El Bolero de Raquel
1957 Directed by Miguel M. Delgado
Synopsis
El bolero de Raquel es una película mexicana filmada en 1956, y es la primera en colores en que participa Cantinflas. Dirigida por Miguel M. Delgado.El limpiabotas (o como se les llama en México: Bolero) interpretado por Cantinflas debe hacerse cargo de 'Chavita' (su ahijado), cuyo padre murió en un accidente. Ansioso de progresar y tener dinero para mejorar la vida de ambos, Cantinflas toma la decisión de ir a la escuela con Chavita, para poder instruirse. Allí se enamorará de una atractiva profesora: Raquel.
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Mario Moreno Cantinflas is known as “Mexico’s Charlie Chaplin” because he was a genius comedian who specialized in playing working class underdogs while also sporting baggy pants and a distinctive mustache. El Bolero de Raquel is a great vehicle for the actor’s comedic chops; here, he plays a shoeshiner who finds himself, much like Chaplin in The Kid, unwittingly playing foster father to a young boy following the death of a close friend. Cantinflas is primarily known for his intricate wordplay (specifically for his tendency to ramble on while essentially saying nothing) but this non-Spanish speaking viewer will most remember El Bolero for a couple sequences of primarily visual humor: one involving the application of suntan lotion and one where our hero ruins the dance routine of a beautiful nightclub performer by attempting to dance with her against her will. Both scenes had me laughing like an animal.
Reviewed as part of my Classic Latin American Cinema primer: whitecitycinema.com/2012/06/04/a-classic-latin-american-cinema-primer-pt-1/