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The Great Madcap
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The Great Madcap

1949
Comedy
1h 32m
Buñuel's first "comeback" film since "L'Age d'Or" in 1930, "El Gran Calavera" concerns a family's attempts to change the patriarch's somewhat indulgent and hedonistic ways by fooling him into thinking his large fortune is gone. They assume a life of poverty in Mexico in an attempt to teach him a lesson. However, he discovers it's a ruse, but continues to perpetuate the facade of ignorance while sneaking off during the day to conduct his thriving business. Why? To teach his family a lesson - they are all lazy, worthless leeches! (imdb)
Directed by:
Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel
Written by:
Luis Alcoriza Janet Alcoriza
+1 more
Starring:
Andrés Soler Rosario Granados Fernando Soler Fernando Soler Rubén Rojo Gustavo Rojo Maruja Grifell
More
Genre:
Comedy
AKA:
Gran Calavera, El
Country:
Mexico
Language:
Spanish
imdb More information at IMDb
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The Great Madcap

1949
Comedy
1h 32m
Your probable score
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer
Avg Percentile 51.33% from 63 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

(63)
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martintellerMartinTeller
Rated 17 Dec 2007
72
41st
Don't go into this expecting a typical Bunuel film. It's purely light entertainment, a pleasant comedy straight out of Capra or Sturges. What it lacks in innovation or originality, it makes up for in charm. Predictable but fun escapist fare.
Rated 17 Dec 2007
danilolopesDanilolopes
Rated 10 Sep 2008
82
62nd
That's exactly the opposite that you may expect from a Buñuel film, it's an very "straight/normal" family comedy, mainly about redemption. Nothing really special, but still very entertaining, well directed, fun and funny.
Rated 10 Sep 2008
castrophCastroph
Rated 27 Jul 2009
6
55th
A movie with none of the trademarks of Buñuel but with a lot of heart. It doesn't feel like he made this just to make money.
Rated 27 Jul 2009
billkerwinbillkerwin
Rated 05 Mar 2010
77
33rd
This is not really a Bunuel film. Rather, it is Bunuel directing a "normal" film, showing the producers he can work within the system. (Orson Welles' "The Stranger" is another example of this). it is well made and enjoyable, and rather sweet, but not memorable.
Rated 05 Mar 2010
sinnermaSinnerMa
Rated 26 Mar 2017
55
29th
Highly rated on IMDB but I can't see why. Conventional story of the virtues of being poor rather than indolent and rich. The supposed life in poverty seemed all to easy & didn't seem genuine to me which didn't help. Mild smiles rather than outright laughs. Storyline been far better done by Hollywood in the 30's and 40's. Unconvincing bloodless romantic secondary story.
Rated 26 Mar 2017
driscarpindriscarpin
Rated 26 Nov 2019
80
64th
Há 70 anos estreava no México. Talvez se você começar a ver esse filme achando que estará diante de uma das obras-primas do Buñuel você fatalmente saíra decepcionado, mas se você o ver como uma comédia screwball satírica das conciliações de classe você terá 90 minutos de puro deleite. DVDRip no MakingOff.
Rated 26 Nov 2019
parcalihamparcaliham
Rated 29 Sep 2009
75
53rd
29 eylul 09, pera muzesi, bunuel meksika'da gosterimleri, 19:30, 3lira & oldukca normal bir aile filmi. formullere dayali bir sekilde isleyen senaryosu, yer yer parlayan diyaloglari ile az mekanda gecen, bunuel'in sirf para kazanmak ugruna deil de yapmak istedigi icin yapmis oldugunu dusundugum bir film. filmin buyuk bir ozelligi yok. ama iyi bir ritime sahip ve yer yer eglendiriyor.
Rated 29 Sep 2009
slantmagSlantMag
Rated 19 Oct 2010
35
90th
"Ever the foot fetishist, Buñuel opens The Great Madcap with a fragmented shot of intertwined legs and feet." - Ed Gonzalez
Rated 19 Oct 2010
punqPUNQ
Rated 31 Oct 2021
60
89th
Ah, it's that strict dad in Una familia de tantas [A Family Like Many Others] (1949)! Here he is a drunk dad, and it's a comedy. Liked him better here, even if I didn't feel the pay-off was all that memorable. But most care for this because it's a Luis Buñuel.
Rated 31 Oct 2021

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