1 review
In Madrid in the sixties, Manolo (Manolo Escobar himself), a Murcian orchard worker, is in love with Amparo (Alejandra Nilo) . But one of the landowners (Alfonso Rojas) in the area also loves the young woman and, being a rich man, he has the approval of Amparo's aunt. Manolo, who has a prodigious voice, wants to be a famous singer, and his friend, the waiter "Tumbaíto" (Ángel de Andrés), hopes to succeed in the world of entertainment. With the promise that Amparo will wait for them, the two friends decide to go to Madrid to try their fortune and then return to her lands, where Amparo, Manolo's girlfriend, has sworn to wait for him. Manolo undertakes the adventure of the big city without luck being on his side, since no one wants to hire him and he ends up doing housework in the boarding house run by Doña Esperanza (Rafaela Aparicio), where he lives with his friend. Manolo has a splendid voice and a huge love for singing, but all the attempts he makes to be heard and debut in public fail. Then both have to agree to work as servants in the boarding house they run where they live, until "Tumbaíto" manages to get a job as a waiter in a hotel where he gets Manolo to sing, replacing a famous artist, Curro Lucena (Manolo Escobar in a double role), with whom he bears a striking resemblance. The idea becomes complicated because Curro Lucena has some problems with the law that Manolo will end up paying for by impersonating him.
This is the second film in Manolo Escobar's filmography - the first was "Los Guerrilleros" - and it is among the most viewed films in the history of Spanish cinema during the Franco era. This is a joyful as well as entertaining Spanish musical comedy , nicely realized by Ramón Torrado and well financed by Alfredo Fraile, Manolo Escobar's regular producer . This an enjoyable and feeling movie with attractive musical set pieces and in final takes places the ordinary happy end. This is a charming story proceeded in simplicity and delicacy dealing with ordinary love affairs, the desire to succeed and providing a lot of chances of singing . The main role "Manolo" is played by himself in a phenomenal way, can be said that he is perfectly adequate to his measure . Of course , Manolo Escobar steals the show as a splendid singer in Spanish style . He was one of the best known singers of Spanish folk songs both in Spain and internationally .The great Manolo Escobar started playing the flute and the piano in his early years. When he was 14, he moved from Almería to Barcelona with his brothers, working as an apprentice in various trades. He began his career in show business between Badalona and Barcelona's red-light district (currently known as El Raval), with the group Manolo Escobar y sus guitarras (Manolo Escobar and his guitars) . His siblings were guitarists who accompanied him on stage at the outset of his career. His brothers Salvador and Baldomero were also in the group . Being brother of the actors Baldomero García Escobar, Juan Gabriel García Escobar, Salvador García Escobar and the composers José María García Escobar and Juan Manuel García Escobar. Later, when the group started to become successful, Juan Gabriel, another brother, joined. Juan Gabriel and sister, Maria José, would later write songs for the group . In 1959 Manolo met the German-born Anita Marx, Escobar married her. They were married in Cologne, Germany, without knowing how to speak each other's language . They were married for 53 years until his death. He adopted her daughter, Vanessa and dedicated the song "Mi pequeña flor" (My little flower) to her. In 1962, he rose to fame with Canciones by Maestro Solano , his debut in Madrid and Barcelona, and the premiere of the movie filmed in the town of Arcos de la Frontera (Cádiz) : Los Guerrilleros . He starred a lot of films as a popular singer , such as : Me has hecho perder el juicio , Entre dos amores , Me debes un muerto , En un lugar de La Manga , Juicio de faldas , Relaciones casi públicas , El padre Manolo , Un beso en el puerto , Mi canción es para ti , Pero... ¿en qué país vivimos? , La mujer es un buen negocio , Eva, ¿qué hace ese hombre en tu cama?, Cuando los niños vienen de Marsella , Donde estará mi niño , among others . And he sang his main recording : "Y Viva España," released in 1973, sold an estimated 6 million copies, making him one of Spain's best-selling recording artists . Even after , when the copla genre's popularity was in decline, Escobar topped record sales lists, and was one of the few artists who had his own company and show. In the early 1990s, he moved into his "Porompompero" chalet in Benidorm, named after his acclaimed song. He appeared in more than 20 films and recorded almost 80 albums , 24 of which are gold records. He also had a platinum selling cassette. His best-selling album was Y viva España, which sold 6 million (10 million in subsequent official reprints) copies. It was the best-selling album in Spain from 1973 to 1992 . Escobar died of colon cancer on 24 October 2013, at the age of 82.
