The battle between the Catholic Church and the Falange in the film industry (1936-1945)

Abstract

This paper addresses the tensions that took place between the Catholic Church and the Spanish Falange, from the start of the Spanish Civil War to the end of the Second World War, in order to control the Spanish cinema. The aim is to study how both institutions, the Catholic Church and the Spanish Falange, tried to control the film industry, a very important media at that time. Mostly secondary sources and numerous films have been used. It has been found out that the dispute was won by the Church even though in the early postwar years the Falange seemed to have the power. The initial supremacy of the Falange in film policy was frustrated mainly by the international situation resulting from the Second World War and the defeat of the fascism.