The well-known eponymous comedy by Jardiel Poncela about relatives who confront each other to deprive a goddaughter of an inherited fortune, locked in a safe, which she bequeaths gives rise to two irregular comedies. Dealing with the adventures of some scammers: Castelar (José Luis Ozores), El Tio (José Isbert) and Pelirrojo (Antonio Garisa) through the Madrid Rastro are told. One day they meet at the behest of his former partner Daniel "The Melancholy"( Carlos Miguel Solá , which plans to commit a robbery at a jewelry store. The attempt turns out to be a resounding failure. Later on, they carry out a new heist at a safe, but the attempted robbery is interrupted and will be tried again by the same group. They proceed again and again, while other thieves also try to steal the jewels. Each character's secrets will come to light as they come and go in this brilliant Spanish comedy from the stage play by Jardiel Poncela.
This agreeable picture concerns a hold-up pulled off by a bunch of unfortunate as well as bungling tiny crooks, but of course, things go awry. For this Poncela adapatton was hired Director Pedro L. Ramírez, one of the most sought-after directors of the moment, and a group of actors of undoubtedly comical vis were involved in this enjoyable production. This film is made to entertain , and this movie , especially for a good time and a pleasant entertainment . Sitting in a strange middle ground between the completely absurd and the stylishly cool. This is the second version of ¨Enrique Jardiel Poncela's Los ladrones somos gente honrada¨ play in which three petty criminals engaged in organized pick-pocketing in the Rastro (Madrid). The first is directed by the famous Ignacio F. Iquino with Amparo Rivelles, Manuel Luna, Mercedes Vecino, José Jaspe and this second, a much more free adaptation directed by Pedro Ramirez within the series of comedies that he filmed in the second half of the fifties for Aspa Films. Based on a script by Vicente Escrivá and Vicente Coello, due to a certain documentary tone, the first part is much better, showing adequately the Madrid Rastro, but the film has little to do with Jardiel Poncela's work. The second part of this film is too theatrical, faithful to the original play, repetitive and stuffy. There are a number of notable Spanish actors appearing here and there, all of them giving sympathetic performances. The main distraction of the film is guessing which prestigious supporting actor will appear in the following frames, these include as follows: Rafael Bardem, Julia Caba Alba, José Manuel Martín, José Ramón Giner, Antonio Ozores, Pilar Gómez Ferrer, Joaquín Roa, María Isbert, Jacinto San Emeterio, Ángel Álvarez, Milagros Leal, Alicia Palacios, Antonio Garisa, Antonio Molino Rojo. Due to a bad habit of the time, the protagonist Encarnita Fuentes and secondary actor Antonio Ozores are dubbed by dubbing professionals. And Julia Caba Alba won National Syndicate of Spectacle, 1956 Prize Best Support Actress.
The motion picture was amusingly directed by Pedro L Ramírez, though it has some flaws , gaps and defects. He was a fine Spanish professional who started working for director Rafael Gil. He made sucessful comedies as his film debut : Recluta con niño 1955 , Los Ladrones somos gente honrada 1956 based on the homonyms novel by Enrique Jardiel Poncela , La Cenicienta y Ernesto 1957 , El Tigre de Chamberi 1957 , all of them written and produced by Vicente Escriva . He went on shooting comedies : El Gafe , Fantasmas en casa , Los habitantes de la casa deshabitada and two intriguing comedies : Crimen para recién casados and ? Donde pongo este muerto? . And a Manolo Escobar vehicle set in War of Independence titled : Los Guerrilleros . Subsequently , he made Paella Westerns as Judas toma tus monedas , Clint el solitario, , Ninguno de los tres se llamaba Trinidad and Giallos : El pez de los ojos de oro and El Colegio de la Muerte. Rating 6/10 . The movie will appeal to José Isbert and José Luis Ozores fans as well as Spanish comedy enthusiasts .
