Here's the Point | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Juan Bustillo Oro |
Produced by | Jesús Grovas |
Screenplay by |
Humberto Gómez Landero Juan Bustillo Oro |
Starring |
Cantinflas Joaquín Pardavé Sara García Sofía Álvarez Dolores Camarillo |
Music by | Raúl Lavista |
Cinematography | Jack Draper |
Edited by |
Mario González Juan Bustillo Oro |
Production
company |
Grovas-Oro Films
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Release date
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11 September 1940 |
Running time
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112 minutes |
Country | Mexico |
Language | Spanish |
Here's the Point (Spanish:Ahí está el detalle) is a 1940 Mexican comedy film starring Cantinflas. It was produced by Jesús Grovas and directed by Juan Bustillo Oro, and also features Joaquín Pardavé, Sara García, Sofía Álvarez, and Dolores Camarillo. It was the twelfth film in Cantinflas's career, considered one of his best by Mexican film critics, as well as one of Mexico's best films.
The film's sets were designed by the art director Carlos Toussaint.
Cantinflas is the boyfriend of Paz, the household maid of Cayetano Lastre. It is dinnertime and Cantinflas is waiting outside the mansion for Paz's whistle: a sign for Cantinflas to enter the kitchen to eat. This is because there is a dog in the front yard named "Bobby", and Paz's boss is unaware of Cantinflas's forays into the house. Though like other times Cantinflas goes straight in to eat, this time his girlfriend has a favor to ask him, that of killing the dog "Bobby" who has suffered a sudden onset of rabies and will not let Cayetano leave for an appointment. If he does not kill the dog, he does not get to eat. Cantinflas is nervous about the idea, but eventually kills him with a gun. However, inside the house, Cayetano plots a scheme to expose his wife Dolores del Paso's supposed "adultery" with her ex-boyfriend, Bobby Lechuga, who's a gangster. Dolores is not in a relationship with Bobby Lechuga, but Cayetano's over-bearing jealousy leads him to think otherwise. Cayetano catches Dolores and Paz with Cantinflas, but Dolores pretends that Cantinflas is her long-estranged brother, Leonardo del Paso. Cayetano begins treating Cantinflas like a king in order to gain his trust as his father-in-law (Dolores and Leonardo's father) needed to distribute their inheritance evenly. Confusion arises when Bobby Lechuga is killed and Cantinflas admits to killing Bobby (the dog, not the gangster), but is arrested anyway and put on trial...
The film's last scene is based on true events involving Mexican criminal Álvaro Chap, which inspired Cantinflas' form of speech for this film, also known as "cantinfleada". The film's director Juan Bustillo Oro based it largely on his experience as a pro bono lawyer at the Cárcel de Belén. The film was completed in only three weeks, with the only problems arising from Cantinflas's improvisation over what he considered to be a poorly written script.