A brilliant and funny Spanish comedy about ordinary people and some swindlers, featuring endearing and sympathetic characterizations from a great cast of Spanish stars. Brother Pío (José Isbert), a 'limosnero' (beggar) for some nuns who run an orphanage, travels to Madrid with the statue of the Child Jesus to take it to the home of some patrons of the convent and collect alms. His problems begin on the train, where he meets a petty thief (Tony Leblanc) who has just finished serving a sentence, who, taking advantage of Brother Pío's naivety and good faith, steals the sculpture and also takes the list of patrons of the convent. With this valuable information, Lucio poses as Brother Pío's substitute and manages to get a considerable amount of money. Throughout, Lucio is pursued by his former accomplices, El Pecas (José Calvo) and Antolín (José Morales) who also want to take part of the loot. And by a policeman (Alfredo Mayo), Lucio's old childhood friend, who sees that he is still following his old ways and that the criminal regeneration he preaches is not such. Now, Brother Pío's objective is to get what is his and for this purpose he will undertake a twisted adventure in order to recover the image of the Child Jesus. To overcome the fatalities and emerge unscathed from the situations that arise, he can only trust in the presumed good faith of Don Lucio.
This pleasant film is about two attractive characters, a kind 'Limosnero' (beggar) and a small-time con man, an ex-convict who carries out many small frauds and robberies but things will inevitably go wrong for him. The captivating film contains absurd incidents, funny plot twists, ironic, grotesque situations and, above all, it contains touches of humor and irony that are especially striking. It's a strange middle ground between the completely implausible and the elegantly funny, but the results are quite good, so much so that it can be considered one of the best comedies of the early sixties, especially because of the wonderful group of actors who lead this graceful comedy. There are some very nice moments in the film and the cast, who bring eccentric characters to life, fit together very well, in fact the great José Isbert and the expert comedian Tony Leblanc are at their peak, providing sparkling acting chemistry. For this you need a simple concept, a shameless rogue performing petty thefts and tricks, together with an honest but naive veteran, who just wants to do good deeds and help ordinary people. The performances of the two main characters are fabulous, José Isbert at his best as a kindly lay brother who goes to Madrid to collect alms for his orphanage, while Tony Leblanc splendidly plays a small-time swindler, the latter deservedly winning the 1960 National Showbiz Union Award for Best Male Star.
It is a comic and sometimes disconcerting account of a group of people from a lower class from a personal, social, cultural and economic point of view, because they need - especially the role played by Tony Leblanc - all of them, urgently, a quantity of money to solve their troubled lives, and in the meantime they get involved in many twists and turns and ridiculous incidents. Along with these two already mythical figures - Isbert and Leblanc - there is a large cast in the familiar cast with many well-known faces of the time, all of them participating in brief performances or cameos, among which I would highlight the following: Fernando Rey, Alfredo Mayo, José Calvo, Gracita Morales, Ana María Custodio, Manuel Arbó, Tony Soler, Francisco Bernal, Josefina Serratosa, José Sepúlveda, Carmen Porcel, Maite Blasco, Mary Paz Pondal, Margarita Lozano, among others.
The feature film displays atmospheric original music by composer Manuel Parada. As well as evocative and brilliant photography by the illustrious cameraman Alfredo Fraile who also produced the film, the shooting being done in Madrid. The film was directed professionally and competently by José Antonio Nieves Conde, a director of great quality. He was a decent craftsman, expert in drama and comedy, a notorious producer, filmmaker, writer and with a penchant for social denunciation. His film debuts were three police dramas: ¨Senda Ignorada¨, ¨Angustia¨ and ¨Llegada De Noche¨. He then directed a successful religious film: ¨Balarrasa¨. Being known for his greatest success: ¨Surcos¨ which obtained several nominations and awards, such as: Cannes Film Festival 1952 Nominated Grand Prize of the José Antonio Nieves Conde Festival; Awards of the Circle of Film Writers, Spain 1952 Winner of the CEC Award, Best Film, Best Actor of Best Supporting Actor Félix Dafauce, Best Supporting Actress Marisa de Leza, Best Director National Union of Entertainment José Antonio Nieves Conde. This great director José Antonio Nieves Conde made films of all kinds of genres. Some suggestive and melancholic dramas: "El Inquilino", "Surcos", religious cinema: "Balarrasa", "Cotolay", exciting dramatic stories: "Casa Manchada", "Más Alla del deseo", "Marta", "Historia una Traición", Comedy: "Don Lucio and Brother Pío", "Prohibido Enamorarse", an anti-communist film: "Legión del Silencio", an anthology film in co-production: "Jack El Negro" and even Horror: "Sounds of Terror". Don Lucio and Brother Pío rating: 7.5/10. A film above average within the limited circle of Spanish cinema of the time. The film will appeal to fans of 1960s Spanish comedy as well as fans of José Isbert and Tony Leblanc.
