Luis Escobar Movies
Born the Marquis of Las Marisimas del Guadalquivir, Luis Escobar was among the very few Spanish aristocrats to involve himself in the entertainment industry. The versatile Escobar found success on both stage and screen as a writer, director, producer, and a performer, though he was most famed for his theatrical work, notably his 1949 production of José Zorrilla's Don Juan Tenorio, which featured costume and production designs by renowned surrealist Salvador Dali. As an actor, Escobar achieved his greatest fame playing nobleman Marquis of Leguineche in Luis Garcia Berlanga's trio of political satires, La Escopeta Nacional/National Shotgun (1978), Patrimonio Nacional/National Patrimony (1980), and Nacional III/National III (1982). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
According to Spanish legend, every All Souls Eve, the ghost of the legendary lover Don Juan Tenorio rises up from purgatory to walk the earth in hopes of doing the single good deed necessary for him to be freed from limbo. Unfortunately, though Don Juan has risen 450 times since his death, he has yet to succeed. This erotic Spanish comedy begins on the last day in October in 1990 and chronicles the great lover's latest try. Though times keep changing, Don Juan's distinctive garb does not and he seems out of place on the streets of modern Seville. Luckily, he stumbles across a local production of the play Don Juan. The temperamental actor happens to look just like the real Don Juan and a mix-up leads to the real McCoy playing himself on stage. The other cast members are puzzled at the sudden change in the lead actor from arrogant, egotistical cad to amiable charmer. He goes on to give a stunning performance. Meanwhile, the actor gets his own comeuppance at the hands of a beautiful robber. Things really get to hopping later in the evening at the cast party when both the actor and the real Don are there at the same time. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juan Luis Galiardo, Maria Barranco, (more)
- 1987
In this comedy, a manufacturer of turrón, a candy which resembles the honey-almond confection halvah, wants to promote it outside the regions of southern Spain where it is a traditional Christmas treat. It is particularly associated with a festival during which the wars between the Christians and the Moors are ritually reenacted. The manufacturer and his sons travel to a Madrid food festival to sell, sell, sell. The father also persuades his reluctant daughter, a woman with political ambitions, to use her connections to help promote their candy. With some difficulty, they garner a mention in a women's weekly magazine and on a television program. In a macabre comedy scene, having returned home, the manufacturer dies and is put in a coffin that is too small and is paraded down the street during the aforementioned festival in Alicante. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernando Fernán Gómez, Andres Pajares, (more)
- 1987
This musical comedy stars the popular Spanish group Los Hombres G (The G Men). Lead singer David Summers falls for a college coed before he dumps her for two-timing him. Comedy relief is provided by drummer Javier Molina, often referred to as a Spanish John Belushi. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Summers, Javier Molina, (more)
- 1986
The depth of bonding between young Santiago (Juan Diego Botto) and his dying grandfather, as well as his grandfather's foreman Teo, underlies this interesting drama. After Santiago and his family arrive at his grandfather's farm, the elderly gentleman dies but not before telling his grandson a secret. On the one hand, Santiago is the heir to his grandfather's farm, and on the other, he may just have a special relationship to Teo (Alvaro de Luna), his grandfather's foreman. The little boy has a few playmates in his cousins who live on the farm with their parents, and he follows his idol Teo around with a child's admiration for his strength and unique personality. But when tragedy steps into the picture, Santiago's faith in Teo is put to the test. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alvaro de Luna, Juan Diego Botto, (more)
- 1982
Based on a 1943 book of the same title by Camilo José Cela, Colmena features the comings and goings of a wide variety of characters, all trying to survive in a poverty-stricken Madrid during World War II. Rather than feature any single story line, these people from all walks of life cross paths almost randomly as they come to a café to sip their one cup of coffee and work on a book, or pick up a prostitute, or get their shoes shined, or play billiards, or just warm themselves on a cold winter's day. This primary setting is complemented by a brothel where a dirt-poor journalist sleeps if there is a room available that night, while during the day he tries to make ends meet one way or another. The demeanor of the people in the café or in the brothel effectively conveys the atmosphere of a long-lost era that may have had hardships but also brought a subtle sense of camaraderie to very disparate human beings. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victoria Abril, Ana Belén, (more)
- 1981
