Tómbola

Marisol is always a joy to watch and this, her third film, seems to have been made with a wandering screenplay made up just to fit the songs. Nevertheless, she has a way of making these star vehicles work simply because she is in them and the title song is a Spanish classic.

This film moves her movie persona into more adult territory with themes of crime, revolution, and race relations but she is depicted as the only blonde in Spain and a child of privilege. Her movie roles alternated between the poor and rich but always lacking full parental care. In this one she is practically orphaned in boarding school by busy parents instead of scrounging a living singing in the streets.

Distributed in some countries as LOS ENREDOS DE MARISOL.

¨Tómbola¨ is a Marisol recital with amusement , entertainment , hilarious situations here and there , as well as catching and popular songs . Marisol's third feature movie , her first was ¨Un rayo de luz¨, and it got a big hit and huge boxoffice . Sympathetic , attractive and charming musical comedy with child prodigy Marisol accompanied by a great plethora of secondaries . This is a moving story proceeded in simplicity and delicacy and the atmospheric scenarios provide a lot of chances of dancing , singing and musical numbers . Marisol is a girl with a kind heart who has a good friend , the African little girl María Belén (the charming Joëlle Rivero) , both of whom display a lot of fantasy , vitality , humor and overflowing , vivid imagination. Her uncle and tutor Don Pablo (Guillermo Marín) is a very egoistic businessman who doesn't like the peculiar relations of Marisol with the people . One day she witnesses in a museum the theft by three thieves (Roberto Camardiel , Rafael Alonso , Enrique Avila) dressed in monk clothes and its replacement by a fake of a famous painting, "The Madonna of the Roses." Logically, at first they do not believe it, but finally they verify the veracity of their statement . The leader of the band of 3 robbers is called Pepe (Rafael Alonso) , and is an old ventriloquist known artistically as "Joe Carter". When Marisol appears on television threatening to tell them if they do not return the painting, they decide to kidnap her . But what they do not know is that they are good people at heart , as Marisol befriends the enjoyable trio of delinquents and a fine priest (José Marco Davo) who helps her , as well . And a sensitive friendship arises between the little child and the likeable crooks . Along the way , Marisol singing as well as dancing Andalucian songs , and performing at TV shows to win at tómbola or lottery .

