Four families are considering buying an apartment in a newly built building in Madrid. Margarita (Concha Velasco), a young and modern woman, wants to marry Ernesto (Pedro Osinaga), who raises many objections to the wedding, the main one being his fiancée's lifestyle as an artistic painter. Doña Antonia (Florinda Chico) and Doña Loreto (Rafaela Aparicio), aunt and niece, run a boarding house that doubles as a brothel, and now want to move to conceal their lifestyle before the arrival of Doña Loreto's studious daughter (Fernanda Hurtado) to study at university. Ana (Laly Soldevila) and Federico (Antonio Ozores), a father who lives with his mother-in-law, are also considering a move. Ana aspires to a better life with a promotion at the office of the lecherous José Sazatornil. And the mature couple Emilia (María Asquerino) and Lorenzo (José Luis López Vázquez), a widowed couple in love, are ready to start a new life together despite the opposition of their respective older children (Manolo Otero, Maria Kosti). Also living in the building is the beautiful Dolores Mingues (Gela Geisler), who is eagerly pursued by many neighbors because of her stunning beauty.
This is a run-of-the-mill film in the sixties and seventies style with the usual modest means and dealing with ordinary couples with their desires, concerns and peculiar situations that arise when when they buy an apartment in a housing development. There are some gags and likeable set pieces but the result is quite monotonous and nothing special. This is one of the many films made by the prolific Ozores about the intertwined stories of couples, but again, it's rushed, clumsy, and lacks charm. There are a splendid cast with plenty of familia Spanish faces in which Antonio Ozores shines as the family man campaigning for campaigning to be President of the neighborhood association who discovers that Don Julio, sympathically played by José Sazatornil 'Saza' owns the building and has a mistress living there. And also noteworthy Rafaela Aparicio with her usual winks and distinctive voice, and, of course, José Luís López Vazquez as a widower who relentless desires to sleep with his widowed girlfriend.
The film stands out for the large number of Spanish supporting actors of the time who appear continuously; this is because the main entertainment is guessing which supporting actor appears in a brief or longer role, among whom the following are worthy of mention: María Asquerino, Laly Soldevila, Pedro Osinaga, Fernanda Hurtado, María Kosty, Manolo Otero, María Isbert, Álvaro de Luna, Mariano Ozores Francés (father of Mario and Antonio Ozores), Pilar Gómez Ferrer, Erasmo Pascual, Florinda Chico, Rafael de Penagos, Julia Caba Alba, among others. To this day, all the main and supporting actors have sadly passed away with the exception of Maria Kosti.
The film was mediocrely directed by Mariano Ozores with its ups and downs. Stajanovist filmmaker Mariano Ozores, though it failed at boxoffice and it results to be an obscure film . Mariano directed a large number of comedies and in 1964 shot a Sci-fi flick : La hora incognita . As Mariano Ozores wrote , produced and directed the former movie, but was a real flop and he was bankrupt. Then Mariano promised at the future only to make comedies . Although it won prize of the National Syndicate of Spectacle to best actor José Luis Ozores and Best artistic Achievement . Mariano recently won a Goya Award (2016) to his long and fruitful career. Ozores made a trilogy about the life of married couples, which also includes ¨Crónica de nueve meses¨ (1967), ¨Cuatro noches de boda¨(1969)¨, ¨Después de los nueve meses¨ (1970) and this ¨Venta por por pisos¨ is a kind of continuation of the previous ones. Ozores made with two famous comedians , -Fernando Esteso and Andres Pajares- several successful films , as they had various years partnership between the two leads , such as ¨Agitese Antes Usarla¨ , ¨Al Este Del Oeste¨, ¨Los Liantes¨, ¨Los Energeticos¨, ¨La Lola Lleva Al Huerto¨ , ¨El Currante¨ , ¨El Hijo Del Cura¨, .these films are filled with humor that still holds up , especially for those not easily offended . Mariano directed 93 films , most of them were comedies , though made some dramas as "Alegre Juventud" and "Las Dos y Media y veneno" with José Luis Ozores. Mariano directed a lot of comedies for the greatest Spanish comedians as Paco Martinez Soria , José Luis López Vázquez , Lina Morgan , Alfredo Landa , Jose Sacristán and the successful duo : Fernando Esteso and Andrés Pajares. 'Venta por pisos' rating: 5/10. Only recommended for Spanish comedy fans.
