School for Tramps

Directed by Rogelio A. González, this Mexican musical comedy is considered one of the best known works of the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema, adapting its screenplay from the 1938 American screwball comedy Merrily We Live. Famous composer Alberto Medina's car breaks down on a business trip, and while looking for a telephone he arrives at the Valverde household and meets Doña Emilia, a well meaning woman known for taking in every tramp who comes her way. Mistaken for a tramp through a series of misunderstandings, Alberto ends up working as the family's chauffeur and falls for Susi, who finds him rude but attractive. The film won two Ariel Awards in 1955, for Best Supporting Actress and Best Young Performance. Some scenes were shot at an exclusive club in Mexico City's Coyoacán district that was synonymous with the era's high society and remains in operation today. For Pedro Infante, this came in the middle of the years when he was the Golden Age's biggest star, the same year he won the Best Actor Ariel for a different film. His co star Miroslava Stern took her own life that March, at twenty nine. Who it's for: Anyone curious about Golden Age Mexican comedy and Pedro Infante at his peak. Who it's not for: Viewers expecting modern comic pacing may struggle to settle into the soft screwball rhythm of the 1950s.