Rosa Maria Juana Martinez Suarez It was the name of baptism, but his time in the cinema captured popularity by using the pseudonym, suggested by the representative Ricardo Cerebelloof Mirtha Legrand. Iconic figure of the small screen, “The little one” He had his beginnings on the big screen as a young promise, shortly after sound films began, making his debut at the age of 14 in the golden age of Argentine cinema.
Both she and her siblings, the actress Silvia Legrand and the film director Jose Martinez Suarez, had their heyday in black and white cinematography. In the particular case of Mirtha, added to her scenic talent and her acting profile, her marriage to the filmmaker Daniel Tinayre in 1945 it opened up many more possibilities in starring in national productions for the big screen.
Considered one of the most famous people with the longest media career in the country. In the era of streaming platforms and “On Demand” services, the films starring the lunch lady are considered cult or legends of a cinema era that will never be repeated. However, it is that moment that allowed her to go from her young popular beginnings to massiveness on the small screen.
Orchid Tuesdays (1943)
Orchid Tuesdays meant the beginning of the so-called “white comedies” in Argentine cinema, whose flagship figures were Mirtha Legrand and Maria Duval. The plot is based on the shy Elenita, represented by Legrand, who to try to change her character and create an illusion, her father sends her a bouquet of orchids every week, making her believe that they are from a hidden admirer of hers. The success of her first leading role led to the studios lighttonone of the most important of that time, hiring Legrand for five years for other films.
Perez’s Little Lady (1944)
Directed by filmmaker Charles Hugo Christensenon script Julius Porter Y Caesar Weatheraccording to the work of Stephan Bekeffi, had as protagonists Mirtha Legrand and John Charles Thorry. Being a light comedy and very successful comedy, the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Argentina awarded Mirtha Legrand the Academic Condor Award for the best leading actress of 1944 for this film. Being the first award in the career of the actress .
The box office of the feature film made it possible for a sequel to be made the following year with the same cast. “Mrs. Pérez divorces” obtained a consummate success at the dawn of the arrival of Peronism. The argument, focusing on the marital relationship between the protagonist and her particular husband, positioned the diva in the genre of white comedies. Almost thirty years later, a remake of the film would be made in Mexico.
The Portrait (1947)
The Argentine comedy film, shot in black and white, was directed by charles schlieper and premiered on June 19, 1947. The script written by Alexander Verbitsky and Emilio Villalba Welsh, was the first film within the context of the Peronist government. It was also the diva’s first feature film outside of Lumiton studios.
The Gang (1960)
the story of a philosophy teacher raped by her night school students and the police situations she must go through. a movie of Daniel Tinayre, made in black and white in 1960, impressive and advanced for the time. Legrand, playing the teacher, ventures into drama with wide deployment, for which the film continues to be a reference in Argentine cinema. In 2015, filmmaker Santiago Miterdirector of “The range” Y “Argentina 1985”, he made his first feature making the remake, with Dolores Fonz in the star role.
With Taste to Rage (1965)
The police drama is inspired by the assault on the Banking Polyclinic carried out by the clandestine organization bamboo, which occurred on August 29, 1963 and included scenes shot at the scene. The script recounts the romantic bond between a bourgeois lady and a young revolutionary medical student who participates in an assault on a hospital. The last leading film of “La chiqui” was directed by the director Fernando Ayala.
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