The Violet Seller

After the unexpected success of Montiel's singing leading role in The Last Torch Song, a low-budget musical film that became a blockbuster,[3] in June 1957 she signed with producer Benito Perojo a lavish contract to make four films in three years,[4] being the first of them The Violet Seller, a large-budget international co-production musical film that was initially intended for Carmen Sevilla.[5] Montiel retained some control over the production in regards to the songs and her wardrobe. The economic agreement was 10 million pesetas^[a] ($240,000) for four films,[6] which means that she was to receive 2.5 million pesetas ($60,000) per film, making her the highest-paid Spanish star at a time when the highest-paid stars were netting 1 million pesetas ($24,000) per film.[7] With the success of The Violet Seller, and in a contractual dispute for the next film, A Girl Against Napoleon, the agreement was improved on her benefit.[8] Many years later, she began to say that she had been paid more than $1 million (42 million pesetas)^[b] for each of these films,[9] and the press widely spread it, but this amount is far from what was published back then.

Following the successful formula already used in The Last Torch Song, a list of cuplés, made famous at the late 19th Century and early 20th Century by singers like Raquel Meller, were arranged to fit to Montiel's voice by composers Juan Quintero and Gregorio García Segura and the corresponding musical numbers were tucked into the plot and were carefully staged to make her shine on-screen.[10] First level international stars were also hired to stage along Montiel, Italian actor Raf Vallone and French actor Frank Villard.

Principal photography began in November 1957 under the direction of Luis César Amadori,[11] and took place at CEA Studios in Madrid where the full-scale period sets were constructed under the art direction of Enrique Alarcón.[12] It was mainly filmed on studio by cinematographer Antonio L. Ballesteros in colorful Eastmancolor, and only a few scenes were filmed on location in Madrid.[13] As the film was a co-production with Italy, in mid-January 1958, some footage was filmed in Turin and in Milan to comply with the requisites in place to be a co-production.[14][15] In late January 1958, some exterior scenes were filmed on location in Paris.[16] The songs were recorded by Hispavox and, as usually those days, the dialogues were added during post-production. For the Spanish original version, Spanish actors were dubbed by themselves and foreigners were dubbed by Spanish voice actors.[17] The score was composed and conducted by Juan Quintero.

Costumes were designed by Joaquín Esparza. Montiel was dressed by Cornejo and by Spanish haute couture firms Vargas Ochagavía and Marbel, Mariscal was dressed by Vargas Ochagavía and the general wardrobe was provided by Humberto Cornejo.[18]

The film had to deal during production with Francoist film censors that condemned what, according to them, was an immorality in some plot lines and an excessive sensuality of Montiel on-screen. They even cut a scene off that was showing Montiel neckline too close and another that was showing excessive love effusiveness between the main characters.[19] It premiered in Spain only authorized for audiences over 16 years old.[20] This rating was reviewed years later, when censorship was banned, and since then it is rated suitable for all ages.

The Violet Seller opened on April 6, 1958 in Spain.[20] That same evening, the formal premiere was held in a grand gala at the 1,400-seat Rialto theatre in Madrid,[21] with a big crowd blocking the Gran Vía. The demand for tickets was so high at the Rialto that they had to start selling them up to five days in advance to avoid crowds at the ticket window.[22] The film was running there for 31 weeks,[23] making it the second highest grossing film in Madrid in the 1950s,^[c] only surpassed by The Last Torch Song.[24] On April 11, it opened at the 1,600-seat Tívoli theatre in Barcelona,[25] and it was running there for 26 weeks.[26] Altogether it opened in over 25 theatres all around Spain.[27] In Italy, it opened on June 29, 1959 in 3 theatres in Rome.[28]

The film had a wide international release with the dialogues dubbed or subtitled into other languages in non-Spanish speaking countries, while the songs kept in their original version. Perojo claimed to have received offers from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Columbia Pictures for the world release of the film but that he had already pre-sold the rights to distributors in some countries.[8] In English it was initially titled Buy My Violets,[29] but although its official title is The Violet Seller, it is widely named under its Spanish title La Violetera. For the foreign version released in some countries, some scenes were slightly altered with additional footage not present in the original version, such as the musical number of Soledad on tour around Europe where some footage was replaced with other showing her singing "Cuore ingrato". The worldwide box office was estimated in over $5 million,[8] beating The Last Torch Song, the worldwide highest-grossing Spanish-language film made up to that point, and catapulting Montiel's career as an actess and a singer even more.[30]

The film was released on videocassette and DVD, and after a digital High-definition remastering and restoration, on March 13, 2014 it was released on Blu-ray.[31]

Upon its release, the press generally gave The Violet Seller excellent reviews; however, while its production values and acting were universally recognized, some reviewers of the time found the plot too trite and conventional.[32]

A. Martínez Tomás wrote for La Vanguardia that the plot is only a pretext for an artistic and personal exaltation of Sara Montiel, it is full of clichés, the anachronisms are blatant throughout it and the action has a very conventional line but its attractive force and its aesthetic emotion are maintained throughout the film.[25] ABC, in its Sevilla edition, felt that in a national film had never been such brilliant nuances, to attract attention and suggest the viewer, who follows the incidents of the emotional and entertaining narration so closely that the growing interest in each scene becomes irrepressible until its culmination.[33]

Much of the praise was reserved for Montiel in particular, for her acting, singing, charming, beauty and sensuality. ABC felt that such is her performance that no Spanish actress could surpass her in this performance, inimitable, natural and unique, which undoubtedly reaches the character of quite an event.[33] Vallone, Mariscal, Villard and Blanco were also praised for their performances.[33]

Other aspects of the production praised were the "attractive and sumptuous" costumes, the "beautiful" Alarcón scenography, the "graceful" selection of cuplés, the "excellent" Ballesteros cinematography and the "expert and clever" Amadori direction.[25][34]

The Violet Seller and Miracles of Thursday represented Spain at the special onetime World Film Festival organized within the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair.[35] Montiel received the Medal for Best Actress and Alarcón received the Medal for Best Set Decoration at the 1958 Cinema Writers Circle Awards.[36] The film received the Award for Best Spanish Picture and Montiel received the Award for Best Spanish Actress at the 1958 Triunfo magazine annual vox populi poll.[37][38] The film received the 2nd place Award for Best Picture, endowed with 250,000 pesetas, and Montiel received the Award for Best Actress at the 1959 National Syndicate of Spectacle Awards.[39]

In revisiting the film recently critics give the film mixed reviews; although its historical value within the History of Spanish cinema is universally recognized, they find it old-fashioned, sexist and overemotional.[40]

Guillermo Altares wrote in 1994 for El País that it's cinematographic value nowadays is almost non-existent.[40] Cristina Veganzones wrote in 2016 for ABC that one of the most sexist phrases in History is sang by Montiel in "Es mi hombre".[41] Fernando Méndez-Leite stated in 2018 in Televisión Española that the film is not exactly a musical film, it is a melodrama with songs.[5]

The soundtrack has been reissued several times in different countries in vinyl, cassette and CD. In 2010 it was remastered and released in CD first and for music download later.[49]

Correos, the Spanish postal service, issued in 2014 a sheet of stamps in tribute to three recently deceased famous Spanish cinema artists: Sara Montiel, Alfredo Landa and Manolo Escobar. The stamp that pays tribute to Montiel depicts her in a scene from The Violet Seller.[50] In 2016, Soledad Moreno was included on film magazine Fotogramas' list of the "25 Most Elegant Characters in Spanish Cinema".[51]