Filmoteca Canaria is closing its 'The Body of the Crime' cycle with an event significant to the historical and cultural heritage of the islands: the commemoration of the centenary of ‘El ladrón de los guantes blancos’. Released in 1926, this film is recognized as the first feature-length movie made by Canarians and shot entirely in Canarias, marking a milestone in the origins of island cinema.
To mark this anniversary, Filmoteca Canaria will present screenings of the silent film, accompanied by live piano music. The sessions will take place on Tuesday, October 6, at the Teatro Guiniguada (Gran Canaria), and on Thursday, October 8, at the Espacio La Granja (Tenerife). Admission will be free, with advance ticket collection at the box office or via the venues' websites.
‘El ladrón de los guantes blancos’ is a 138-minute police film that narrates the theft of a necklace during a dance, triggering a pursuit to catch the criminal Malcorne, while investigators deal with incidents like thefts and false identities.
The feat of shooting this film a century ago was accomplished by José González Rivero and Romualdo García de Paredes, who jointly directed the project. González Rivero, also manager of the Teatro Leal de La Laguna, had begun making documentaries and local newsreels with his own camera and production company, Rivero Film. For this project, he joined forces with García de Paredes, who wrote the film's screenplay and played the detective Tom Carter. The cast also included José Miguel Mandillo, Angelina Navarro, Carlos Reyes, Antonio Varela, Guetón Rodríguez Melo, and Pedro Rodríguez Bello.
Filmed in Tenerife in 1926, the movie was screened on several islands and even in Cuba but disappeared with the advent of sound cinema. A copy preserved by the family of González Rivero led to its recovery in the 1980s. The second reel, containing the ballroom scene (shot in the Hall of Mirrors of the old Casino of Santa Cruz de Tenerife), has been lost and has not yet been located.
The film was shot in black and white with tinting. The original nitrate reels (flammable material) are deposited at the Spanish Film Archive. Some of these reels were severely deteriorated, and in 2023, Filmoteca Canaria commissioned a specialized laboratory to restore and digitize the film in 4K. This restored digital copy is the one that will be exhibited.
