"Los tres vivales" was co-written by one of Mexico's best writers, Luis Spota, and it shows. The movie is a fun parody of the Ranchera movies of Mexico. Ranchera movies were a wildly popular genre of movie that swept through Mexico beginning in 1936 with "Allé en el Rancho Grande" by Fernando Fuentes. The recipe in these movies is a lot of fancy dressed charros (Mexican cowboys), singing, rodeo performances, the pursuit of women, and fist fights. "Los tres vivales" is a hilarious, cartoonish parody of these movies. The three heroes are fast talking, witty, famous charros and gunmen. It is not available in subtitles but if you know Spanish be ready for machine gun fast witticisms and banter. The main actors are really charming, especially Eduardo González (Piporro.) You won't see a wittier Ranchera movie than this one.
Reviews
3 Reviews
¡Ay Jalisco... no te rajes!
(1941)
Entertaining Ranchera Movie
25 June 2015
This Ranchera movie has certain recurring ingredients found in other 1940's era Mexican movies about Charros (Mexican Cowboys): rodeo contests, cock fighting, fist fights, and lots of serenading of women. I'm not a big fan of Negrete but this is a pretty good movie, although it's predictable. There are good comedic touches, courtesy of Chaflan, Negrete's sidekick, and "Mala Suerte" (Badluck), who joins them on their adventures. There's a lot of melodrama, shoot outs, and A LOT of local color and singing. I recommend this as a good introduction to the Ranchera movie genre that swept through Mexico beginning with "Allá en el Rancho Grande" in 1936. This genre celebrated Mexican rural life and customs.
Out on the Big Ranch
(1936)
An Iconic Film
24 June 2015
Known in Spanish as "Allá en el Rancho Grande," this is an iconic Mexican film that launched the genre of Ranchera movies, which were wildly popular through the 1940's. These movies idealized rural life, and presented melodramatic tales about young lovers. Typically, the male protagonists are charros (fancy dress Mexican cowboys) who sing songs and fight hard, in the name of their masculine honor.
IMDb classifies this movie as a comedy, which it is not. The confusion probably springs from the fact that Allá en el Rancho Grande is usually classified by Mexican and U.S. Academics as a 'Comedia Ranchera.' Technically, the humor here is secondary to the songs and the melodrama, so perhaps it would be more accurate to refer to this movie as a melodrama in the Ranchero genre. Debates aside, don't expect the movie to be a comedy, although it has humor in it.
This original version, directed by Fernando Fuentes, who was arguably the greatest Mexican director of the 1930's (El Compadre Mendoza, El Prisionero 13, and Vámonos con Pancho Villa are masterpieces), is MUCH better than the 1949 remake starring Jorge Negrete. I say this with all due respect to the iconic stature of Negrete, a beloved Mexican star. The actors in this movie are younger, fresher, and more realistic. There's something shopworn about the later version-- everyone seems older than they should be, and less likable.
I love the embroidered Charro shirts worn by the actors in this movie.
IMDb classifies this movie as a comedy, which it is not. The confusion probably springs from the fact that Allá en el Rancho Grande is usually classified by Mexican and U.S. Academics as a 'Comedia Ranchera.' Technically, the humor here is secondary to the songs and the melodrama, so perhaps it would be more accurate to refer to this movie as a melodrama in the Ranchero genre. Debates aside, don't expect the movie to be a comedy, although it has humor in it.
This original version, directed by Fernando Fuentes, who was arguably the greatest Mexican director of the 1930's (El Compadre Mendoza, El Prisionero 13, and Vámonos con Pancho Villa are masterpieces), is MUCH better than the 1949 remake starring Jorge Negrete. I say this with all due respect to the iconic stature of Negrete, a beloved Mexican star. The actors in this movie are younger, fresher, and more realistic. There's something shopworn about the later version-- everyone seems older than they should be, and less likable.
I love the embroidered Charro shirts worn by the actors in this movie.
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