
José Isbert
Acting
Biography
José Isbert (real name: José Ysbert Alvarruiz), also known as Pepe Isbert (3 March 1886 in Madrid – 28 November 1966 in Madrid), was a Spanish actor. In 1912 he debuted in the short film Asesinato y entierro de Don José Canalejas (playing Pardiñas, the anarchist who killed José Canalejas). During the silent era he worked in theatre with supporting roles in cinema, but with the advent of sound, he made a big screen comeback in the comedy directed by Florián Rey, La pura verdad in (1931). In the 1930s he acted in half a dozen films including: ¿Cuándo te suicidas? (1931) directed by Manuel Romero, La bien pagada (1935) by Eusebio Fernández Ardavín orEl bailarín y el trabajador (1935), directed by Luis Marquina and based on a play by Jacinto Benavente. In the 1940s he gained great popularity in films such as Te quiero para mí (1944) and El testamento del virrey (1944), both directed by Ladislao Vajda; Ella, él y sus millones (1944) by Juan de Orduña; El fantasma y doña Juanita (1945) by Rafael Gil and Pacto de silencio (1949), by Antonio Román. The films he is most remembered for are from the 1950s and 1960s, in classics directed by Luis García Berlanga: Welcome Mr. Marshall! (1953), Los jueves, milagro(1957) and El verdugo (1963); and the dark comedy masterpiece El cochecito by Marco Ferreri, all written by Rafael Azcona. He was the grandfather in the Spanish classic La gran familia (1962), and its sequel La gran familia... y uno más (1965), these films earning him still greater popularity. Pepe Isbert died in Madrid due to a heart condition when he was 80 years old. He was buried at Tarazona de la Mancha cemetery in the province of Albacete.
Known For

An undertaker gets married to an old executioner's daughter and, although he doesn't like it, must continue the profession of his father-in-law after his retirement.
The Executioner

Andalusia, Spain, 19th century. The roads are infested with bandits who sow panic among travelers. Although most of them are ruthless killers, Lucero is a true champion of the disinherited.
Condemned to Hang

A small Spanish town, Villar del Río, is alerted to the upcoming visit of American diplomats and its ruling townsmen begin preparations to impress the American visitors, in the hopes of benefiting under the Marshall Plan. Hoping to demonstrate the side of Spanish culture with which the visiting foreign officials would be more familiarized, the Castilian citizens don unfamiliar Andalusian costumes, hire a renowned flamenco performer, and re-decorate their town in Andalusian style, meantime waiting for their uncertain arrival.
Welcome Mr. Marshall!

A vindication of the role of the technicians and artists who made spaghetti western genre possible, and a walk through the landscapes that made it possible to recreate in Spain, mainly in the desert of Almería, hundreds of adventures set in the remote American Far West.
Spanish Western

Don Anselmo, a retired old man, decides to buy a motorized disabled stroller since all his pensioner friends own one. His family strongly refuses him to purchase the vehicle, so don Anselmo decides to take extreme measures to achieve his goal…
The Wheelchair

A particular reading of the hard years of famine, repression and censorship after the massacre of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), through popular culture: songs, newspapers and magazines, movies and newsreels.
Songs for After a War

The life of the family inordinate surveyor Carlos Alonso has undergone several changes over the course of the years: the birth of child number 16, little Maria, coincided with the death of the mother, who left behind a hollow refillable. The grandfather also died. The Godfather pastry married, and the boys have been growing rapidly ...
The Family and One More

Policarpo De Tappetti is a calligrapher who works under the orders of Don César Pancarano de Rondò. For many years, Policarpo has been seeking a promotion and a raise that never comes, and, it seems, will never come. One day, Jerónimo, the son of Don César, meets Celeste, the daughter of Policarpo, and falls in love with her. Policarpo sees in that relationship the solution to his aspirations at work, and does everything in his power to make this relationship fruitful. Don César, who presumes to be a count, sees with very bad eyes that his son meets a girl from such a different social position, and does just the opposite. But the efforts made by both parties will be of no use, since Celeste has fallen in love with Mario Marquetti, a "specialized mechanic" (typist) who is giving private lessons in the offices of the businessman Franquinet .
Policarpo, ufficiale di scrittura

Inspired by the American gangster films, a group of thugs decides to dock the Bank of Spain. "El Rubio" explains to his men that, to commit the armed robbery, they will have to dig a gallery in the Cibeles. But, due to the threats of a rival band, "El Rubio" decides to disguise itself and pretend to be one of the most famous actors of the moment.
The Gang of Eleven

A woman who works as employee in a fashion store has to care for her ill mother. At the same time she falls in love with a bohemian man.
Black Sky

A conquering woman of love, power, and fame is challenged by the devil, as he too wants to conquer all. Even the devil learns that there is no wrath like a woman’s scorn.
Faustina

Carlos Alonso and Mercedes Cebrián are parents of fifteen children of different ages.
The Big Family

Professor Hamilton, a naive Nuclear scientist who once thought bombs were good for humanity, realizes his mistake and runs away from his inventions. He hides in Calabuch, a beautiful seaside town where people still believe in humor and friendship.
The Rocket from Calabuch

Margarita is a beautiful and explosive girl studying in the Faculty of Arts somewhere in Galicia. To the chagrin of the rest of the girls in the class, all the boys want to date her, to the point moniker of "the bride of the Faculty". However, who really steals the heart Margarita is another person ...
Margarita se llama mi amor

Fearing that her niece Rosita will abandon her true love and enter into a marriage of convenience, doña Juanita tells her the story of when, many years ago, she fell in love with an accountant who worked in a circus.
El fantasma y doña Juanita

Francisquita secretly loves Fernando, but he is in love with the beautiful and fickle Aurora.
Doña Francisquita

Blanquita, a very superstitious Cuban young woman, visits a fortune teller on the eve of her wedding to Roberto. She predicts that her first husband is destined to die, as well as would not make her happy. Believing this and according to her uncle, Blanquita starts looking for a man about to die, with the intention to marry him, then become widower and take Roberto as her second husband, thus freeing him from the curse.
Una cubana en España

No description available.
Broken Lives

Hyacinth, a former matador who lives miserably with his nephew Pepote, receives a letter reminding him that, as agreed a few days before, he must participate in a bullfight to be held that same afternoon.
Uncle Hyacynth

Doña Pura, don Benito and don Augusto are three venerable old people who usually coincide each month in the queues of the mutuality windows to collect their pension, an opportunity they take advantage of to talk about life. When they learn that the old don Felipe, an acquaintance, is very sick and is alone and without money for a decent funeral, they decide to ask for a loan to help him, but, as they do not grant it, they decide to rob the savings bank. To do this, they will plan everything thoroughly and manufacture a homemade explosive.