Madrid, several young people who are very fond of music are about to attend university. They are the boys and girls of Preu (María José Goyanes, Emilio Gutiérrez Caba, Cristina Galbó, Óscar Monzón, Karina, Pedro Díez del Corral, Marta Baizán, Camilo Sesto and Gonzalo González), a group of young people who are starting a new school year, the pre-university, which will give them access to the University and, in a certain way, also to adult life. The protagonist is a local from Castilla La Mancha nicknamed Tomelloso (Emilio Gutiérrez Caba) who arrives in Madrid to study Preu, residing in a student hall of residence. Through Tomelloso we follow the pleasant life of a varied, peculiar and diverse group of students. Some of them will find their first love, will try to dedicate themselves to music or will have to suffer the rules of their parents. Others, however, will have to face more serious problems: the difficult communication with their parents or the family's financial efforts to pay for their studies. Or they will have to suffer the rigor of an intransigent teacher (Alberto Closas) who rarely passes his students, while his sensitive son (Pedro Díez del Corral) feels that his father does not give him any kind of favoritism.
Los chicos del Preu (1967) tells the story of some students about to attend university, especially the one nicknamed Tomelloso, whose parents - Mary Carrillo, Carlos Mendy - make hard sacrifices so that their son can study and while others find their first love or face the terror of final exams, which if they pass them leave the path open for them to university. This is one of the many comedies that the prolific director and producer Pedro Masó made during the second half of the sixties, mixing minimal stories of a large group of characters linked by the same activity or profession. As far removed from reality as the others, it also has against it that most of the actors are dubbed by professional dubbers, falling into the soap opera and with little humor, sticking too much to the first loves of couples about to come to fruition or to separate. Meanwhile, the singer Karina is very funny, and perky, dedicating herself to dancing, contorting herself and singing songs by the Pekenikes. The later very famous Camilo Sesto also appears, here as Camilo Blanes, playing a terrible student who confronts his father -José Luis López Vázquez- because he does not want to study, so he is only interested in music, and eventually manages to get him to give him an electric guitar and become a singer.
It is a nice and enjoyable film from the sixties, which portrays the loves and teachings that students received as well as their dances, parties, learning, exams, and family life, offering an ironic criticism of the customs of the students. An uneven comedy with its ups and downs, that's why the film is a simple dramatic comedy about the love problems of high school students and without much interest. I think that more could have been made of nostalgia, and in short, it turns out to be a mediocre but acceptable and passable attempt. Of course, the main distraction of the feature film is guessing which notorious secondary characters will appear in the next frame, among them are the following: José Luis López Vázquez, Alberto Closas, Gemma Cuervo, Carlos Mendy, Mary Carrillo, Margot Cottens, José María Seoane, Pastora Peña, Carlos Mendy, José Orjas, Erasmo Pascual, Jesús Guzmán, Alfonso del Real, Valentín Tornos, Saturno Cerra, Francisco Camoiras, Luisa Sala and Rafaela Aparicio in her ordinary role as a servant.
The film was professionally directed by Pedro Lazaga. Despite not being applauded at all by critics, the film achieved considerable box office success. Lazaga was born in Valls, Tarragona, Catalonia, and died on November 30, 1979 in Madrid. He was a prolific director and writer, especially known for Los Chicos del Preu (1967), María Morena (1951), Cuerda De Presos (1956) and Posición Avanzada (1966). Pedro was a craftsman, an outstanding director and writer who directed all kinds of genres such as Peplum: Siete Espartanos, Wartime: Cuerda De Presos, Posición Avanzada, Torrepartida, La Patrulla; Drama: Rostro De Asesino, Otro Árbol De Guernica, but especially known for low-budget comedies. Director Pedro Lazaga made, during the fifties and early sixties, eight films, mostly comedies: ¨Muchachas De Azul¨, Ana Dice Sí¨. ¨Summer Moon¨, ¨Economically Weak¨, ¨Trio Damas¨ for the scriptwriter and producer Jose Luis Dibildos and his ¨Agata Films Productions¨. The best of all turned out to be ¨The Trampos¨. He continued making comedies as Patrulla De Los Once, Los Tramposos, Sabian Demasiado, El Vikingo, ¡No Firmes Más Letras, Cielo! , Vente a Ligar Al Oeste , Hasta El Matrimonio Nos Separe , La Amante Perfecta , Fulanita y Sus Menganos , Vota a Gundisalvo , Terapia Al Desnudo , Tres Suecas Para Tres Rodríguez , Yo soy Fulana de Tal , 5 Almohadas Para Una Noche , En La Cresta De la Ola y varios otros . Sus películas más conocidas fueron con el popular cómico Paco Martínez Soria, como: Abuelo Made in Spain o Old made in Spain, Padre De La Criatura, Alegre Divorciado, Estoy Hecho Un Chaval, Vaya Par Gemelos, among others. Rating: 5.5/10.
