Comedy

Richard "Cheech" Marin, of Cheech & Chong fame, directed and starred in Born in East L.A.. Inspired by Marin's music-video parody of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA", the film casts Cheech as an East Los Angeles repairman. While paying a visit to a sweatshop toy factory, Cheech is caught in the middle when the feds raid the place and cart off all the illegal alien workers. Since he's forgotten to bring his own i.d., Cheech is also shipped off to Mexico-where, having next to no knowledge of the Spanish tongue, he's virtually helpless. Desperate, he takes a job with crooked Tijuana saloon owner Daniel Stern-the first of many "make-do" jobs that he assumes to earn enough money to return home. Along the way, he falls in love with El Salvadorian girl Kamala Lopez, whose English is as fractured as Cheech's Spanish. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two avaricious buddies endeavor to swindle a lovely señorita out of her inheritance. But the sting backfires when the lady proves herself to be a much better con artist than they will ever be. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This undistinguished comedy is about twin sisters separated at birth, one grows up in poverty in a rural village, and the other goes on to fame and fortune as a sophisticated singer and dancer. Juana (Maria Elena Velasco, also the director and writer) is taken by her father after she was born to be raised in a remote Mexican village, while Chana (also Velasco) grows up in Mexico City where she gets to meet the celebrated Spanish singer Pilar del Rio (Carmen Montejo) because her mother works for Pilar. After the mother dies, Chana is adopted by the singer and moves to Spain, where she also learns to sing and dance. When Pilar decides to go on a tour that includes Mexico, Chana and her long-separated twin finally have a chance to meet again. But there is no guarantee that everything will go smoothly, since the gap between them is so vast, and on top of that, Chana's irate ex-husband is unaware that she has a look-alike twin -- and he kidnaps the wrong woman. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

An Acapulco smuggling ring pursues an inept comedian-turned-detective. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

The Mexican comedy El Circo De Capulina follows the adventures of a man who takes up a job with the circus in order to reacquire territory for his niece. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

In this satiric road movie from Cuba, Yoyita (Conchita Brando), a well-known singer living in Havana, travels with her niece Georgina (Mirta Ibarra), a college professor, to the village of her birth, where Yoyita is reunited with Candido (Raul Eguren), whom she loved as a young woman. When Yoyita and Candido meet for the first time in 50 years, they're thrilled to discover that the flame of passion still burns within them; unfortunately, Yoyita is so thrilled that it gives her a heart attack, and she dies on the spot. Yoyita's body must be transported back to Havana for burial, but while logic would dictate that Georgina should simply hire a hearse to make the journey, her husband, Adolfo (Carlos Cruz), a bureaucrat with more enthusiasm than common sense, has another idea -- by transferring the body from one vehicle to another at the border of each province, the cost of fuel will be distributed more evenly along the route. No one much cares for this idea except Adolfo, but he has the law on his side, so Georgina, Candido, and Adolfo begin a long, slow journey back to Havana accompanied by truck drivers Ramon (Pedro Fernandez) and Mariano (Jorge Perugorria), who was Georgina's student years ago. At every stop, the group meets a few of the people in each town (especially Mariano, who seems to have a girlfriend in every village in Cuba) and they share their thoughts on faith, politics, and love. Guantanamera was the final work from veteran Cuban director Tomás Gutiérrez Alea; he died before the film could be completed, so co-screenwriter Juan Carlos Tabió finished the film in his stead. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Circumstances force an unexpected maturity onto 15-year-old Tristan (Fernando Ramallo), an only child who had already been trying quite hard to "grow up" by losing his virginity. He accomplishes this easily enough by arranging for a prostitute to visit his home while his parents are off on a trip. But the life lesson he learns is different from what he'd intended when he learns of his parents' death in an airplane crash. When he moves into his grandparent's home, changes schools and falls in love for the first time, he is no longer able to keep intact his earlier snobberies and childish self-importance. This Spanish-language film is set in the later period of Francisco Franco's rule ('60s and '70s) and features excellent performances by its young cast. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Having begun his directorial career in 1932, Fernando De Fuentes had four years' experience -- and ten pictures -- under his belt when he helmed the Tito Guizar musical vehicle Alla en el Rancho Grande. The film has been hailed by historians as the vanguard of the Mexican "Charro"-movie genre, which concentrated upon singing cowboys, golden-hearted bandits and fair senoritas. Popular radio singer Guizar is cast as itinerant ranchhand Jose Francisco, who falls in love in spite of himself with duckling-turned-swan Cruz (Esther Fernandez). It's essentially a Cinderella story, with a bit of Mexican "action dancing" and even cockfighting thrown in. On the strength of the enormously successful Alla en el Rancho Grande, Tito Guizar went on to even bigger stardom, and was still at the top of his profession as late as the 1980s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title of this Mexican musical comedy translates to School For Tramps. Singing idol Pedro Infante heads the cast, essaying his usual carefree-vagabond characterization. Though he has nary a peso to his name, Infante nonetheless pursues a successful romance with well-to-do Miroslava (who tragically killed herself just before this film was released). Thanks to the star power of Infante and the public's curiosity concerned Miroslava's death, Esenela de Vagabundos was one of Mexico's biggest box-office hits in 1955. Certain viewers with long memories recognized the similarities between this film and the 1933 Al Jolson vehicle Hallelujah, I'm a Bum. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This Spanish sex-comedy comes from director Manuel Gomez Pereira and focuses on a trio of divorced men who agree to swear off relationships with women. Burned to many times by the fairer sex, roommates Juan, Joaquin, and Manolo make a pact that they will stay single forever. However, when they meet their new maid, they all fall head-over-heels and the agreement goes right out the window. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide