Édgar Neville

Edgar Neville Romrée, Count of Berlanga de Duero (28 December 1899 – 23 April 1967) was a Spanish writer, playwright, film director, painter and diplomat, known for his refined humor, cultural curiosity and enjoyment of life, as well as for his work in cinema, theatre and literature.

Early life Neville was born in Madrid into an aristocratic family. His father, Edward Neville Riddlesdale, was an English engineer who managed in Spain the business of his father’s Liverpool-based motor company, Julius G. Neville & Co., later known as Sociedad Anglo-Española de Motores. His mother, María Romrée y Palacios, was the daughter of the Count of Romrée and the Countess of Berlanga del Duero, a noble title that Neville would later inherit.

He spent much of his childhood in a palace owned by his maternal grandparents in Alfafar (Valencia), a place he later remembered as one of the happiest settings of his youth. He also lived in La Granja de San Ildefonso (Segovia) and studied at Colegio del Pilar in Madrid, where he began forming friendships with people who would later become important figures in Spanish cultural life. From an early age, Neville showed a strong interest in literature and the arts.

Early theatre and literary career Neville developed a lifelong fascination with carnival, popular humor and festive culture, elements that would later appear frequently in his films. In 1917 he premiered La Vía Láctea, a one-act vaudeville-style comedy, with the company of La Chelito. Around this time, he met the humorist and illustrator Antonio de Lara (Tono), who became one of his closest friends and collaborators.

Chaplin helped Neville gain access to Hollywood, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer hired him as a dialogue writer and screenwriter. At the beginning of sound cinema, before dubbing was widely used, Hollywood produced Spanish-language versions of its films for Spanish-speaking markets. Neville wrote dialogue for El presidio (1930) and En cada puerto un amor (1931), and directed the medium-length film Yo quiero que me lleven a Hollywood.

He later sought to join the Nationalist diplomatic service but faced accusations related to his earlier Republican affiliations. He subsequently joined FET y de las JONS, collaborated in propaganda efforts, and was admitted to the regime’s diplomatic service in 1938. During the war, he served on the Madrid front and participated in key military operations, where he filmed disturbing scenes that had a deep personal impact on him. He also wrote scripts for propaganda films such as Juventudes de España (1938), La Ciudad Universitaria (1938), Vivan los hombres libres (1939), and Carmen fra i rossi (1939).

In the 1950s, he directed The Last Horse (El último caballo 1950), Cuento de hadas (1951), the documentary Flamenco (Duende y misterio del Flamenco 1952), a film that received an Honourable Mention at the Cannes Film Festival. Neville also directed La ironía del dinero (1955), The Dance (El baile 1959), and My Street (Mi calle 1960), his final film. During the 1950s, Neville’s previously robust health began to decline. He developed severe obesity as a result of atrophy of the thyroid and pituitary glands, and despite medical treatment, illness and weight-related problems remained persistent throughout his later life.

In 1962, he was appointed adviser to the Superior Council for Foreign Affairs. From 1964 onwards, he devoted himself primarily to poetry.

Neville was closely linked to the Generation of '27, but was excluded from its canonical list due to his political alignment and his focus on popular entertainment and humor. Like Miguel Mihura, Antonio de Lara (Tono), and Enrique Jardiel Poncela, he developed a non-political form of humor that gently criticized bourgeois customs and social absurdity.

Over his lifetime, Edgar Neville wrote 19 books, directed around 30 films, and premiered 12 theatrical works. He died in Madrid in 1967. After his death, documentaries such as El tiempo de Neville (1991) and Edgar Neville: Emparedado entre comillas (2000) were produced, helping to revive interest in his work.

Filmography El presidio (The Jail, 1930) Take Me to Hollywood (1931) Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si, o La vida privada de un tenor (1934) The Wicked Carabel (1935) The Lady from Trévelez (1936) Juventudes de España (1938) La ciudad universitaria (1938) Vivan los hombres libres (1939) Carmen fra i rossi/Frente de Madrid (1939) Santa Rogelia (1939) Madrid Carnival (1941) Sancta Maria (1942) La parrala (1942) Correo de Indias (1942) Café de París (1943) The Tower of the Seven Hunchbacks (La torre de los siete jorobados) (1944) Carnival Sunday (Domingo de carnaval) (1945) Life on a Thread (La vida en un hilo) (1945) The Crime of Bordadores Street (1946) The Bullfighter's Suit (1947) Nada (1947) El marqués de Salamanca (1948) El señor Esteve (1948) The Last Horse (1950) Cuento de hadas (1951) Devil's Roundup (El cerco del diablo) (1952) Flamenco (Duende y misterio del Flamenco) (1952) La ironía del dinero (1955) The Dance (El baile) (1959) My Street (Mi calle) (1960)

Novels, plays and other writings Eva y Adán (1926) Don Clorato de Potasa (1929) Margarita y los hombres (1934) Música de fondo (1936) Frente de Madrid (1941) El baile (1952) La niña de la calle del Arenal (prologue by actor Jesús García de Dueñas, 1953) Veinte añitos (1954) Rapto (1955) Adelita (1955) Torito bravo (novella, 1955) Mi España particular (travel book, 1957) La piedrecita (play in three acts, 1957) La vida en un hilo (1959) Alta fidelidad (comic play in two acts, 1960) Prohibido en otoño (1961) Alta fidelidad (1961) La extraña noche de bodas (1963) Flamenco y cante jondo (1963) Mar de fondo (1964) El naufragio (1964) El día más largo de Monsieur Marcel (1965) Poemas (1967) Las terceras de ABC (ABC articles compendium, published posthumously by Editorial Prensa Española in 1976)