| Manuel Zeceña Diéguez | |
| Birth Date: | January 12, 1918 |
| Birth Place: | Guatemala |
| Death Date: | June 9, 1991 |
| Death Place: | Guatemala City, Guatemala |
| Other Names: | M. Zeceña Dieguez |
| Occupation: | Film producer, director |
| Years Active: | 1954 - 1979 |
Manuel Zeceña Diéguez (1918-1991) was a Guatemalan film producer, director and writer. As a producer, his work commenced in 1954 with . In the early 1960s he produced, and . As a director he worked on which was released in 1968, in 1969, in 1973 and the ill-fated The Hughes Mystery which was released in 1979. The majority of his films were made in Mexico and he worked with prominent Mexican actors and filmmakers.
As a writer he wrote the script for the 1954 comedy film which was directed by René Cardona.[1] He produced the film which was released in 1954.[2] [3] For the film starring Jorge Mistral, Teresa Velázquez and Martha Elena Cervantes, he was both writer and producer. It was released around 1962.[4] [5] He was asked to produce the film which was a joint Mexican/Guatemalan production, released in 1963. It was directed by Emilio Fernandez with cinematography by Raúl Martínez Solares, and starred Patricia Conde, Emilio Fernandez and Andrés Soler.[6] [7] In the late 1960s he worked on (English title Love in the Clouds) which was produced by Panamerican Films and distributed by Peliculas Nacionales. The film, which was released in 1968, featured Leonorilda Ochoa, Eric del Castillo and Norma Mora.[8] [9]
He directed the 1970 film which starred Julio Alemán, Tere Velázquez and Amadee Chabot.[10] His last film in the 1970s seems to be The Hughes Mystery which starred Jackson Bostwick, Broderick Crawford, José Ferrer, Hope Holiday, Guy Madison and Cameron Mitchell. The production company was S.A. Filmadora Panamericana. It was finished by 1979 and released that year.[11] [12] According to the book The Complete Films of Broderick Crawford by Ralph Schiller, there seems to be a mystery as to what happened to the film; it was never released in the United States and nobody seems to have seen it. There was an indication that it was sold in Australia. After that film Zeceña Diéguez appears to have stopped working.[13]
Zeceña Diéguez died in Guatemala on June 9, 1991, aged 73.[14]
| Title | Role | Year | Notes # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sindicato de telemirones | Writer | 1954 | |
| De ranchero a empresario | Producer, writer | 1954 | |
| Pecado | Producer, writer | 1962 | |
| Paloma herida | Producer | 1963 | |
| Me ha gustado un hombre | Producer | 1965 | |
| Alma llanera | Producer | 1965 | |
| Solo de noche vienes | Producer, writer | 1966 | |
| Amor en las nubes | Director, producer, writer | 1968 | |
| El deseo llega de noche | Director | 1969 | |
| Una mujer para los sabados | Director, producer, writer | 1970 | |
| Tápame contigo | Director, producer | 1970 | |
| Ave sin nido | Director, producer, writer | 1971 | |
| Mi mesera | Director | 1973 | |
| Renzo, el gitano | Director, producer | 1973 | |
| Detras de esa puerta | Director, producer, writer | 1975 | |
| The Hughes Mystery | Director, producer | 1979 | |