Romeo y Julieta

Synopsis: Feature film. A farce parodying Romeo and Juliet (and strongly referencing Cukor’s 1936 film version) starring Cantinflas, the celebrated Mexican comedian (real name Mario Moreno). Lanier (op cit) notes that the film’s narrative follows Shakespeare’s closely, Cantinflas playing Romeo as slapstick comedy while ‘central also to the comedy is Cantinflas’ inimitable idiom, a combination of goofy rhymed couplets, street slang, working-class fast talk, anachronisms and silly word play’. [Lanier].
Language: Spanish (Mexico)
Country: Mexico
Medium: Film
Technical information: Black-and-white / Sound
Year of release: 1943
Duration: 100 mins

Director

Miguel M. Delgado

Producer

Jacques Gelman; Santiago Reachi

Cinematographer

Jack Draper

Screenplay

Jaime Salvador

Music

Manuel Esperon

Cast

History: Released in the US in 1944 distributed by Aztec Films.
Reviews: Lanier, Douglas ‘Film Spin-Offs and Citations’ in Burt, Richard (ed). Shakespeares After Shakespeares: an Encyclopedia of the Bard in Mass Media and Popular Culture. 2 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006. (p. 269, entry 1133).

Vela, Richard. Literature/Film Quarterly. vol. 30, no, 3, 2002 (pp 231-238). The article discusses the relationship between Shakespeare, Hollywood and Mexico.

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British Universities Film & Video Council