Pepe (1960)

The young Mexican Pepe's beloved horse is sold to Hollywood star Ted Holt, leading to Pepe's journey to Hollywood to get the horse back, and Pepe's encounter with half the stars working in Hollywood at the time.

Director:

George Sidney

Writers:

Dorothy Kingsley (screenplay), Claude Binyon (screenplay)

Stars:

Cantinflas, Dan Dailey, Shirley Jones

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cantinflas	...	Pepe
Dan Dailey	...	Ted Holt
Shirley Jones	...	Suzie Murphy
Carlos Montalbán	...	Rodriguez
Vicki Trickett	...	Lupita
Matt Mattox	...	Dancer
Hank Henry	...	Sands Manager
Suzanne Lloyd	...	Carmen
Carlos Rivas	...	Carlos
Maurice Chevalier	...	Maurice Chevalier
Bing Crosby	...	Bing Crosby
Michael Callan	...	Dancer
Richard Conte	...	Richard Conte
Bobby Darin	...	Bobby Darin
Sammy Davis Jr.	...	Sammy Davis Jr.

Storyline

In Mexico, Pepe is the good-natured ranch foreman of Sr. Rodriguez. Pepe's pride and joy is Don Juan, a magnificent white stud stallion that he raised from a colt for Sr. Rodriguez and that he refers to as his "son". As Sr. Rodriguez has decided to sell Don Juan at auction, Pepe enacts a plan to dissuade any interested buyers so that he can buy Don Juan himself. The plan doesn't work, as Don Juan is sold to washed-up Hollywood movie director Ted Holt - his current Hollywood status due to alcohol over-consumption - who wants to use Don Juan for his comeback project to be shot in Mexico with an all-Mexican cast except for an American female lead. Pepe decides to head to Hollywood and earn lots of money so that he can buy Don Juan and bring him back to Mexico. In Hollywood, Pepe gets into one misadventure after another with a cavalcade of Hollywood movie stars, those misadventures based largely on Pepe's limited grasp of the English language, he often taking what is said to him in their ...

---

Plot Keywords:

mexican man | based on play | character name as title | hollywood | horse | 

---

Taglines:

35 GREAT STARS in a Wonderful Story!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Musical

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

George Sidney planned a sequel " Pepe in Paris", but the movie's poor financial performance meant that a sequel wouldn't be necessary.

---

Quotes

Suzie Murphy: [watching her boyfriend dance with another woman] Men make me sick. With no effort, I could hate them all.
Pepe: [sitting beside her] You mean, you hate Pepe?
Suzie Murphy: You? Of course not. I never even think of you as a man.

---

Alternate Versions

Although several sources list the film's running time as either 190 or 195 minutes, according to studio records it is exactly three hours. The intermission might have attributed to the extra 10-15 minutes. Later cut to 157 minutes after initial screenings.

---

Connections

References Some Like It Hot (1959)

---

Soundtracks

Let's Fall In Love
(uncredited)
Written by Cole Porter
Performed by Bing Crosby

User Reviews

So it's not 80 Days

Cantinflas meets every star in Hollywood, in an attempt to recapture the 80 Days magic. No such luck. Cantinflas was asked to carry Pepe and simply wasn't up to the task, though it's perfectly acceptable all-star entertainment. Cameos by Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Dean Martin, Ernie Kovacs, and particularly Kim Novak, help make it more than watchable. In a way it's better than 80 Days, since Kim wasn't in that one. I stayed around for the next show to see Kim's cameo again. In those days you could remain in the theatre on one paid admission for as long as you wished.

In San Francisco, PEPE played at advanced prices, on continuous showings, no reserved seats. On March 14, 1961 I spent nearly seven hours in the St. Francis Theatre on Market Street. PEPE runs 195 minutes. Us Kim Novak fans are durable, and loyal - she's still one of my favorite stars. Wow.

Details

Country:

Mexico USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 April 1962 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Pepe

Filming Locations:

Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

Box Office

Gross USA:

$9,600,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Posa Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

180 min 158 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1