ABSTRACT
The 1957 production of El trueno entre las hojas/Thunder among the Leaves, featuring the fi rst full frontal nude scene in Argentina, became an instantaneous box-offi ce hit that would unveil a new star sensation: Isabel Sarli. Director Bó’s adaptation of a socially motivated story, written by critically acclaimed author Augusto Roa Bastos, about the abuse of indigenous groups and workers in the Paraguayan jungle was not the basis for the ensuing controversy surrounding the fi lm. Rather, it was the one scene where the soon-to-be cleanest woman on Argentine celluloid disrobes and dips into the high Paraná River, astounding a mostly Catholic nation. What was meant to be a supporting role for Sarli became the beginning of a scandalous career and the creation of a national sex symbol. Audience response to the fi lm and huge lineups at the theaters caused Bó to bump Sarli from third place in the credits to star billing, and so the Bó-Sarli partnership that would eventually make twenty-seven fi lms and span almost three decades began. In an interview, Bó admits: “She [Sarli] herself earned her own spot as the fi lm’s main star” (qtd. in Martín, 1981:18) and indeed, the rest is history.1 Sarli would become a Latin American pinup desired by men everywhere regardless of their class, race, or age.
