Benito Perojo launched his long, distinguished career in Spanish cinema in the early teens after studying engineering in England and working as a journalist in Madrid. His entry into cinema came when he co-founded the production company Patria Films. Through Patria, Perojo made a name directing and starring in comedy shorts featuring his character Peladilla, a frolicsome wanderer clearly patterned after Charlie Chaplin's Tramp.
Perojo moved to Paris in 1917 to further his career as director and actor. Most of the films from this period were financed by Spanish companies and concerned Spanish subjects, but Perojo preferred to work in France because their studios were more technologically advanced, as the director's finely crafted films reflect. He moved to Hollywood in 1930 to make Spanish-language films for MGM; if he completed any projects for MGM, he did so without screen credit, though he was credited with a Fox production, Mamá (1930). Shortly after returning to Spain, Perojo directed several popular and well-made movies, notably La Verbena de la Paloma/The Paloma Fair (1935), widely regarded as Perojo's masterpiece and one of Spanish cinema's finest films. The following year, Perojo was finishing production on Nuestra Natacha/Our Natacha when the Spanish Civil War erupted. A Nationalist supporter, Perojo stored the film's negatives in a vault; they were later destroyed.
During the war, he and colleague Florián Rey accepted an invitation to make Spanish-language films in Germany. Perojo also traveled to Rome and directed two Spanish-Italian co-productions. Interestingly, none of Perojo's films from this period were political. The director returned to Spain in 1940 to continue his career, but by 1943, Perojo had moved to Argentina, where he would make films until 1948. By 1950, Perojo had returned to Spain and gave up directing to produce films through his company, Benito Perojo P.C., which was responsible for over 150 features.
