PEPITO Y EL MONSTRUO (1957)
aka Pepito and the Monster
Article 4836 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 5-29-2015
Directed by Joselito Rodriguez
Featuring Pepe Romay, Titina Romay, Prudencia Grifell
Country: Mexico
What it is: Child detective at work

A young boy witnesses the disposal of a body by a magician and his brutish assistant, but is not believed by the police. He seeks to find evidence on his own.

I found a copy of this on YouTube without English subtitles, but I think the general thrust of the plot is easy enough to follow, even if certain plot details seem a little obscure. Pepe Romay seems to have been a popular child actor who appeared in several movies in the character of Pepito. Though the child is no doubt lovable and cute, I was a bit surprised that the movie doesn’t play as a comedy, as far as I could tell without understanding the dialogue. There are the usual musical interludes; I’m finding that it’s actually pretty unusual to find a Mexican movie from this era that doesn’t have a musical interlude or two. The monster is the brutish assistant, who even appears in a gorilla suit at one point. Though the absence of English makes any judgment I make somewhat flawed, the movie seems rather mediocre.