User Reviews

For a little girl in the Amazon River Basin, Marisol was the height of cool.

The movie took me a way to a place where dance and song were everyday matters, and fostered a lifelong love of the passionate music of Flamenco. The fiery music and dance struck a chord that still resonates even now, many years later. The rhythm of Marisol's flashing feet and fingers, the tale as it unfolded, led me to love the little girl who starred in this film. To this day I think about Marisol. To this day I associate flamenco with her, and have her to thank for the continuing love I have for it. And, when Paco Pena's MISA FLAMENCA came to DC, I went to see it, falling in love with flamenco all over again.

¨Un Rayo de Luz¨ is Marisol's first feature movie , her second was ¨Ha llegado un angel¨ , and it got a big hit and huge boxoffice . Sympathetic , attractive and charming musical comedy with child prodigy Marisol accompanied by a great plethora of secondaries . This is a moving story proceeded in simplicity and delicacy and the atmospheric scenarios provide a lot of chances of dancing , singing and musical numbers . Stars a wealthy man (Antonio Molino Rojo) and a woman (Maria Mahor) who is a struggling actress and singer , both of whom have secretly married. One day, he decides to tell his family that he's married and flies to their home in Italy , but the plane crashes and he dies. As Marisol's father is dead . When his brother (Anselmo Duarte) goes to Spain to identify the body, he meets his now-widowed sister-in-law for the first time and discovers that she's pregnant . She asks only that the family finance the child's education. Years later the child, a girl named Marisol, is about to turn 10 years old. Her mother and uncle visit her at her boarding school once a year. Her mother has told her that she is a rich, famous actress so Marisol would not be timid with her friends about her origins, but that means the mother can never take Marisol with her in the summer or she'll know the truth. But Marisol's grumpy grandfather, Conde D'Angelo (Julio Sanjuán) hates her mum for "stealing his son," as he wishes to meet his granddaughter Marisol , so he asks her uncle to bring her to Italy for the summer. When Marisol arrives in Italy , the grandfather and his servants think she is a happiness-bringing angel . As the summer goes by, the grandfather comes to love her very much and amuses with her .

