Cupido contrabandista

Juan (Antonio Ozores) is a shy and good-natured man who lives in Ceuta and does everything by correspondence, from getting a degree or learning judo to finding a girlfriend. Her alleged girlfriend, who he doesn't know, is from Madrid and the time comes for Juan to meet her, so he takes a boat that will take him to the peninsula. The film develops through an intrigue on the boat that goes from Ceuta to the peninsula, around a package containing smuggled diamonds that, without knowing what it has, a friend of Antonio Ozores, -(Manuel Zarzo)- , he had given it, passing it off as medicine to be delivered to a family member. On the trip he has an accidental encounter and progressive approach after a first repulsion, to a beautiful young woman, María (Maria Mahor), who is heading to the capital to study singing and whom she previously met accidentally. During the trip, some foreign smugglers use Juan to unwittingly smuggle some diamonds stolen in Tangier. And on a train he meets an elderly, newly married couple (Pepe Isbert and Julia Caba Alba), as well as two gangsters (José Luís Martín, Antonio Molino Rojo) who are after him in order to recover the package of diamonds.

This is a friendly and luminous comedy with brief suspense and a number of entanglements with hints of romance between the two protagonists Antonio Ozores and Maria Mahor with certain doses of madness, being handled without fanfare or haste. ¨Cupido contrabandista¨ is a recital by Antonio Ozores, he is the complete show, here playing the typical character of an unhappy man who, due to strange circumstances, finds himself immersed in an extreme situation. But not far behind is the then very young María Mahor, who is also the true co-star, and performing several songs in a style reminiscent of Rocío Dúrcal or Marisol with whom she worked in 'Un Rayo de Sol'. In fact, in one of her songs she is accompanied by a spectacular aquatic ballet in the style of Esther Williams (saving the distance, of course). Starring the prolific Antonio Ozores who, although he did a long job as an actor, was a screenwriter and playwright in some works. Antonio belonged to a dynasty of film professionals, being the uncle of Adriana Ozores, father of the actress Emma Ozores, son of Mariano Ozores Francés, brother of the comic actor José Luis Ozores and the director Mariano Ozores who directed him in many films. Although Antonio Ozores starred in some films as a leading actor, most of his career was spent in sympathetic supporting roles, demonstrating his undoubted hilarious gifts. The following are worth highlighting: Los caraduros (1983), Christopher Columbus, ex officio... discoverer (1982), The crazy story of the three musketeers (1983), Los autonomicos, El currante, The socialists are coming! , The Gang of Eleven, Crazy Hill, Los Tramposos, 15 Under the Canvas, among others. As usual, in the cinema at the time a number of familiar secondary characters appear in the film, so one of the best fun is to guess which actor will appear in the next frame.

This criminal comedy with brief intrigue and lots of humor is one of the few films directed by Esteban Madruga. In fact, he only directed three films: Night Carousel (1964), Smuggling Cupid (1962) and Nothing Less Than an Arkángel (1960), although he was assistant director and screenwriter on many others. Rating: 5/10. Only recommended for unconditional lovers of Spanish comedy.