You're Missing the Point

You're Missing the Point
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Juan Bustillo Oro
Screenplay by	Humberto Gómez Landero Juan Bustillo Oro
Produced by	Jesús Grovas
Starring	Mario Moreno «Cantinflas» Joaquín Pardavé Sara García Sofía Álvarez Dolores Camarillo
Cinematography	Jack Draper
Edited by	Mario González Juan Bustillo Oro
Music by	Raúl Lavista
Production company	Grovas-Oro Films
Release date	11 September 1940 (1940-09-11)
Running time	112 minutes
Country	Mexico
Language	Spanish

You're Missing the Point, or Ahí está el detalle (Spanish, 'There's the rub', literally 'There lies the detail') is a 1940 Mexican comedy film starring Mario Moreno «Cantinflas». It was produced by Jesús Grovas and directed by Juan Bustillo Oro, who also co-wrote the screenplay. The film also features Joaquín Pardavé, Sara García, Sofía Álvarez, and Dolores Camarillo. It was the twelfth film in Cantinflas's career, considered one of his best by Mexican film critics, as well as one of Mexico's best films.

The film's sets were designed by the art director Carlos Toussaint.

Plot

Cantinflas is a freeloading rogue who sneaks into a wealthy mansion to eat scraps provided by his girlfriend Paz, the household maid. One evening, Paz refuses to feed him unless he shoots the family's rabid dog, Bobby. Cantinflas reluctantly agrees and shoots the animal. Meanwhile, the mansion's owner, Dolores, is being blackmailed by her criminal ex-boyfriend, who coincidentally is also named Bobby. When Dolores's intensely jealous husband, Cayetano, unexpectedly returns home, he catches Cantinflas hiding in the house. To cover up the blackmail plot, Dolores lies and introduces Cantinflas as her long-lost, wealthy brother, Leonardo.Hoping to secure a share of the family inheritance, Cayetano begins pampering Cantinflas, who eagerly exploits the misunderstanding. The charade spins out of control when Leonardo’s actual partner, Clotilde, arrives with a fleet of children to claim financial support. Recognizing the imposter but eager to exploit the situation, Clotilde demands they marry. Cayetano forces the wedding to proceed to secure the inheritance, but the ceremony is abruptly interrupted by the police.The real blackmailer, Bobby, has been found dead, and the police discover his dropped wallet in Cantinflas's pocket. Confusing the gangster with the dog, Cantinflas openly confesses to "killing Bobby" and is put on trial for murder. In the courtroom, his absurd explanations only further convince the judge of his guilt. Just as Cantinflas is about to be convicted, the real Leonardo steps forward. He confesses to killing the extortionist in self-defense, completely clearing Cantinflas of all charges. Fully acquitted, Cantinflas happily returns to his old life, waiting outside the mansion for Paz's whistle to get his next free meal.

Cast

• Mario Moreno as Cantinflas
• Joaquín Pardavé as Cayetano Lastre
• Sofía Álvarez as Dolores del Paso
• Dolores Camarillo as Paz
• Sara García as Clotilde Regalado, Leonardo del Paso's mistress
• Manuel Noriega as the Judge
• Antonio R. Frausto as Cantinflas' lawyer
• Agustín Isunza as a prosecutor who tries "Leonardo".
• Antonio Bravo as Bobby Lechuga "The Fox Terrier"
• Francisco Jambrina as the real Leonardo del Paso.
• Conchita Gentil Arcos as Loretita
• Joaquín Coss as the Magistrate
• Eduardo Arozamena as the deaf judge
• Rafael Icardo as the dim-witted policeman
• Alfredo Varela, Jr. as the federal scribe
• Ángel T. Sala as the inspector
• Estanislao Shilinsky as the deaf judge's assistant
• Max Langler as the policeman
• Narciso Busquets as one of Clotilde and Leonardo's sons
• Wilfrido Moreno as an extra
• Adolfo Bernáldez as an extra

Production

The film was released under the title You're Missing the Point in the United States. You're Missing the Point was the first feature film in which Mario Moreno was the lead actor. Under the name of his character in this film, Cantinflas, he achieved fame and used it as his stage name and the name of his characters in other films. In this film, he changed the film's director Juan Bustillo Oro's conventional sense of humor by presenting himself as linguistically as well as in appearance as a man of the common people, instead of using high-quality Spanish. The film's last scene is based on true events involving Mexican criminal Álvaro Chapa, which inspired Cantinflas' form of speech for this film, also known as "cantinfleada". Bustillo Oro based it largely on his experience as a pro bono lawyer at the Cárcel de Belén. The film was completed in only three weeks, with the only problems arising from Cantinflas's improvisation over what he considered to be a poorly written script. In a comprehensive list of the 100 best Mexican films between 1919 and 1992, which was created by 25 film critics, filmmakers and historians and published on 16 July 1994 in the magazine Somos, You're Missing the Point was placed tenth. In 1950, the film was remade as Vivillo desde chiquillo.

Bibliography

• Schroeder Rodríguez, Paul A. Latin American Cinema: A Comparative History. University of California Press, 2016.
• Rodríguez-Hernández, Raúl; Schaefer, Claudia. The Supernatural Sublime: The Wondrous Ineffability of the Everyday in Films from Mexico and Spain. University of Nebraska Press, 2019.
• Mora, Carl J. Mexican Cinema: Reflections of a Society, 1896–2004. McFarland & Co Inc, Jefferson N.C. 2005, ISBN 978-0786420834.
• Wilt, David E. The Mexican Filmography 1916 through 2001. McFarland & Co Inc, Jefferson NC 2004. ISBN 978-0-7864-6122-6.

External links

• You're Missing the Point at IMDb