Cantinflas gets physical in 'Gran Hotel'...too physical.

The films of Cantinflas pretty much have the same formula--his tramp-ish character doesn't fit in anywhere, particularly among "higher-ups". Then, he manages to step into sticky situations, but of course, he manages to bumble his way out of these situations. With that said, you'd think that Cantinflas vehicles would get pretty redundant--but they don't. At least, that hasn't been an issue for myself.

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This weekend I watched Gran Hotel (1944)--and of course, Cantinflas played his trademark "peladito" character. He's a man who stirs up trouble in his community (his work place to be more specific) and moves to a place where he's 10x more likely to stir up more trouble. Here is the IMDb summary:

"After failing as a waiter, Cantinflas gets a job as a bellboy in a fancy hotel, by recommendation of his girlfriend. He has to deal with posh people and even with the nobility. One day, an expensive and rare collar, property of a noblewoman, disappear, and Cantinflas is the only one who knows where it is. But Cantinflas gets amnesia caused by a big bunch in his head. Will he tell us the real location of the relic?"

When it comes to "reviewing" Cantinflas' films (or any non-English films), I tend to stray away from actually "reviewing" them, because a good review obviously requires one to fully understand the film's dialogue. Instead, I will simply share my 'Positive Comments', 'Negative Comments', and my 'Overall Thoughts'. 


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Positive Comments

As previously stated, most Cantinflas vehicles stuck to a certain formula, but they all managed to stand out in their own ways. Gran Hotel was no different. When comparing it to the movies I have seen (1952's El bombero atómico and 1964's El padrecito), I noticed that Gran Hotel was more aggressive in its criticism of the upper/middle class. The main character freely (and physically) expresses his indignation toward people who could be considered "better" or higher up than him (the elite, employers). In the movies I've previously viewed, the character of Cantinflas is carefree, cheerful, and silly. In Gran Hotel, he was a bit darker--he was still silly, but purposely silly--mischievous, I should say--and he was a bit hostile. This led me to wonder if the Cantinflas image "cooled down" as the years went by, or if it was by chance that I chose the one movie where he plays a more testy character. It also made me want to watch his movies through a more historical, political, and cultural lens.

Oh, movies that make you think!



Negative Comments

There were a few moments where Cantinflas' character was a bit...too aggressive. I found one scene in the film to be especially horrifying--as he was dancing with a woman (after knocking out her real dance partner), he tossed her around, threw her to the floor, grabbed her by her hair, and even kicked her a few times. I may have missed something in terms of dialogue or context clues prior to the scene, but not only was it freakishly violent, but it was also completely out of left field.



Overall Thoughts

I'll be honest, the dancing scene put a huge damper on my interest in the rest of the movie. It was still a pretty fun film to watch--a typical classic comedy--but again, after that scene, I immediately felt indifferent toward it. I personally wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone, but if you're able to overlook a woman being thrown around by her hair, by all means, go for it!


Click here to watch Gran Hotel (1944)