Manuel Granada

Paul Ellis (Manuel Granada), circa 1927

Manuel Granada (né Benjamin Italo Jose Ingenito Paralupi O'Higgins) was an actor in American, Spanish, Argentine and Mexican films. For the first half of his career, he worked under the name Paul Ellis and Manuel Granado.

Granada was born Benjamin Italo Jose Ingenito Paralupi O'Higgins in Buenos Aires on November 6, 1896. He made his film debut in the Metro-Goldwyn film The Bandolero in 1924 under the name Paul Ellis. An April 1925 article by Harry Carr for Motion Picture dubbed him 'Hollywood's New Sheik.' Like other Latino actors in silent-era Hollywood, he had adapted a WASPy screen name, which stood in contrast to his dark features, a look that was popular at the time. Despite this, he was still cast almost exclusively as secondary ethnic characters, unlike his contemporaries in silent-era Hollywood like Gilbert Roland and Barry Norton (a fellow Argentine).

The coming of sound found Paul Ellis relegated to bit parts, though he did secure some substantial roles in Spanish-language versions of English-language films such as La Voluntad del muerto (1930). In 1930, he also wrote and appeared in Charros, gauchos y manolas, a musical directed by Xavier Cugat. These films were usually released in Spanish-language territories only. He continued to appear in American films for another ten years, mostly in brief uncredited roles, though he is remembered by some for his appearance in Marihuana (1936), which retains a small cult following. He made his last American film, Whistling in the Dark, in 1941.

Still using the name Paul Ellis, Granada next shows up in films in 1947 in Argentina, and continued to appear in films in Argentina. He appeared in the Mexican/Argentine co-production La Tierra del Fuego se apaga.

Selected filmography

External links

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