José Bohr
José Bohr (3 September 1901 – 29 May 1994), born Joseph Bohr Elzer, was a German-born Chilean film director, producer, actor, screenwriter, composer, and singer, active in Chilean, Mexican, American, and Argentine cinema. Between 1919 and 1969, Bohr directed 35 films. Bohr also composed 8 tangos, the best known of which is Cascabelito, and is sometimes mistakenly known as the orchestra leader for records that are actually his wife's Eva Bohr's orchestra.
Also recorded as Jose Bohr
José Bohr
Revista Ecran · CC0
- Name
- José Bohr
- Birth Name
- Joseph Bohr Elzer
- Born
- 3 September 1901
- Birthplace
- Bonn, German Empire
- Died
- 29 May 1994
- Place of death
- Oslo, Norway
- Occupation
- * Director
- Full name
- Yopes Böhr Elzer.
- Nationality
- Chile and Argentina.
- Languages
- Spanish.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
José Bohr (3 September 1901 – 29 May 1994), born Joseph Bohr Elzer, was a German-born Chilean film director, producer, actor, screenwriter, composer, and singer, active in Chilean, Mexican, American, and Argentine cinema. Between 1919 and 1969, Bohr directed 35 films. Bohr also composed 8 tangos, the best known of which is Cascabelito, and is sometimes mistakenly known as the orchestra leader for records that are actually his wife's Eva Bohr's orchestra.
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Note VALÉORINE
José Bohr (1901–1994) was an actor, composer and film director, among other activities, of Argentine and Chilean nationality. The actor was born Yopes Böhr Elzer in Bonn and died in Oslo.
Languages used include Spanish. Works are held at Memoria Chilena.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q6291715 · wikipedia · José Bohr
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — José Bohr • Birth Name — Joseph Bohr Elzer • Born — 3 September 1901 • Birthplace — Bonn, German Empire • Died — 29 May 1994 • Place of death — Oslo, Norway • Occupation — * Director • producer • actor • screenwriter • composer • singer • Years Active — 1919–1969
Actor
Actor
• Así es la vida (1930) • Rogue of the Rio Grande (1930) • Sombras de gloria (1930) • Ex-Flame (1930) • Hollywood, ciudad de ensueño (1931)
Director
Director
• La sangre manda (1934) • Luponini de Chicago (1935) • Sueño de amor (1935) • Tu Hijo (1935) • Así es la mujer (1936) • Por mis pistolas (1938) • El rosario de Amozoc (1938) • El látigo (1939) • Una luz en mi camino (1939) • Herencia macabra (1940) • Borrasca humana (1940) • Si mis campos hablaran (1947) • La dama de las camelias (1947) • Mis espuelas de plata (1948) • Tonto pillo (1948) • Uno que ha sido marino (1951) • El gran circo Chamorro (1955) • Un chileno en España (1962) • Sonrisas de Chile (1970)
Personal life
Personal life
José Bohr was born in Germany in 1901. Bohr then moved with his family to Chile in 1904 to colonize the area when he was 3 years old. He travelled frequently throughout South America in his young adulthood, eventually going to the United States for a period of time where he filmed the movie Sombras de Gloria (1930). In the 1940's, Bohr would move back to Chile to work for a Chilean-government sponsored production company, Chile Films. By the early 1980's, José Bohr moved to Denmark and spent the rest of his life in Europe. Jose Bohr married Eva Limiñana in 1924. Limiñana, a screenwriter and pianist, frequently collaborated artistically with Bohr throughout their marriage. Bohr is quoted calling her his "compañera de arte y de vida," or his "partner in art and in life." The couple divorced in 1942 after 18 years of marriage.
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
José Bohr was recorded at birth as Yopes Böhr Elzer. The authorities additionally record the heading Jose Bohr. His recorded language was Spanish. He married Eva Limiñana. Other recorded relations include Pedro Armendáriz Jr.
Identity
Identity
José Bohr is recorded as film director, painter, actor, singer and screenwriter.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1901–1994
The full dated record · 4 entries
1901
José Bohr was born in 1901 at Bonn.
1919
Como por un tubo (José Bohr, CHI, 1919) (1919) is digitised and catalogued by Internet Archive.
1920
Mi noche alegre (José Bohr, CHI, 1920) (1920) is digitised and catalogued by Internet Archive.
1994
José Bohr died in 1994 at Oslo.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Bonn.
Birth place
Oslo.
Death place
Reception
As an actor, Bohr was praised for his performance in Sombras de Gloria (1930), which received a symbolic Oscar, as the category for Best Latin Film did not exist at the time. As a director, Bohr was often praised for his "realización cine-dramática," or his dramatic filmmaking. Bohr's work was part of a larger discussion in the Hispanic community at the time. The use of the Spanish language in Hollywood films intended for Hispanic had become a topic of debate. Specifically, the use of accents within these films and scripts that preferred an Iberian dialect over one of the many dialects of South America when catering to a Hispanic market. While there were a wide variety of opinions on the matter, Bohr believed that it should be up to the actor and what they felt most comfortable doing in their performance.
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q6291715: José Bohr
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “José Bohr”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Literature
Literature
Humor Cinematográfico, Identidad Nacional y Temporalidad en las Películas de José Bohr y Raúl Ruiz, AVANCA | CINEMA, 2025
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.National Library of Chile. Claudio Arrau León (1903–1991): José Bohr (1901–1994). Memoria Chilena.
- 2.Jara, Eliana. Diccionario del Cine Iberoamericano. 2011.
- 3.Teatros. La Gaceta. 22 January 1932.
- 4.Muy Pronto en el Azteca la Cinta Titulada 'Tu Hijo.'. The Laredo Times. 1. 27 May 1935.
- 5.Alvear V, Luis. Considerances al margen del Llamado problema del Lenguaje español en las películas habladas—glosario de opiniones ajenas. La Opinión. 6. 27 December 1929.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q6291715: José BohrWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
Citizenship
1- ArgentinaPlace
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Paintings
18,717 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- José BalmesArtist
- José Bedia ValdésArtist
- José Benlliure y GilArtist
- José BernalArtist
- José Camarón y BonanatArtist
- José CarreñoArtist
- José Casado del AlisalArtist
- José Clemente OrozcoArtist
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