Cantinflas

Must Go
Since most of you won’t take my recommendation and GO see this movie, the review will contain spoilers.

Cantinflas means cantina flea. It is the creation of, according to Charlie Chaplin, the greatest comedian that ever lived, Mario Moreno. Why have you never heard of him? Because his reign was from 1932 to 1958 in Mexico.
He was not unknown in Hollywood. I was first exposed to him in the movie Pepe made shortly after he won the 1956 Best Actor Golden Globe for his role as Passepartout in Around the World in Eighty Days. He was playing opposite David Niven as Phileas Fogg.
This bilingual biopic cleverly switches between his early years in Spanish and the events of casting the movie Around the World in Eighty Days in English with appropriate changes in the subtitles.
Around The World in Eighty Days was produced by Michael Todd. Mario was best man at his wedding to Elizabeth Taylor in Acapulco a few years later as revealed by the closing credits.
One of my favorite scenes in the movie is where Michael Todd is having a horrible lunch with the movie money men who walk off. An elderly gentleman at the next table comes over and councils him to not give up. He will talk to Mario about appearing in the film and then gets up to leave. Michael asks him his name and he says “People call me Charlie.” As he walks away he becomes the little tramp. Yes, we are talking about Charlie Chaplin. Hot Damn!
So don’t be a fool! Go and see this excellent movie.