This is a fun , funny , attractive and agreeable movie dealing with the graceful Marisol who has a vivid imagination and a heart of gold , then she witnesses a picture robbery in a museum , as Marisol in problems when is abducted by the stealers .This a sensitive and feeling movie full of mirth , humor touches, and enjoyable message . Of course , Marisol steals the show as the splendid singer and dancer little girl . Even though her role is supposed to be a 10-12 year old girl she is here a 14-year-old adolescent . Marisol is well supported by a fine support cast , full of familiar faces , along with a great number of cameos , such as : Roberto Camardiel , José Marco Davó , Rafael Alonso , Enrique Avila , Guillermo Marín , José María Caffarel , José Maria Tasso , Beni Deus , Lorenzo Robledo , Francisco Camoiras , Santiago Ontañón , Francisco Bernal , José Orjas , Rafaela Aparicio , and many others . The scenarios , designed by Enrique Alarcón , in which develops the deeds results to be adequate and well designed . Musical score by Augusto Algueró responds appropriately to the ambient , originating a careful atmosphere . Here Marisol sings some wonderful and popular songs , being especially known : ¨Mi vida es una Tómbola de luz y de color ¨ composed by Antonio Guijarro , and Augusto Algueró . It contains a luminous and brilliant cinematography by Antonio L. Ballesteros . The filmmaker Luis Lucia as well as the famous producer Goyanes succeed in this picture , obtaining a great achievement , managing perfectly to the performers and taking advantage of them , giving the best of their acting . It's worthwhile mingle of music , choreography , comedy , sentimentalism and good feeling . Here Marisol gives a sympathetic acting in this heart-touching movie as a friendly girl . Can be said that she is perfectly adequate to his measure . Marisol was an appealing Spanish actress and singer . Spanish film studios were looking for a new child star to follow the steps of Pablito Calvo, and make popular and populist folkloric movies and they found Marisol . She was discovered by her future producer Manuel J. Goyanes in an exhibition of the "Coros y Danzas de Málaga" in TVE in 1959 . Her debut in cinema was in 1960 and she complemented her activity in cinema with records , recitals and TV-shows . Most of them were produced by Manuel J Goyanes , in fact , she was introduced to the movie business and discovered by this powerful producer in ¨Un Rayo De Luz¨ (1960) by Luis Lucia , who directed her in this first feature , where earned his famous name . He was widely known in Spain when she became a widely successful child star , following ¨Ha LLegado Un Angel¨, ¨Tombola¨, ¨Marisol Rumbo a Rio¨ which were big box-office hits in Spain during Franco's dictatorship , and she became Spain's most famous girl actress , outstanding his highly expressive face and eyes , charming eyes and innocent , angelical face . She was a milestone in Spanish "child prodigies" under Franco along with Joselito , Pili and Mili , Ana Belén and especially Pablito Calvo . And the producers trying to keep them as little kids for as long as possible . Due to false advertising by the studios that made their movies, and which wanted to make them appear younger than they really were , an obsession that haunted them through the whole of their careers . After the national and international hits as ¨La Nueva Cenicienta¨ , ¨La Historia De Bienvenido¨ and ¨Cabriola¨, and following other successful films as ¨4 Bodas Marisol¨, ¨Carola De Dia , Carola De Noche¨ . In some films Marisol was already a teenager, and looked more like a young woman than like a little girl . So, the producers decided to compress her breasts with a bandage under her clothes to make her look younger . In her films she often sings Flamenco Cante , Saetas , Soleadas , Bulerias , Habaneras and other Folkloric songs . After several movies and records , and already a big star as a singer and an actress in Europe, the next move was trying to triumph in America, there she also played , sang and danced to grant local box-office . His success even reached around the world . However, life was not too glamorous for Marisol, as she was treated almost as a sideshow act by his managers , not allowing him to become an ordinary teenager . She was forced to keep his childlike image up to the seventies ; however , thanks to Juán Antonio Bardém changed his acting style , playing thrillers as ¨La Corrupción de Chris Miller¨ and ¨Poder Del Deseo¨ , and subsequently directed by prestigious filmmakers as Carlos Saura in ¨Carmen¨ , ¨Bodas de Sangre¨ and Mario Camus¨ in ¨Dias Del Pasado¨. Her last movies were the notorious TV series ¨Proceso a Mariana Pineda¨ and ¨Caso Cerrado¨ and she was not successful anymore . Marisol married two times , to Carlos Goyanes and Antonio Gades . Fidel Castro was the best man at her wedding to Antonio Gades . She has three daughters from her marriage to Antonio Gades , on of them the known actress Maria Esteve . Disappearing from public life in 1985, when she was still high in her career, she left everything , returned to her homeland, Malaga, and has lived as a housewife since then for her own choice . Has received many invitations to return, but has declined all of them, even simple interviews on TV. Retired In Malaga from acting at early age to become a discreet person and was then discovered much later that she had become a housewife and is now a social and humanitarian activist.

Being well produced by a great producer Manuel J. Goyanes , and professionally directed by Luis Lucia . Luis was an advocate at law for the powerful Francoist company CIFESA that produced super-productions and often financed these false but breathtaking historical spectacles . His film debut was ¨13-13¨ and subsequently ¨Hombre De Negocios¨, two average ¨comedies . Later on , he directed two dated historical dramas : ¨Princesa De Ursinos¨ and ¨Jeromin¨ . And he made various Folkloric films for Juanita Reina : ¨Lóla La Piconera¨ , ¨Gloria Mairena¨ , Carmen Sevilla : ¨Hermana De San Sulpicio¨ , Lola Flores : ¨Morena Clara¨ , Antonio Molina : ¨Esta Voz Es Una Mina¨ , among others . Lucia discovered children prodigy as Marisol , Rocio Durcal , Ana Belén and Jaime Blanch .

This is the second Marisol movie I saw in a week and I guess TVE of Spain is running a dedication series of sorts.

With this one, in which she is even younger, it struck me that Marisol is basically an animation character. She delivers all the facial expressions you'd expect from an expensive contemporary animated movie. Also, she looks so much like Masha from Masha and the Bear that, I began to suspect the Russian animation team might have taken her as a point of reference.

For these films are not politically correct at all, they have done weird stuff with gun killings. Men shoot each other, Marisol makes jokes even as she faints, at one point she points two guns at a guy, etc.

There's also a black girl and her father, yet, the movie is not making any unnecessary statements about racism.

The visual aspect is striking especially with respect to colors.

Yeah... At one time there were these singer girls who appeared in movies as well... What happened to that trend? Far as I can see, it's a dead genre now. That's because everything other than gender butchery on kids counts as child abuse?