El rey del barrio

Maybe you´ve heard of Cantinflas,but now you can check the precursor of Pachucos movies (e.g.Zoot suit) and really enjoy the great Tin Tan,On this film,he is a wannabe gangster,but he fails in every assault,nevertheless,he succeeds in one thing:to get the love of Silvia Pinal,and make the greatest Mexican comedy.

Since I don't have anough space to talk about tin tan. At least I would like to recomend all his 1940's and early 50's movies. Most of the time you'll find him corny at the beginning, but once you understand him you'll end up crying of laughter. His "..tonces que?" in this movie, became a trend in the 1950's Mexican slang for a while (according to my dad off course). I don't think that he was better or funnier than Cantinflas, but I don't think that Cantinflas was better or funnier than Tin tan. Two completely different styles in comedy, but with the same result. Perhaps Tin Tan was a more daring, and as surreal as the Marx brothers.

As someone growing up in México, I was exposed to old black and white movies, though every single one I watched when I was a kid was extremely boring to me, not this one though.

This is the first time I was completely engaged with an old Mexican film and it's thanks to the amazing performance of Gérman Valdés, who delivers a performance that I can only describe as a cartoon character in real life.

The plot is very flimsy though, I do really like that the character lives in a morally grey area, unlike so many characters in Mexican media where they have to be 100% pure goodness.

It becomes a bit repetitive, especially past the first half, and the resolution at the end is so spontaneous and chaotic, it didn't feel like it was building to that conclusion and was there just because film needed an ending.

Still, it's very much worth to watch for Tin Tan's performance, I know I will.

Tin Tan was the real king of Mexican comedy, a performer loved by most of Latin American audiences: he sang and danced, and was a very funny, irreverent and sexy pothead, ready to party. In this movie he is the leader of an inept band of thieves, a sort of Robin Hood who helps people in a poor neighborhood in México City. He does everything to steal, even pretending to teach rich Vitola how to sing opera. His love interest is lovely Silvia Pinal, before her Buñuelian films; his brother Ramón Valdés, Marcelo, Borolas and Tun Tun, all provide laughs, while Tongolele adds a bit of exotic dancing.

I'm so glad to write about my idol Tin Tan. "El Rey del Barrio" is an excellent way to show what Tin Tan could be, some one who live with little money and is so happy. It's wonderful how he try to show that is a bad man, who was in the Mafia of Chicago, but truly he es better than the bread. All his phrases, that in so many cases, we who speak Spanish, its hard to understand, but is so lovely the way he do it. All the time we know the words who came from him, Tin Tan is unique, his own style to talk, to dress, to sing. Some of the best part of the movie is when he sing to "Carmelita" (Silvia Pinal), one of the most romantic songs I ever heard:"Contigo" (With you). He was an excellent actor, he could be rich, poor, working, manager, anything. I also recommended: El Revoltoso, El Ceniciento, El hijo desobediente. Tin Tan: Thank you to be like you you was, you are the one, the best. Jacqueline Arch