre	Frascuelo
	Two Men in Town
	Leap to Fame
	Life Around Us
	Der Löwe von Babylon	Aftab
1960	Juicio final
	Juanito	Carras	(as José M. Martin)
	Peace Never Comes
1961	Conqueror of Maracaibo
	At Five in the Afternoon	Secretario
	Viridiana	Beggar
	El hombre de la isla
	Savage Guns	Sequra
1962	Mentirosa
	Cupido contrabandista	Walter
1963	Cristo negro
	The Castilian
	Shéhérazade		(as J.M. Martín)
	The Girl from La Mancha
	Los Tarantos	Curro	(as J. Manuel Martín)
	The Ceremony	2nd gendarme
1964	Rueda de sospechosos
	Gunfighters of Casa Grande	Don Luis Ariola	(uncredited)
	Weeping for a Bandit	El Tuerto
	Bullets Don't Argue	Ramon
	Minnesota Clay
1965	A Pistol for Ringo	Pedro
	Man from Canyon City	Esteban
	Operation Atlantis	Nailawi
	Train d'enfer
	Fall of the Mohicans	Cunning Fox
1966	Seven Dollars on the Red	El Gringo/Chulo
	Con el viento solano	Zafra	(as Manuel Martín)
	Per il gusto di uccidere	Rodrigo
	Arizona Colt	Watch Henchman
	Five for Revenge	Ramon
	Gunfight at High Noon	Richard
	He Who Shoots First	Ringo	(as José M. Martín)
	A Bullet for the General	Raimundo
	Cuatro dólares de venganza	Manuel de Losa
1967	Bewitched Love	Lorenzo
	Operation Delilah	Joe
	Blood River	Bud
	Forty Degrees in the Shade
1968	Fifteen Scaffolds for the Killer	Benny
	Un treno per Durango	Peons Speaker
	Four Dollars of Revenge	Manuel de Losa
	Un minuto per pregare, un instante per morire	El Bailarin	(uncredited)
	I Want Him Dead	Jack Blood
	Pride and Vengeance	Juan	(uncredited)
	Commando Attack
1969	El médico y el curandero		Short film
	Juan Pedro the Scyther
	100 Rifles	Sarita's Father	(as Jose Manuel Martin)
	Deadly Sanctuary	Victor
	Sax Rohmer's The Castle of Fu Manchu	Omar Pashu	(as Jose Manuel Martin)
	The Forgotten Pistolero	Miguel
	A Bullet for Sandoval	Guerico
	Day After Tomorrow
1970	La larga agonía de los peces fuera del agua	Hombre de la pistola
	Fortunata and Jacinta	Fortunata's Uncle
	Arizona	Moreno
	No desearás al vecino del quinto	Taxista	(as Jose M. Martín)
	The Wind's Fierce	Visitante
1971	Bastard, Go and Kill	Cherokee
	El Cristo del Océano	Libio
	Rum Runners	Un policier panaméen	(uncredited)
	Death Walks on High Heels	Smith	(as J. Manuel Martin)
	Hunt the Man Down	Mexican Soldier
1972	Amigo, Stay Away	Peddler	(uncredited)
	Antony and Cleopatra	Guard
	Cut-Throats Nine	John McFarlane
1973	The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff	Albert Mathews
1974	El último viaje	Manolo
	Count Dracula's Great Love		(as Jose Manuel Martin)
	Curse of the Devil	Bela	(as Jose M. Martin)
1976	La espada negra
1977	Del amor y de la muerte
1978	Oro rojo
1980	Adiós, querida mamá
1984	Al este del oeste		(as Jose Manuel Martin)
1986	Dragón Rapide	Oficial ayudante del General Franco	(as José Manuel Martí)
1988	El Lute II: mañana seré libre
	Der Radfahrer von San Cristóbal	Camillo
	The Brother from Space
1989	Montoyas y Tarantos		(uncredited)
1994	Amor propio	Quico
2003	Descongélate!

As a screenwriter

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1974	The Student Connection	Co-writer	(as José M. Martin)
1996	El pisito	Writer	Short film
2000	Maestros	Writer

Television

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1958	Diego Valor	Mekong
1965	Estudio 1	Casca	Episode: "Julio César"
1974	Los camioneros	Rogelio	Episode: "Seis toros y uno toreado"
1977	Curro Jiménez		Episode: "Carambola a tres bandas" Episode: "El secuestro" Episode: "Veinte mil onzas mejicanas"
1983	La comedia		Episode: "El baile de los ladrones"
2000	Policías, en el corazón de la calle		Episode: "Vivir se ha puesto al rojo vivo"
2004	Los Serrano		Episode: "El fluido básico"

References

1. Sammons, Eddie. Shakespeare: A Hundred Years On Film. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2004. (pg. 125) ISBN 0-8108-4446-X
2. Krafsur, Richard P., ed. The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1961-1970. New York: R.R. Bowker, 1976. (pg. 131, 161, 412, 439, 708, 847, 1180) ISBN 0-520-20970-2
3. Schneider, Stephen Jay, ed. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. 5th ed. Happage, New York: Barron's Educational Series, 2008. (pg. 393) ISBN 0-7641-6151-2
4. Masegosa, Lola Caparrós, Ignacio Fernández Mañas, and Juan Soler Vizcaíno. La producción cinematográfica en Almería, 1951-1975. Almena: Instituto de Estudios Almerienses, 1997. ISBN 84-8108-131-0
5. Hughes, Howard. Once Upon a Time in the Italian West: The Filmgoers' Guide to Spaghetti Westerns. London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2006. ISBN 1-85043-896-X
6. Fridlund, Bert. The Spaghetti Western: A Thematic Analysis. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2006. (pg. 76) ISBN 0-7864-2507-5
7. Pym, John, ed. The Time Out Film Guide. London: Penguin Books, 2002. (pg. 122) ISBN 0-14-029395-7
8. Maltin, Leonard. Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide 2004. New York: Signet, 2003. (pg. 538) ISBN 0-451-20940-0
9. Kinnard, Roy. The Blue and the Gray on the Silver Screen: More than Eighty Years of Civil War Movies. Secaucus, New Jersey: Carol Publishing Group, 1996. (pg. 253) ISBN 1-55972-383-1
10. Bruckner, Ulrich P., ed. Für ein paar Leichen mehr: der Italo-Western von seinen Anfängen bis heute. Berlin: Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, 2002. ISBN 3-89602-416-7
11. Parish, James and Michael Pitts. The Great Spy Pictures II. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow, 1986. (pg. 11) ISBN 0-8108-1913-9
12. Weisser, Thomas. Spaghetti Westerns: The Good, The Bad, and The Violent: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Filmography of 558 Eurowesterns and Their Personnel, 1961-1977. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1992. (pg. 187) ISBN 0-89950-688-7

Further reading

• Frayling, Christopher. Spaghetti Westerns: Cowboys and Europeans from Karl May to Sergio Leone. 2nd ed. London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 1998. ISBN 1-86064-200-4
• Gasca, Luis. Un siglo de cine español. Barcelona: Planeta, 1998. ISBN 84-08-02309-8

External links

• José Manuel Martín on IMDb
• José Manuel Martín at Rotten Tomatoes