Search - El Gavilan Pollero on DVD

Amor, Amistad, y la Verdad

Alejandra Vernon | Long Beach, California | 04/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
In "El Gavilan Pollero" Pedro Infante plays Jose, a scoundrel of a fellow, who gets his girlfriend of many years, Antonia (Lilia Prado), involved in his schemes. When she tires of his womanizing, she takes their ill-gotten gains from a fixed horse race, and leaves him. Jose steals the horse and escapes, and meets up with Luis (Antonio Badu), who is "mal hablado, boracho y jugador," and like birds of a feather, they form a "blood brother" bond, and a friendship that is "amistad y pura verdad." After many adventures, they end up in the big city, where the mambo is the craze, and who should be the featured dancer at the Club La Sirena but Antonia! There begins a story of manipulation and revenge, as Antonia pits one friend against the other.

There are many songs, the big number for Infante being "Ella" by Jose Alfredo Jimenez. The mambo scenes are hilarious, as the ranch guys try to dance like the city folk, and there are many funny scenes and some wild slapstick in this film, which could be classified as a melodramatic comedy. Both Infante and Badu are terrific, and Rogelio Gonzalez, who directed many of Infante's films, is at the helm, with lovely black & white cinematography by Gabriel Figueroa. No subtitles available.
Pedro Infante (1917-1957), was Mexico's most loved singer/actor, and 50 years after his untimely passing when he crashed his plane in the Yucatan, he reigns supreme, and his many films and recordings are national treasures."