Embarrassing comedy that contains crazy events , laughs , amusement and absurd situations . The film begins with a prologue with a voice-over and drawings by the great cartoonist Antonio Mingote. Summer is here and the most awaited moment of the year: holidays . Finally, Evaristo goes to the beach with the whole family and confirms his opinion that he works much more during the holidays than the rest of the year. Three couples live in Madrid who plan their vacations in the month of August. Filo (Gracita Morales) and Evaristo (Antonio Ozores) go to Benidorm to enjoy the beach . Jacinto (José Luis López Vázquez), must stay in the office, but vacations mean losing sight of his wife and children and imagining wild nights. Jacinto owner of a women's beauty business, intends to stay behind 'Rodríguez' to party away from his wife (Perla Cristal) . For his part , Máximo (Alfredo Landa)decides to go to the mountains with his wife Dorotea (Julieta Serrano) to see if he can meet some absent-minded foreigner. Along the way , Máximo discovers the charms of a neighbour , the gorgeous next girl door called Patricia (Erika Wallner) .
Typical Spanish comedy with a choral casting in a rather light holiday story about the tourist boom in the 60s Spanish period , also dealing with issues of middle-class family and other addictions . And being full of frivolity , egoism , duplicity , adultery and deceits . Humor is sometimes cheesy and disconcerting with numerous naughty and picaresque situations such as jokes , adulteries , jealousy , and slightly erotic scenes . The film attempts to give laughs and it works here and there , resulting in an amusing though failed film. It is a mediocre and silly picture and it lacks sparkle , mayhem and madness of the other Spanish comedies . ¨40-degree to the shade¨or ¨40 grados a la sombra¨ film criticizes the ordinary summer holidays that couples and children spend in various locations , some of them to the mountains , others to the beach and others to work . Some of them, moved by sexual desires , try to take advantage of the absence of their relative or the appearance of another good-looking one to enjoy the summer period in a playful-sexual way and others suffer more than enjoy the idyllic vacations . As a whole, the movie has some fun moments , especially the adventures of the peculiar couple formed by Antonio Ozores and Gracita Morales, but it could go much further given its cast and the humorous variants in environments and characters that could be created by relying on sexual farce , funny events , satire and misunderstanding . Written by Mariano Ozores himself and uncredited the prolific Alfonso Paso , based on a story by Elena Tarche , creating in this film a socio-traditional document on summer vacations with a hilarious tone , choral protagonism and alternating summer scenes shot in Villalba, Madrid, Becerril de la sierra, Madrid, Benidorm, Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana and Navacerrada, Madrid . Made in the style of ¨Fernando Merino's Amor-a-la-espanola (1967)¨ , ¨Verano 70¨ by Tedro Lazaga or the subsequent ¨Pedro Lazaga's Tres suecas para tres Rodríguez (1975)¨ contains comedic events and dealing with family customs , showing typical sunny images in the Sixties . Nice performances from a large cast but is the character played by José Luis López Vázquez who poses as a gay to take clients fot his beauty saloon , this role could influence the one played by Alfredo Landa in "No Desearás Al Vecino Del Quinto", the latter considered to be the most boxoffice film in Spanish cinema . And Erika Wallner who steals the show as the charming , gorgeous young who seduces to married Alfredo Landa. Highlights , above all, a great plethora of notorious actors playing attractive roles , mainly formed by the married couples : Gracita Morales-Antonio Ozores , Alfredo Landa-Julieta Serrano , José Luis López Vázquez-Perla Cristal, and furthermore : Xan das Bolas, Rafael Hernández, José Manuel Martín, Julio Riscal, Laly Soldevila, Rogelio Madrid , Venancio Muro , Goyo Lebrero , among others.
This run-of-the-mill motion picture produced in medium budget was regularly written and directed by Mariano Ozores and made in his habitual style with his trademarks . Mariano directed a large number of comedies and in 1964 shot a Sci-fi flick : La hora incognita . As Mariano Ozores wrote , produced and directed the former movie, but was a real flop and he was bankrupt. Then Mariano promised at the future only to make comedies . Although it won prize of the National Syndicate of Spectacle to best actor José Luis Ozores and Best artistic Achievement . Mariano recently won a Goya Award (2016) to his long and fruitful career . Ozores made with two famous comedians , -Fernando Esteso and Andres Pajares- several successful films , as they had various years partnership between the two leads , such as ¨Agitese Antes Usarla¨ , ¨Al Este Del Oeste¨, ¨Los Liantes¨, ¨Los Energeticos¨, ¨La Lola Lleva Al Huerto¨ , ¨El Currante¨ , ¨El Hijo Del Cura¨...these films are filled with humor that still holds up , especially for those not easily offended . Mariano directed 93 films , most of them were comedies , though made some dramas as "Alegre Juventud" and "Las Dos y Media y veneno" with José Luis Ozores. Mariano directed a lot of comedies for the greatest Spanish comedians as Paco Martinez Soria , José Luis López Vázquez , Lina Morgan , Alfredo Landa , Jose Sacristán and the successful duo : Fernando Esteso and Andrés Pajares. Rating : 5/10 . Mediocre but amusing .