As is usual in the films of the sixties, one of the biggest distractions in the story is to locate which notorious and classical secondary appears in the next frame, this time the following are included: María Martín, José Orjas, Ángel Álvarez, Rufino Inglés, Xan das Bolas, Manuel Guitián, Alfonso Rojas, Tomás Blanco, Gustavo Ré and especial mention for the indispensable Rafaela Aparicio and María Isbert as the sympathetic Policarpa 'Polilla' who is always behind the co-star Angel de Andres. The motion picture was mediocre but professionally directed by Ramón Torrado.
This is the second film in Manolo Escobar's filmography - the first was "Los Guerrilleros" - and it is among the most viewed films in the history of Spanish cinema during the Franco era. This is a joyful as well as entertaining Spanish musical comedy , nicely realized by Ramón Torrado and well financed by Alfredo Fraile, Manolo Escobar's regular producer . This an enjoyable and feeling movie with attractive musical set pieces and in final takes places the ordinary happy end. This is a charming story proceeded in simplicity and delicacy dealing with ordinary love affairs, the desire to succeed and providing a lot of chances of singing . The main role "Manolo" is played by himself in a phenomenal way, can be said that he is perfectly adequate to his measure . Of course , Manolo Escobar steals the show as a splendid singer in Spanish style . He was one of the best known singers of Spanish folk songs both in Spain and internationally .The great Manolo Escobar started playing the flute and the piano in his early years. When he was 14, he moved from Almería to Barcelona with his brothers, working as an apprentice in various trades. He began his career in show business between Badalona and Barcelona's red-light district (currently known as El Raval), with the group Manolo Escobar y sus guitarras (Manolo Escobar and his guitars) . His siblings were guitarists who accompanied him on stage at the outset of his career. His brothers Salvador and Baldomero were also in the group . Being brother of the actors Baldomero García Escobar, Juan Gabriel García Escobar, Salvador García Escobar and the composers José María García Escobar and Juan Manuel García Escobar. Later, when the group started to become successful, Juan Gabriel, another brother, joined. Juan Gabriel and sister, Maria José, would later write songs for the group . In 1959 Manolo met the German-born Anita Marx, Escobar married her. They were married in Cologne, Germany, without knowing how to speak each other's language . They were married for 53 years until his death. He adopted her daughter, Vanessa and dedicated the song "Mi pequeña flor" (My little flower) to her. In 1962, he rose to fame with Canciones by Maestro Solano , his debut in Madrid and Barcelona, and the premiere of the movie filmed in the town of Arcos de la Frontera (Cádiz) : Los Guerrilleros . He starred a lot of films as a popular singer , such as : Me has hecho perder el juicio , Entre dos amores , Me debes un muerto , En un lugar de La Manga , Juicio de faldas , Relaciones casi públicas , El padre Manolo , Un beso en el puerto , Mi canción es para ti , Pero... ¿en qué país vivimos? , La mujer es un buen negocio , Eva, ¿qué hace ese hombre en tu cama?, Cuando los niños vienen de Marsella , Donde estará mi niño , among others . And he sang his main recording : "Y Viva España," released in 1973, sold an estimated 6 million copies, making him one of Spain's best-selling recording artists . Even after , when the copla genre's popularity was in decline, Escobar topped record sales lists, and was one of the few artists who had his own company and show. In the early 1990s, he moved into his "Porompompero" chalet in Benidorm, named after his acclaimed song. He appeared in more than 20 films and recorded almost 80 albums , 24 of which are gold records. He also had a platinum selling cassette. His best-selling album was Y viva España, which sold 6 million (10 million in subsequent official reprints) copies. It was the best-selling album in Spain from 1973 to 1992 . Escobar died of colon cancer on 24 October 2013, at the age of 82.
As is usual in the films of the sixties, one of the biggest distractions in the story is to locate which notorious and classical secondary appears in the next frame, this time the following are included: María Martín, José Orjas, Ángel Álvarez, Rufino Inglés, Xan das Bolas, Manuel Guitián, Alfonso Rojas, Tomás Blanco, Gustavo Ré and especial mention for the indispensable Rafaela Aparicio and María Isbert as the sympathetic Policarpa 'Polilla' who is always behind the co-star Angel de Andres. The motion picture was mediocre but professionally directed by Ramón Torrado.