Overrated

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Señor Martinez, a famous theater owner, visits a local café in Mexico because of its reputation for good food and to audition the famous dancer who performs there. Martinez tells the café owner that if the dancer is as good as he has heard, he will offer the dancer a contract to perform in his theater. The café's female singer hears about this and is determined that he won't leave the café without her.First full color live action film. Odd that they'd choose this topic. Also odd that it came from Pioneer Pictures and not a big studio.It's an interesting curio and not much more.In fact, as a short, it feels like a feature and it's horribly directed.The use of color is just OK but the entire production was out of focus.Not sure if that's just the copy or if it was like that originally.

"La Cucaracha" is a short that features lots of singing and dancing....and about a billion choruses of the song! Yes, THAT song...the one about cockroaches. Señor Martinez comes to the cantina looking for talent for his shows. Conchita is afraid that Martinez will take away Pancho, so she spends most of the film annoying Martinez--to drive him off! "La Cucaracha" is a film that would have been completely forgotten over the years except for one thing--it's the first color film made using true color. Let me explain. In the early part of the 20th century, a few films actually were hand-painted--and the results were color...or sorts. Later, two-color processed (such as Two Color Technicolor and Cinecolor) were developed and the results were fair. The problem was that the films looked very orange and very green and a true spectrum of colors was absent. So, for example, true blues were not possible with the films. Now when you see "La Cucaracha", you might not be very impressed with the color. It looks garish--and a lot like it's been colorized but with much more vibrant colors (particularly blues and yellows). I am not sure if this ugly look is because of the effects of time and degradation on the film stock, the quality of the new Three Color Technicolor or because the 'experts' just didn't know what they were doing since it was such a new thing. But, regardless, the film is mega-important from a historical perspective. And, by the way, some might think "Becky Sharp" was the first full-color film. It's actually the first full-color FULL-LENGTH film--"La Cucaracha" was a short. Overall, the film is mildly entertaining and moderately funny--but nothing more. It's only fair entertainment but for film buffs it's a must-see.

Singer Chatita (Steffi Duna) does not want her dancer lover Pancho (Don Alvarado) to get an offer from theater producer Esteban Martinez (Paul Porcasi). So she pretends to serve Martinez food and insults him at various times. After she sings the short's title song, Pancho then does a dance with his partner as Chatita tries to sabotage it by reprising her song. Martinez, seeing the results, offers them both a job just before the rest of the dancers with the leads close the show. Historical because of the first use of three-strip Technicolor in live action, I found myself entertained by all the Hispanic surroundings and amused by the deep red face that resulted when the producer customer ate his Tabasco filled food! The plot was slight but great music throughout makes this one of the most entertaining shorts I've ever seen. Worth a look for any film enthusiasts.

I sought this out because I'm on a quest to understand the influence of Spanish-speaking filmmakers. I'm really impressed with the current crop wherever they live. Surely there's a literary tradition of folding behind this: Cervantes, Borges, Cortazar...Now this isn't quite a Spanish film, it is by gringos and only references Spanish idioms. But it is interesting nonetheless.It is the first film made with the three strip Technicolor process, so it is an audition of sorts. And the audition is for color and spice, if you will.So the story centers on an audition and on spice, both wrapped in Spanish trappings. That allows our performers in the show within the show to be colorful, especially with greens and blues. Very nice.The fellow that has to be pleased has an encounter with the girl who we are to receive as sexy. He blushes and a subtle red light is used on his face. Pretty good. The folding here is that the judge in the on screen audience likes the "color." And we are meant to as well.Then there's a bit with two warring numbers, one the title song that mentions marijuana.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.