The Great Madcap

El Gran Calavera (transl. The Great Madcap) is a 1949 Mexican comedy film directed by Luis Buñuel. The plot concerns a family patriarch who fakes losing all his wealth to end his family's self-indulgent ways.

The Great Madcap
Film poster
Spanish	El Gran Calavera
Directed by	Luis Buñuel
Written by	Janet Alcoriza Luis Alcoriza
Produced by	Óscar Dancigers Fernando Soler
Starring	Fernando Soler Rosario Granados Andrés Soler Rubén Rojo Gustavo Rojo
Cinematography	Ezequiel Carrasco
Edited by	Carlos Savage
Music by	Manuel Esperón
Distributed by	Ultramar Films
Release date	25 November 1949 (1949-11-25)
Running time	91 minutes[1]
Country	Mexico
Language	Spanish

Plot

Everyone takes advantage of Ramiro de la Mata (Fernando Soler), a funny drunkard and rich widower. His daughter Virginia (Rosario Granados), and his son Eduardo (Gustavo Rojo), as well as his lazy brother Ladislao (Andrés Soler), and his sister-in-law Milagros (Maruja Grifell), all do nothing while living at Ramiro's expense. Gregorio (Francisco Jambrina), his other brother tries to help him by making everyone believe that Ramiro is financially ruined, forcing the family to look for jobs of their own.

Cast

• Fernando Soler as Ramiro de la Mata
• Rosario Granados as Virginia
• Andrés Soler as Ladislao de la Mata
• Rubén Rojo as Pablo
• Gustavo Rojo as Eduardo de la Mata
• Maruja Grifell as Milagros
• Francisco Jambrina as Gregorio
• Luis Alcoriza as Alfredo
• Antonio Bravo as Alfonso
• Antonio Monsell as Juan, the butler
• María Luisa Serrano as Alfredo's mother

Release

The Great Madcap was screened at the Luis Buñuel Film Institute on 22 July 2015.^[2]

See also

• Nosotros los Nobles, a 2013 Mexican film that reuses the plot.