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There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

"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.

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!

Although loosely based on a play by Leslie Bush-Fekete, "Pepe" is really a Hollywood showcase for Mexico's reigning comedy clown Cantinflas, who had been so good in "Around the World In Eighty Days" four years prior. However, Cantinflas doesn't have the chops to carry a lengthy movie all on his own, and nothing (not even an eye-popping art direction) can save the floundering results. Director and co-producer George Sidney appears to be trying to top "Eighty Days" in the star-cameos department; unfortunately, whereas that earlier film dropped in celebrity faces in the guise of different story characters, Sidney utilizes this group of celebrities as themselves in and around Hollywood. Sometimes this works (Jack Lemmon, Janet Leigh, Kim Novak) and sometimes it backfires (Judy Garland, who sings but doesn't even appear; Debbie Reynolds, who dances but only in long-shot; Bobby Darin, who sings but doesn't even get properly introduced). Edward G. Robinson, playing himself as a tough sonuvabitch one minute and an old softie the next, looks completely unsure of himself, and with good reason: this script is a mess. Cantinflas opens the picture with some fancy footwork in a Mexican bullring, but once he lands in Los Angeles (in search of the horse he brought up from a colt) he turns into a comical dummy. The team of screenwriters are not sure who they want Pepe to be: gallant hero, bighearted animal lover, or clueless flunky who keeps getting in the way (even interrupting a dramatic dance sequence because he actually thinks someone might get hurt!). The Las Vegas sequence is simply there to show off the Sands and Sinatra's Clan, but it gets the film nowhere. Shirley Jones tries her best with a ridiculous role of a waitress/dancer with a grudge against Hollywood, while Dan Dailey looks and acts sour as a director on the comeback trail. Worst of all is Cantinflas, who has Sidney to blame for what amounts to a disastrous starring performance. Acting stupid for a laugh doesn't create a character--and it doesn't create laughs for long--yet Cantinflas keeps milking the same, dumb one-note: the ignorant peasant who doesn't even know Americans say "Cheers" when they toast drinks. This is a picture so blind to the real world that even the fantasy bits are bummers. *1/2 from ****

I would really love to get a copy of this movie because I saw this movie as a child and I am 51 years old and although I can't remember a lot of the movie, I remember the Name of it, and Debbie Reynolds singing the song "pepe" and thinking that was the Best Movie I had ever seen. They Do Not Make Movies Like They Used To. A Lot of Wonderful Actors & Actresses in this Show.