This is the third film in a sequence that started in 1978, about the Marquis de Leguineches, his hopeless son Luis José, his mistress/servant Viti, and in this instance, a Catholic priest. The Marquis has been living in Madrid since he lost his villa, and when his father-in-law dies, the family gets together and that becomes a catalyst for thinking more directly about their future. This leads to the Marquis' decision to leave Spain with the family's money, yet it will be difficult to cross the border without having their wealth confiscated by the authorities. So the Marquis fakes a broken leg and stashes the wealth inside his cast on a journey to Lourdes to seek a miracle. Unfortunately, France is no more amenable than Spain to the wealthy aristocracy since Mitterand's socialist government has just been elected into power. Between his unwieldy cast, the crazy family members, and the problem of where to go next to keep his fortune intact, the Marquis has a rough time of it. The repartée among the Marquis' family members and friends will entertain most audiences, but the originality of the 1978 family has worn thin by now and will be difficult to stretch into yet another episode in the future. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luis Escobar, Amparo Soler Leal, (more)
- 1981
Enrique (Enrique del Pozo) and Ana (Ana Anguita) are two popular singers-turned-actors in this adventure story of the evil Baron Von Nekrus and his minions who are intent on becoming masters of the world, and the two youngsters who are out to stop him. Ana's good-hearted grandfather has been imprisoned by the Baron so he can extract his scientific knowledge, and now Ana and Enrique have joined a musical group called the Coconuts to go on tour and in that guise to infiltrate the Baron's headquarters. They are accompanied by their nanny and tutor Castaneta (Amparo Soler Leal) and an African explorer named Stanley (José Lifante). Against all odds, they get into the Baron's stronghold and free the grandfather -- but it does look very much like the nasty Baron will escape to continue with his nefarious plots in a sequel. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luis Escobar
- 1980
A Marquis (Luis Escobar) suddenly becomes inspired to reclaim his palace, now gone to seed, right in the heart of Madrid. He and his son head for the city, without taking into account that his wife, the aged Marquesa is thoroughly ensconsed in the palace, has been for more than 40 years, and has no intention of leaving. In order to settle the issue, the Marquis decides to get his wife committed - not an unreasonable proposition given the fact that she has preferred to stay in bed all these years. Variously eccentric characters pop in and out of the palace as the Marquis tries to implement his plan, without much success. The Marquesa, in turn, manages to force him and her former lover into a duel in the garden and pulls out a shotgun to put them out of their misery and her life. Things backfire, so to speak, and the Spanish State comes into the picture, perhaps it will have more success where its old - very old - aristocracy has failed to measure up. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luis Escobar, José Luis Lopez Vasquez, (more)
- 1979
A British writer goes to live in a Spanish village while he looks into the mysterious life of a 19th century wanderer who was allegedly slain by La Sabina, a mythical lady dragon. The writer becomes lovers with an American visitor and then falls in love with an enigmatic beauty from town. Things get really confusing when the writer's good friend arrives with his wife. When the writer's all-out campaign to seduce the local woman fails, tragedy ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carol Kane, Jon Finch, (more)
- 1978
Few sacred cows go un-gored in this satirical Spanish movie. In Spain, as in England, instead of getting together over a round of golf, it is customary for the power elite to gather at a country estate for a long weekend of "hunting," which basically consists of standing in one spot shooting at game which is being driven toward the hunters. Between shots, the elite converse. In the story, a Catalan businessman pays an impoverished nobleman for the use of his country estate and its game. He is hosting this party to win the goodwill of a group of investors whom he hopes will back one of his schemes. Sprinkled among the businessmen are some more twisted types, every one of them a genuine aristocrat or the member of some government or other -- even a dictator in exile from his Latin American country. A powerful but disapproving priest surveys the scene with outspoken scorn. When the businessman learns that he has backed the wrong horse, and that a new government is being formed, he scrambles to curry favor with those few of his guests who are part of the next group to come to power. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jose Sazatornil, Antonio Ferrandis, (more)
- 1959
Britain's Michael Powell, co-creator of the international success The Red Shoes (48), returns to the world of ballet for the Spanish/English coproduction Honeymoon. Prima ballerina Ludmilla Tcherina stars as an ex-dancer who marries Anthony Steel and heads to a new life in Spain. The call of her muse is strong indeed, as are the charms of a handsome male dancer (Antonio), and Ludmilla is sorely tempted to renounce her current existence and return to the ballet. The dramatic portion of the film is for the birds, but the two ballet highlights (from Los Amantes de Teruel and El Amor Brujo) are worth a few moment's attention. The original Spanish title of Honeymoon was Luna de Miel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
