Alfredo del Diestro

Acting

Alfredo del Diestro

Born 1885-10-07 · Valparaíso, Chile

Actor and film director, born in Valparaíso Chile, October 7, 1885, died in Mexico City in 1951. Son of Spanish merchant Juan del Diestro and Italian pianist Matilde Cavaletti, Alfredo del Diestro spent his adolescence in Havana with his parents. In 1900 he returned to Colombia with the theatrical company Juan del Diestro, formed by him and his younger brother Juan. The company remained in the country until 1903, when it resumed its transhumance through Central America and the Caribbean. In Havana he met the Mexican actress Emma Roldán, and married her. In 1920, when he was doing a season at the Municipal Theater of Cali, he met Francisco Antonio Posada, who proposed him to co-direct with the Spaniard Máximo Calvo the silent feature film María. Del Diestro did the art direction, directed the dialogues and the staging. He returned to Mexico in 1924, where he continued working in film. His most outstanding performance was in the feature film Allá en el rancho grande, made in 1936.

Acting credits

Shadow of Pancho Villa poster
6.0

A 1933 film.

Shadow of Pancho Villa

1933

Nobleza ranchera poster
6.0

Based on the novel "La parcela" by López Portillo and Rojas. The story explores conflicts over land, power, and honor between two rival landowners (the compadres Miguel and Pedro), whose sons struggle to overcome this dispute so they can pursue their love.

Nobleza ranchera

1938

El jefe máximo poster
6.3

A 1940 film directed by Fernando de Fuentes.

El jefe máximo

1940

María poster
6.0

María tells the tragic love story of María, a beautiful young woman, and her half brother Efraín, a handsome young man from Valle del Cauca. They both fall in love and live their romance on the farm "El Paraíso", in Valle del Cauca, but not everything is rosy, since Efraín must go to Bogotá because of study reasons leaving María with pain in her soul. Some time later, María becomes ill and Emma tells her brother about the situation.

María

1922

La dama atrevida poster
10.0

A blackmailer falls in love with his female victim. Alternate-language version of The Lady Who Dared (1930).

La dama atrevida

1931

Prisoner 13 poster
6.7

Colonel Carrasco's wife Marta leaves him taking his young son. The child, Juan, grows into an admirable and well-mannered young man. Having been promoted to a higher rank of power amidst the Mexican Revolution, the indulgent and corrupt Colonel accepts a bribe to free a revolutionary, Felipe Martinez, from his prison. Martinez has been sentenced to execution at the hands of a firing squad. Carrasco asks to have the revolutionary replaced by absolutely anyone. In a twist of fate, that anyone turns out to be his own long lost son Juan. Upon receiving this news, Marta races to the prison and explains the predicament to Carrasco. He subsequently desperately attempts to prevent the gunning down of his son by his very own government officials.

Prisoner 13

1933

Those Who Dance poster
9.0

Undercover police officer Dan Hogan infiltrates a ruthless gangster mob. Hogan’s main objective is to identify the real criminals responsible for the murder of his younger brother. Along the way, he teams up with a woman named Nora Brady, whose own brother was falsely convicted of the same murder. Spanish version of Those Who Dance (1930).

Those Who Dance

1930

Neither Blood Nor Sand poster
7.5

Cantinflas enjoys the bullfight show, and wants to crash in every of these spectacles. Also, there's a professional bullfighter, Manolete, who is identical to Cantinflas. Manolete has to give a bullfight show in a village, but Cantinflas arrives first as a stowaway in a train, and he'll be mistake by the real bullfighter. Cantinflas will give us a demonstration of courage.

Neither Blood Nor Sand

1941

No artwork available
5.7

No synopsis available yet.

Adios mi chaparrita

1941

The Underdogs poster
6.3

During the Mexican Revolution, the people tired of living in poverty and enduring the atrocities committed by the federals, decide to follow one of their own, General Demetrio Macias, a thief with tricks he learned in jail and who along with "La Pintada" decides to take his people to victory. Led by Captain Anastacio Montañez, the newly formed army fight and honor their code at the same time as they loot houses to spread the wealth.

The Underdogs

1940

El compadre Mendoza poster
6.7

In the midst of the Mexican Revolution, the landowner Mendoza manages to get along with both the government and the revolutionary group. For the former, he is a supporter of Huerta. For the latter, he is a Zapata supporter. Depending on the political preference of whoever visits him at his hacienda, he has portraits of Huerta or Zapata put up, and organizes a party in honor of his visitors. However, time goes by and the situation becomes untenable. For whom will he take sides?

El compadre Mendoza

1934

Mi viuda alegre poster
5.7

A 1942 film directed by Miguel M. Delgado.

Mi viuda alegre

1942

Hombres del aire poster
6.7

No synopsis available yet.

Hombres del aire

1939

The Crying Woman poster
5.7

In modern Mexico, a malevolent spirit targets a family, linking tragic past events of abandoned, infanticidal mothers to a possessed intruder's attempt to sacrifice their son.

The Crying Woman

1933

Juarez and Maximilian poster
7.0

The story of Mexican President Benito Juárez and the emperor Maximilian of Habsburg and the empress Carlota.

Juarez and Maximilian

1934

Noches de gloria poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Noches de gloria

1938

La paloma poster
5.3

Dazzled by the Empress Carlotta's graciousness, magnanimity and charm, a young officer in the Mexican army switches his allegiance to the Imperial government with Maximilian as figurehead. Bad move, space cadet.

La paloma

1937

Ahí viene Vidal Tenorio poster
6.0

Two military goons slaughter a young man's parents and siblings. A few years later, the same guys rape and murder his wife, then use their young son for target practice. Enough is enough.

Ahí viene Vidal Tenorio

1949

El rápido de las 9.15 poster
5.8

It tells the stories of the passengers aboard a nonstop train. Each character is portrayed one by one, and the only thing they have in common is the journey they will take that night.

El rápido de las 9.15

1941

Law of the Harem poster
9.0

When Renée Duval, a Frenchwoman who had been on her way to Venice, is discovered by Al-Hadi, an Arabian prince in the wreckage of an ambushed caravan it is just the beginning of a breathless adventure that will put both their lives at risk!

Law of the Harem

1931

La casa del ogro poster
5.1

Lives of the tenants in a shabby-genteel apartment house. Miserly landlord learns valuable life lessons.

La casa del ogro

1939

No artwork available
6.3

No synopsis available yet.

Adam, Eve and the Devil

1945

Las mujeres mandan poster
4.0

Tired of being mistreated by his wife and children, Isidro (Del Diestro) leaves his family and follows young variety dancer Chayito (Tamayo) to Mexico City. After becoming lovers, Chayito asks Isidro to steal money from the bank he used to work in the small town of San Jacinto. After commiting the robbery, Isidro is accused of murder and things get more complicated.

Las mujeres mandan

1937

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz poster
5.7

A biopic that narrates the life of the novohispanic poetess.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

1935

Behind the camera