Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

MartinHafer "Pepe" is an odd film. It stars Cantinflas--a very, very famous comic from Mexico but a person rather unknown to most Americans. Some might have remembered him from "Around the World in 80 Days" but nearly all of Cantinflas' films were Mexican. Having him star in a film chock full of famous American actors of the day is very surprising. It's also a mistake simply because the mixture is poor. I love Cantinflas' films--they are sweet, charming and simple. Combining this with a bazillion guest appearances by Hollywood stars is a disservice to Cantinflas and it disrupts him from doing what he does best--entertaining us and making us laugh.The film begins in Mexico. There's a horse auction and Pepe (Cantinflas) is upset, as the horse he helped raise, Don Juan, is about to be auctioned. He tries in several clever ways to prevent rich Americans from bidding on this prize horse but one of them (Dan Dailey) realizes that Pepe is lying about the horse. So he buys the animal and moves it to Hollywood. Unable to live without the horse, Pepe goes to America to try to get the animal back...if possible..or at least be with him. Along the way (as well as in Mexico) he meets one movie star after another after another. Most of these cameos are really unnecessary (such as Bobby Darin singing in a crazy production number) and their appearances a waste of time and money. A few, such as Shirley Jones, have more substantial roles in this movie.If you ignore all the cameos, the plot is just okay but a bit weird. Throughout the film, Cantinflas plays a guy who is a bit too childlike--almost stupid. It's a difficult balance, as in some of his films he was a bit naive and certainly uneducated (though never dumb). Having him constantly refer to himself as the horse's 'father' is rather dumb and conjures up some unseemly images! And, the film seems a bit patronizing when they show simple Pepe dealing with life in America and they make him a bit pathetic. Plus, it's tough when a comic is saddled (so to speak) with an animal as a sidekick--as most of the comedies I can think of with animal co-stars are pretty poor (such as "Mr. Ed", "The Chimp" and "The Cat From Outer Space"). If the film had instead allowed Cantinflas to be THE star and allow his natural charming persona not to be obscured with guest stars and an animal, it would have been so much better. Overall, an obvious misfire. My advice is to see his Mexican films--they are full of charm and style--whereas "Pepe" is just terrible at times.

captain-bill I really want to write something good about this movie. I can't, though. I only saw it once, and once was more than enough. I was a teenager in Denver, Colorado, when "Pepe" previewed for the first time before an audience. A passel of studio bigwigs showed up at the Centre Theatre that evening, including, I believe, producer and director George Sidney. Cantinflas was a no-show; maybe he knew something.Did you ever attend a movie where the audience greets it with...dead silence? Not the kind of silence for something cerebral, such as "2001: A Space Odyssey", but the kind of silence that lets you know you are watching a very slow, very long train wreck. And there were roughly 1,200 really silent people that night fifty years ago.So why did I stick it out through the whole thing? Easy. The cameos. I would start looking for the exit when Edward G. Robinson would appear. Wow! This picture's got to get better now. Wrong. Ditto for Ernie Kovacs, and so on.Since I viewed the preview print, I believe I saw the full 195 minute version. So what did the studio cut for general release? The only thing I clearly remember departing was a long, misbegotten animated sequence.In retrospect I feel sorry for George Sidney, director of "The Harvey Girls", the 1948 "Three Musketeers", and "Kiss Me Kate". But the industry had changed a lot by 1960. He did his best to keep up, but "Pepe" has to be a nadir.Some believe "Pepe" to be excellent family fare. If I compelled a child to watch the whole thing, even the cut general release version, I could probably be arrested for child abuse. You have been warned!

MOVIESPAST I saw this movie on the big screen when it was new in Australia & years later my Mum & I sat up in the wee hours after hours delivering catalogs & newspapers around our area to watch a rare TV screening. There are VHS available but these are outrageous in price. Wikipedia says there was a limited DVD release(undated) which i was unaware of & the VHS dates to 1998. I would also be in line if Columbia MOD series makes this available in the 195mins original version. The original release also had RCA 4-track stereo audio. I like the actor who appeared in films as Catinflas(Mario Moreno), a Mexican comedy actor.The film has the audio voice of Judy Garland thru speakers in a poolside scene. There are brief appearances of Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis Jr & the final screen roles for Billie Burke & Charles Coborn. If it comes available to buy, it would be an entertaining buy, even at 195mins.

josem1999 It's really hard to rate this movie. On the one hand, it's a true time capsule of 1960..every mega star is here..including practically the whole rat pack. On the other hand , this is a an extremely corny movie about a man and his donkey.What is really painful to watch is what the movie does to the Cantinflas persona. In his Mexican movies, he is street smart but with a sentimental side. Sort of a Mexican Little Tramp. In his Mexican movies this persona became more and more sentimental and less street smart as years went by. But nothing can prepare you for this movie. In it, the Cantinflas persona becomes a virtual moron. He is such an ignorant fool it is almost painful to watch.I remember seeing this movie with my grandmother and mother at the old Radio City theater in Santurce. I was a boy expecting a Cantinflas movie and was surprised to see a movie like this. Still I have fond memories and I feel that the movie deserves a DVD release. In fact this movie doesn't even show up on AMC or TCM. And its a shame because this movie is an interesting way to go back to 1960.