EL SUPERSABIO (1948)
Article 3218 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-10-2010
Posting Date: 6-6-2010
Directed by Miguel M. Delgado
Featuring Cantinflas, Perla Aguiar, Carlos Martinez Baena
Country: Mexico
What it is: Comedy with science fiction gimmick

A renowned scientist is working on a formula to transform seawater into gasoline, while his assistant is working on a formula to preserve roses. When the scientist dies unexpectedly (right after he finds the solution to his assistant’s rose preservation problem), the assistant becomes the target of a rapacious oil company who thinks he has the gasoline formula.

I got most of the plot description here from the Phil Hardy book, though I did change the occasional detail based on what I saw in the movie. I wouldn’t have figured out the plot myself, as the copy I found on YouTube was in unsubtitled Spanish, and, being a dialogue-heavy movie, was very difficult to follow. It looks amusing enough at times, but it’s really impossible for me to make a judgment call on this one. I couldn’t help but notice one thing, though; when Cantinflas disguises himself in a fake beard, he has an uncanny resemblance to Ross Martin disguised in a fake beard.