Edgar Neville

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.^[1][4]

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.^[2]

Literary critic María Luisa Burguera emphasizes that Neville’s early years were shaped by a family environment where eccentricity, technological curiosity, and aristocratic ritual coexisted, leaving a lasting imprint on his imagination. According to Burguera, Neville’s early exposure to both aristocratic refinement and everyday urban life contributed to the dual sensibility—elegant yet popular—that would define his artistic voice.^[5]

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.^[2]

Although he studied law, Neville had little interest in the profession and soon focused on theatre. After a romantic disappointment with a young actress, he enlisted with the hussars sent to the Rif War in Morocco, but his military experience was brief due to illness, which forced his return to Spain.^[1][4]

After recovering, Neville joined the famous literary gatherings at Café Pombo, where he met José López Rubio. He later moved to Granada, where he completed his law degree. There he became close friends with poet Federico García Lorca and composer Manuel de Falla, sharing with them a deep interest in flamenco, popular music and Spanish traditions.^[2]

Neville married Ángeles Rubio-Argüelles y Alessandri, from Málaga. During this period he traveled frequently to Málaga, where Imprenta Sur published his first books. He published his first book, Eva y Adán (Eve and Adam), in 1926. This debut collection of short stories showcased a vanguardist approach, featuring experimental and demystifying narratives. Around the same time, he began writing plays in collaboration with José López Rubio. Neville balanced his theatrical work with journalism, contributing to numerous magazines, including the Revista de Occidente, founded in 1923 by José Ortega y Gasset, with whom he maintained a lifelong close friendship. He also became friends with Salvador Dalí, Manuel Altolaguirre, Emilio Prados, and José María Hinojosa, all associated with the Generation of '27.^[2][1]

Seeking to experience the wider world, Neville joined the Spanish diplomatic service and was posted as secretary at the embassy in Washington, D.C. He later traveled to Los Angeles, where he became interested in the film industry. There he met Charlie Chaplin, who cast him in a small role as a guard in City Lights (1931).^[1][6][7]

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.^[2][7]

He returned to Spain in 1931, when the introduction of sound dubbing made Spanish-language versions of foreign films unnecessary. His diplomatic career, however, continued to demand his attention, and in March 1934 he was appointed Spanish consul in Oujda. This post required him to travel through French Morocco in search of possible Spanish prisoners in North Africa. In January 1935, he was assigned to a post in Madrid and was awarded the Cross of Africa in recognition of his diplomatic service.^[1]

By 1934, Neville had established himself as both a writer and a filmmaker. That year marked his theatrical debut with Margarita y los hombres, and the production of the film La traviesa molinera. This was followed by adaptations of The Wicked Carabel (El malvado Carabel), by Wenceslao Fernández Flórez, and The Lady from Trévelez (La señorita de Trévelez), by Carlos Arniches. In 1935, Neville met Conchita Montes, who would become a central figure in both his personal life and his creative work. The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War interrupted his film career.^[2][1]

He joined the Republican Left party and gained the trust of the Minister of State, Julio Álvarez del Vayo. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, this relationship allowed him to avoid reprisals and to assist individuals with opposing political views by facilitating their transfer to the Spanish Embassy in London. While there, he acted as an intelligence agent for the Nationalist faction. In late 1936, he fled to France amid suspicions that his activities had been discovered.^[8]

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).^[2][8]

After the war, guided by his friend Ricardo Soriano, Marquis of Ivanrey, Neville bought a residence in Marbella, which he nostalgically named Malibú. He lived there with Conchita Montes and worked continuously as a columnist, film director and playwright. His love of rich food later affected his health.^[8]

During the 1940s, Neville produced most of his films, including Correo de Indias (1942), Café de París (1943), The Tower of the Seven Hunchbacks (La torre de los siete jorobados 1944), Life on a Thread (La vida en un hilo 1945), Carnival Sunday (Domingo de carnaval 1945), The Crime of Bordadores Street (El crimen de la calle Bordadores 1946), Nada (1947), and El marqués de Salamanca (1948), many of which are now considered classics of Spanish cinema.^[9]

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.^[9][3]

In 1962, he was appointed adviser to the Superior Council for Foreign Affairs. From 1964 onwards, he devoted himself primarily to poetry.^[1]

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.^[1]

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.^[2]

• 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)

• 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)