Feature film
The Unknown Policeman
El gendarme desconocido
Miguel M. Delgado · 1941
Synopsis
A gang of thieves keeps the town on edge after attacking a bank, where they tried to steal an imperial diamond. El Chato, a whimsical unemployed man who courts the daughter of a widow whose café serves as the criminals' hideout, fights them and captures three. Regarded as a hero, he joins the police under badge number 777 and must recover the jewel, while the Criollita, a seductress, gets in his way.
Context
Produced by Posa Films and photographed by Gabriel Figueroa, the film was written by its director with José F. Elizondo and Jaime Salvador. It brings together Cantinflas, Mapy Cortés, Gloria Marín, Daniel Herrera, known as el Chino, and Julio Villarreal. Released on 23 October 1941, it was a great box-office success. The character of Agent 777 appears in it for the first time; the actor reuses this number in other films, including El patrullero 777.
Who it is for
One hour forty-eight minutes, in black and white and in Spanish: a parody of police films, driven by the comedy of Cantinflas.
Prizes and reception
The first of the director's thirty-three films with Cantinflas, a popular success on its release and regarded as one of the actor's best.
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