gridoon2024 Review of Pepe

Pepe (1960)

Unfunny, overlong, racist and sexist, but a couple of sequences are worth catching

[5/10 · 13 October 2019]

"Pepe" deserved to flop: it's not funny, it's too long, the character of Cantinflas is a total stereotype, and the story resolution reeks of 1950's Hollywood casual racism AND sexism (the young, initially "tough" Shirley Jones apologizes (!) to the dreary, obnoxious and middle-aged Dan Dailey who had been insulting both her and Cantinflas throughout the movie, and agrees to marry him, because of course in a 1960 movie a woman a) must always be wrong because the man must always right, b) cannot possibly have an interracial marriage). Most of the guest stars add little; only a few, like Maurice Chevalier and Janet Leigh, make significant contributions. Don Juan the Horse probably gives the best performance in the film. But there are three sequences which are worth seeing: the nightclub dance / martial arts "fight" number is impressively intricately choreographed and executed, the miniaturized Debbie Reynolds & Cantinflas sequence is great fun, and the tap dancing number with Chevalier, Cantinflas and Dailey is the only sequence in which Dailey is bearable. Other than that, "Pepe" is interesting today only as another one in a line of Big Studio flops like "Cleopatra". ** out of 4.