At this early stage as an actor, Cardona participated in three key Mexican films Marihuana (1936), El baúl macabro (1936) and Allá en el Rancho Grande (1936), which officially inaugurate the golden age of Mexican cinema and made stars of its protagonists: Esther Fernández, Tito Guízar, and Cardona.
After the success of Allá en el Rancho Grande (1936), the following year Cardona decided to direct his first film in Mexico, Don Juan Tenorio, in which he also starred.
He directed Allá en el Rancho Chico (1938) and La reina del río (1939), debuting two future stars: Blanca Estela Pavón in the first and Susana Guízar in the second.
[1] Shortly after, he directed the stellar performances of Pedro Infante in Jesusita en Chihuahua (1942), and Germán Valdés "Tin Tan" in Hotel de verano (1944).
In the late fifties he made two films aimed at children, Pulgarcito (Tom Thumb) (1957) and Santa Claus (1959), which earned him several international awards.