You're Missing the Point, or Ahí está el detalle (Spanish, 'There's the rub', literally 'There lies the detail') is a 1940 Mexican comedy film starring Mario Moreno «Cantinflas». It was produced by Jesús Grovas and directed by Juan Bustillo Oro, who also co-wrote the screenplay. The film also features Joaquín Pardavé, Sara García, Sofía Álvarez, and Dolores Camarillo. It was the twelfth film in Cantinflas's career, considered one of his best by Mexican film critics, as well as one of Mexico's best films.
The film's sets were designed by the art director Carlos Toussaint.
Contents
Plot
Cantinflas is a fast-talking vagomundo who sneaks into a wealthy estate to eat gourmet kitchen scraps prepared by his girlfriend Paz, the household maid. One evening, a sudden crisis erupts: the family's prized but rabid dog, Bobby, goes wild, trapping the mansion's owner, Cayetano, inside. Paz issues Cantinflas an ultimatum: no food unless he disposes of the animal. Cantinflas reluctantly manages to shoot the dog, setting off a bizarre chain of linguistic misunderstandings.
Meanwhile, inside the main parlor, Cayetano's wife, Dolores, is cornered by her criminal ex-boyfriend—an extortionist who, by sheer coincidence, is also named Bobby. When the pathologically jealous Cayetano unexpectedly returns home early, the blackmailer slips away, but Cayetano catches Cantinflas hiding in the shadows. Desperate to hide her marital indiscretions, Dolores fabricates a lie on the spot, introducing the bewildered vagabond as her long-lost, aristocratic brother, Leonardo.
Cayetano, whose businesses are secretly facing bankruptcy, realizes that "Leonardo" holds the keys to a massive family inheritance. He immediately shifts from rage to sycophancy, pampering Cantinflas like royalty. Cantinflas eagerly exploits the luxury, but the scam spirals out of control when Leonardo’s actual common-law wife, Clotilde, arrives with a fleet of raucous children demanding financial support. Instantly spotting that Cantinflas is an imposter, the opportunistic Clotilde leverages the secret to blackmail him into a forced marriage.
Just as a terrified Cantinflas is about to be legally bound to Clotilde, the police raid the mansion and arrest him. It is revealed that Bobby the gangster has been murdered, and his stolen wallet was found in Cantinflas's possession. At his trial, a massive comedic cross-examination ensues: Cantinflas openly and proudly confesses to "killing Bobby," describing how he shot him like a wild animal. The courtroom, fully believing he is Leonardo confessing to the assassination of the extortionist, is horrified by his perceived ruthlessness. Just as the judge is about to hand down a death sentence, the real Leonardo emerges from hiding. He confesses to killing the gangster in self-defense, completely clearing the vagabond's name. Fully acquitted, Cantinflas happily returns to his old life, waiting outside the mansion gates for Paz's whistle to signal his next free meal.
Cast
Mario Moreno as Cantinflas
Joaquín Pardavé as Cayetano Lastre
Sofía Álvarez as Dolores del Paso
Dolores Camarillo as Paz
Sara García as Clotilde Regalado, Leonardo del Paso's mistress
Manuel Noriega as the Judge
Antonio R. Frausto as Cantinflas' lawyer
Agustín Isunza as a prosecutor who tries "Leonardo".
Antonio Bravo as Bobby Lechuga "The Fox Terrier"
Francisco Jambrina as the real Leonardo del Paso.
Conchita Gentil Arcos as Loretita
Joaquín Coss as the Magistrate
Eduardo Arozamena as the deaf judge
Rafael Icardo as the dim-witted policeman
Alfredo Varela, Jr. as the federal scribe
Ángel T. Sala as the inspector
Estanislao Shilinsky as the deaf judge's assistant
Max Langler as the policeman
Narciso Busquets as one of Clotilde and Leonardo's sons
Wilfrido Moreno as an extra
Production
The film was released under the title You're Missing the Point in the United States. You're Missing the Point was the first feature film in which Mario Moreno was the lead actor. Under the name of his character in this film, Cantinflas, he achieved fame and used it as his stage name and the name of his characters in other films. In this film, he changed the film's director Juan Bustillo Oro's conventional sense of humor by presenting himself as linguistically as well as in appearance as a man of the common people, instead of using high-quality Spanish. The film's last scene is based on true events involving Mexican criminal Álvaro Chapa, which inspired Cantinflas' form of speech for this film, also known as "cantinfleada". Bustillo Oro based it largely on his experience as a pro bono lawyer at the Cárcel de Belén. The film was completed in only three weeks, with the only problems arising from Cantinflas's improvisation over what he considered to be a poorly written script. In a comprehensive list of the 100 best Mexican films between 1919 and 1992, which was created by 25 film critics, filmmakers and historians and published on 16 July 1994 in the magazine Somos, You're Missing the Point was placed tenth. In 1950, the film was remade as Vivillo desde chiquillo.