The Bandit of Brazil

O Cangaceiro (lit. "The Cangaceiro"; also known as The Bandit and The Bandits) is a 1953 Brazilian adventure western film directed by Lima Barreto. After some reluctance by its studio Vera Cruz, Barreto shot it in 1952. After its release it was national and international success, and won several awards, including the Adventure Film Award at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival. It was poorly received in retrospect despite being praised by the time of its release and started a subgenre in Brazilian cinema. Cast Alberto Ruschel as Teodoro Marisa Prado as Olívia Milton Ribeiro as Galdino Vanja Orico as Maria Clódia Adoniran Barbosa as Mané Mole Production In 1950, Lima Barreto joined the film studio Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz invited by its then president Alberto Cavalcanti. After releasing two documentaries successfully for the studio, Painel and Santuário, Barreto get the chance to direct a feature film. With the idea to shoot a film about Lampião since the early 1940s, he only commenced to shoot it in 1952 after some reluctance by Franco Zampari, Vera Cruz's founder. Although he went to Bahia and did some research there, it was shot in Vargem Grande do Sul, São Paulo, with a production that lasted nine months due to internal conflicts. Reception O Cangaceiro was released on January 20, 1953, and was a public success; it grossed ₢$30 million (about US$1.5 million) in the 24 Brazilian theaters in which it spent six weeks. After its national success, it was distributed to over 80 countries, becoming one of the most internationally successful Brazilian films—a feat uncommon in that time. It led it to be considered Vera Cruz's "high point" and its "most important production" by Georges Sadoul, author of Dictionary of Films, and by O Estado de S. Paulos Luiz Zanin, respectively.