La venganza de Don Mendo (1961)

Director:

Fernando Fernán Gómez

Writers:

Pedro Muñoz Seca (play)
Fernando Fernán Gómez (adaptation)

Release Date:

1961 (Spain)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Farce | Anachronism | Directed By Star | Medieval Times | Based On Play

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Fernando Fernán Gómez	...	Don Mendo Salazar - Marqués de Cabra
Paloma Valdés	...	Magdalena
Juanjo Menéndez	...	Don Pero Collado, Duque de Toro
Antonio Garisa	...	El Rey, Alfonso VII
Joaquín Roa	...	Don Nuño Manso de Jarama
Lina Canalejas	...	La Reina, Berenguela
María Luisa Ponte	...	Doña Ramírez
José Vivó	...	Marqués de la Moncada
Paula Martel	...	Azofaifa
Naima Lamcharki	...	Rezaida (as Naima Cherky)
Lola Cardona	...	Marquesa de Tarrasa (as Lolita Cardona)
Francisco Camoiras	...	Clodulfo
Antonio Queipo
Xan das Bolas	...	Alí
Julio Goróstegui

Also Known As:

La venganza de Don Mendo de Pedro Muñoz Seca (Spain) (long title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex)

Certification:

Spain:T

Company:

Cooperativa ACTA

Movie Connections:

Version of "Primera fila: La venganza de Don Mendo" (1964)

A very funny theater work taken to the cinema.

A movie adaption of the theater tragicomedy written by Pedro Muñoz Seca. An story of honor, traition and vengeance in the Spanish Midage. The film, shot with theatrical appearance, tells the story of Don Mendo (Fernando Fernán Gómez), who is traitioned by his lover Magdalena. She will marry Don Pero (Juanjo Menéndez) and sentences Don Mendo to death so he can´t tell the truth about their relationship. When Mendo sees the light and the traition of Magdalena, he can't talk because he gave her his word of honor of keeping secret all their affair. Then he swears to take vengeance on Magdalena. Helped by his friend Moncada, Mendo escapes putting a dead man in his place starting a new life as a minstrel. Later, in the court of King Alfonso (Antonio Garisa), all the characters of the history get together and the vengeance can take place.

The cast has great actors of the spanish theater an cinema of it's time, and the spirit of the original book is held. Some verses are omited and a few new ones are included to translate the theater to the movie.

The story is very, very funny. Continuosly shows games of words, decontextualizations, and references to the classics of the Spanish theater ("Romancero" and Golden Century) or Shakespeare (Hamlet), with a very well worked script thatr makes this one of the funniest theater works ever written and a funny film.