This is a fun , funny , charming and agreeable movie dealing with little Marisol in problems that is cared by her stranged grandfather . This a sensitive and feeling movie full of mirth , humor touches, and enjoyable message . Of course , Marisol steals the show as the splendid singer and dancer little girl . Marisol is well supported by a fine support cast , full of familiar faces as Maria Mahor as the mummy who belongs to a poor family , Antonio Molino Rojo as dad who belongs to a wealthy family and other notorious actors as Joaquín Roa ,María José Goyanes, María Isbert, and many others . The scenarios , made by prestigious Enrique Alarcón , in which develop the deeds results to be adequate and well designed . Musical score by Augusto Algueró , Alfredo García Segura, Gregorio García Segura responds appropriately to the ambient , originating a careful atmosphere . Here Marisol sings some wonderful and popular songs , such as : Adios al colegio, Corre, corre, caballito , Canciones , Santa Lucia , all of them performed by Marisol . It contains a luminous and brilliant cinematography by Manuel Berenguer who is deemed to be one of the best Spanish cameramen , including international films as The Thin Red Line , Kings of Kings , Simon Bolivar , Crack in the World, Son of a gunfighter , Sound from a Million Years Ago , Doctor Zhivago , Dulcinea , Molokai , Fuego and several others . The filmmaker Luis Lucia as well as the famous producer Goyanes succeed in this picture , obtaining a great achievement , managing perfectly to the performers and taking advantage of them , giving the best of their acting . It's worthwhile mingle of music , choreography , comedy , sentimentalism and good feeling . Here Marisol gives an enjoyable acting in this heart-touching movie . Can be said that she is perfectly adequate to his measure .Marisol was an appealing Spanish actress and singer . Spanish film studios were looking for a new child star to follow the steps of Pablito Calvo, and make popular and populist folkloric movies and they found Marisol . She was discovered by her future producer Manuel J. Goyanes in an exhibition of the "Coros y Danzas de Málaga" in TVE in 1959 . Her debut in cinema was in 1960 and she complemented her activity in cinema with records , recitals and TV-shows . ¨Búsqueme Esa Chica¨ produced by Manuel J Goyanes , in fact , she was introduced to the movie business and discovered by this powerful producer in ¨Un Rayo De Luz¨ (1960) by Luis Lucia , who directed her in this first feature , where earned his famous name . He was widely known in Spain when she became a widely successful child star , following ¨Ha LLegado Un Angel¨, ¨Tombola¨, ¨Marisol Rumbo a Rio¨ which were big box-office hits in Spain during Franco's dictatorship , and she became Spain's most famous girl actress , outstanding his highly expressive face and eyes , charming eyes and innocent , angelical face . She was a milestone in Spanish "child prodigies" under Franco along with Joselito , Pili and Mili , Ana Belén and especially Pablito Calvo . And the producers trying to keep them as little kids for as long as possible . Due to false advertising by the studios that made their movies, and which wanted to make them appear younger than they really were , an obsession that haunted them through the whole of their careers . After the national and international hits as ¨La Nueva Cenicienta¨ , ¨La Historia De Bienvenido¨ and ¨Cabriola¨, and following other successful films as ¨4 Bodas Marisol¨, ¨Carola De Dia , Carola De Noche¨ . In her films she often sings Flamenco Cante , Saetas , Soleadas and other Folkloric songs . After several movies and records , and already a big star as a singer and an actress in Europe, the next move was trying to triumph in America, there she also played , sang and danced to grant local box-office . His success even reached around the world . However, life was not too glamorous for Marisol, as she was treated almost as a sideshow act by his managers , not allowing him to become an ordinary teenager . She was forced to keep his childlike image up to the seventies ; however , thanks to Juán Antonio Bardém changed his acting style , playing thrillers as ¨La Corrupción de Chris Miller¨ and ¨Poder Del Deseo¨ , and subsequently directed by prestigious filmmakers as Carlos Saura in ¨Carmen¨ , ¨Bodas de Sangre¨ and Mario Camus¨ in ¨Dias Del Pasado¨. Her last movies were the notorious TV series ¨Proceso a Mariana Pineda¨ and ¨Caso Cerrado¨ and she was not successful anymore . Marisol married two times , to Carlos Goyanes and Antonio Gades . Fidel Castro was the best man at her wedding to Antonio Gades . She has three daughters from her marriage to Antonio Gades , on of them the known actress Maria Esteve . Disappearing from public life in 1985, when she was still high in her career, she left everything , returned to her homeland, Malaga, and has lived as a housewife since then for her own choice . Has received many invitations to return, but has declined all of them, even simple interviews on TV. Retired In Malaga from acting at early age to become a discreet person and was then discovered much later that she had become a housewife and is now a social and humanitarian activist.

Being well produced by three great producers : Manuel J. Goyanes , Benito Perojo and professionally directed by Luis Lucia . Luis was an advocate at law for the powerful Francoist company CIFESA that produced super-productions and often financed these false but breathtaking historical spectacles . His film debut was ¨13-13¨ and subsequently ¨Hombre De Negocios¨, two average ¨comedies . Later on , he directed two dated historical dramas : ¨Princesa De Ursinos¨ and ¨Jeromin¨ . And he made various Folkloric films for Juanita Reina : ¨Lóla La Piconera¨ , ¨Gloria Mairena¨ , Carmen Sevilla : ¨Hermana De San Sulpicio¨ , Lola Flores : ¨Morena Clara¨ , Antonio Molina : ¨Esta Voz Es Una Mina¨ , among others . Lucia discovered children prodigy as Marisol , Rocio Durcal , Ana Belén and Jaime Blanch .

Marisol's first film reveals a talented and more beautiful variation on the spanish child star than audiences had seen before. This story about the estranged child of a widowed Spanish cabaret singer bonding with her bitter wealthy Italian grandfather is a classic of Spanish cinema and made Marisol a household name in the spanish speaking world. The songs, her blonde hair and blue eyes, and the sometimes contrived sentiments work beautifully every step of the way. A RAY OF LIGHT indeed.