Gran Casino (aka En el viejo Tampico). 1947. Mexico. Directed by Luis Buñuel. Written by Mauricio Magdaleno and Edmundo Baez. With Jorge Negrete, Libertad Lamarque, Meche Barba. In Spanish; English subtitles. 35mm. 85 min.
Invited to Mexico by the producer Oscar Dancigers (himself a Jewish refugee from the Nazis), Bunuel found himself blessed with two of Latin America’s most prominent entertainers for his first feature – the immensely popular ranchera crooner Jorge Negrete and the Argentinian tango singer Libertad Lamarque. Despite major stars and a commercial premise – Negrete and Lamarque team up to save an independent oil field from greedy capitalists – the expensive film was a flop and nearly derailed Bunuel’s Mexican career before it had begun. There’s little overtly surrealistic here – apart from a brilliant running gag that always finds Negrete’s backup trio lurking nearby when he strikes up a song – but the film’s high sprits are infectious.