Macerat It's Difficult NOT To Enjoy This Movie

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Blake Rivera If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

mark.waltz It's just such a shame that all this talent goes to waste in one of the worst all-star films ever made. Cantiflas had made a huge splash just a few years before in Hollywood with the film version of "Around the World in 80 Days", and American audiences took the innocent Mexican comic to their hearts. But his follow-up English speaking film was a disaster, and has practically disappeared.The story focuses on his desperate attempts to get to Hollywood to find his mule which was taken from him by mistake in Mexico. Along the way, he encounters a ton of Hollywood stars who, as themselves, aid him in his search. Then, there's Shirley Jones as a juvenile delinquent he hooks up with. Obviously, she was determined to get away from the sweet parts she played in "Oklahoma!", "Carousel" and "April Love" by playing tougher characters, and while she scored with an Oscar for "Elmer Gantry", in this case, she ended up with a real "Pepe Le Peu". Dan Dailey, a former movie star playing a current fictional movie star, ends up with Cantiflas's best friend, but unfortunately, there's nobody there to sweep up after the invisible stench the film leaves behind.A few of the cameos are amusing (elderly Billie Burke shooting Charles Coburn with a slingshot; Jack Lemmon confusing Cantiflas by dressing up as his "Some Like It Hot" drag character), but most of them are silly and seem self-gratifying. Edward G. Robinson provides the heart for the film's cameos as himself, showing great sympathy to Cantiflas who deserves it for putting up with this lame script that could have been wrapped up in 90 minutes rather than its more than three hours. For some reason, this ended up with a ton of technical Oscar nominations, as well as one for the not bad "Far Away Part of Town" which Judy Garland is heard singing on a radio program. Books on Hollywood's biggest disasters usually list this, and I can't think of any other award that it deserved as much.

MartinHafer "Pepe" is an odd film. It stars Cantinflas--a very, very famous comic from Mexico but a person rather unknown to most Americans. Some might have remembered him from "Around the World in 80 Days" but nearly all of Cantinflas' films were Mexican. Having him star in a film chock full of famous American actors of the day is very surprising. It's also a mistake simply because the mixture is poor. I love Cantinflas' films--they are sweet, charming and simple. Combining this with a bazillion guest appearances by Hollywood stars is a disservice to Cantinflas and it disrupts him from doing what he does best--entertaining us and making us laugh.The film begins in Mexico. There's a horse auction and Pepe (Cantinflas) is upset, as the horse he helped raise, Don Juan, is about to be auctioned. He tries in several clever ways to prevent rich Americans from bidding on this prize horse but one of them (Dan Dailey) realizes that Pepe is lying about the horse. So he buys the animal and moves it to Hollywood. Unable to live without the horse, Pepe goes to America to try to get the animal back...if possible..or at least be with him. Along the way (as well as in Mexico) he meets one movie star after another after another. Most of these cameos are really unnecessary (such as Bobby Darin singing in a crazy production number) and their appearances a waste of time and money. A few, such as Shirley Jones, have more substantial roles in this movie.If you ignore all the cameos, the plot is just okay but a bit weird. Throughout the film, Cantinflas plays a guy who is a bit too childlike--almost stupid. It's a difficult balance, as in some of his films he was a bit naive and certainly uneducated (though never dumb). Having him constantly refer to himself as the horse's 'father' is rather dumb and conjures up some unseemly images! And, the film seems a bit patronizing when they show simple Pepe dealing with life in America and they make him a bit pathetic. Plus, it's tough when a comic is saddled (so to speak) with an animal as a sidekick--as most of the comedies I can think of with animal co-stars are pretty poor (such as "Mr. Ed", "The Chimp" and "The Cat From Outer Space"). If the film had instead allowed Cantinflas to be THE star and allow his natural charming persona not to be obscured with guest stars and an animal, it would have been so much better. Overall, an obvious misfire. My advice is to see his Mexican films--they are full of charm and style--whereas "Pepe" is just terrible at times.

fwmurnau Lavish sets, thousands of extras, and cameos by virtually every big star in 1960 Hollywood can't save this disaster, done in by its stupid story, witless script, and endless running time -- originally 3 hours and 15 minutes! What were they thinking?!! I turned on TCM and discovered Shirley Jones, of all people, playing a sexy, bitter, beatnik hoofer. Huh??? I was hooked. I had to watch it to the bitter end.They made several super-duper "cavalcade of stars" films like this around the same time: IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD, AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS, and so on. None of them were great, but this may be the worst of the pack.Jones looks radiant and Cantinflas's charm and talent are obvious, but both are done in by the stupidity of their roles and of the story. Jones, one of the finest singers in movies, cast as a DANCER who hardly gets to sing? Dailey, a great dancer, cast in a downbeat dramatic role where he barely gets to dance? Casting doesn't get much more perverse.Don't miss the WEST SIDE STORY rip-off, a lengthy Apache-dance sequence featuring a comely, half-naked Jones trying to make like Cyd Charisse without being given a single note to sing ... all of this with loud faux-Bernstein music on the soundtrack.Even weirder is Judy Garland's "appearance" -- actually she doesn't appear, but the characters hear her voice singing a song, supposedly on the radio. As Alice would say, PEPE just gets "curiouser and curiouser ..." This must have been one of the overblown, elephantine messes that helped kill the Movie Musical in the 1960s.

pepes Now that I have read some put downs, I need to respond.This movie 'PEPE' (1960) George Sidney, was just what tens of thousands of other movies is, and are supposed to do, that is to give you an escape.Give you an escape from everyday blaze. It's funny, musical, short on a fabulous plot but wonderful to watch especially if you like to dream that maybe some small unknown would be able to brush elbows with the stars of the era, and save his ('son' as he says) to boot. What's so bad about that?? I'm sorry "Mario Moreno Reyes" Cantinflas did not get a fair shake from Hollywood he had such potential. In my book this is a must see.