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El signo de la muerte

  • 1939
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
160
YOUR RATING
Cantinflas in El signo de la muerte (1939)
DramaHorrorMystery

The story of a murder inspired by an ancient Aztec ritual in honor of Quetzalcoatl by a lost codes.The story of a murder inspired by an ancient Aztec ritual in honor of Quetzalcoatl by a lost codes.The story of a murder inspired by an ancient Aztec ritual in honor of Quetzalcoatl by a lost codes.

  • Director
    • Chano Urueta
  • Writers
    • José Benavides hijo
    • Francisco Elías
    • José Martínez de la Vega
  • Stars
    • Cantinflas
    • Manuel Medel
    • Carlos Orellana
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.8/10
    160
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Chano Urueta
    • Writers
      • José Benavides hijo
      • Francisco Elías
      • José Martínez de la Vega
    • Stars
      • Cantinflas
      • Manuel Medel
      • Carlos Orellana
    • 3User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos8

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    Top cast14

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    Cantinflas
    Cantinflas
    • Cantinflas
    Manuel Medel
    • Medel
    • (as Medel)
    Carlos Orellana
    Carlos Orellana
    • Dr. Gallardo
    Elena D'Orgaz
    • Lola Ponce
    Tomás Perrín
    • Carlos Manzano
    Max Langler
    • Matlatzín
    Matilde Corell
    • Tia Mati
    Elia D'Erzell
    • Alicia
    Alfonso Parra
    • El comisario
    Manuel Arvide
    • Jefe de redacción
    • (uncredited)
    Raúl Guerrero
    • Borracho de la comisaría
    • (uncredited)
    Rafael Icardo
    Rafael Icardo
    • El sablista
    • (uncredited)
    Aurora Ruiz
    • Cliente de adivino
    • (uncredited)
    María Luisa Serrano
    • Turista
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Chano Urueta
    • Writers
      • José Benavides hijo
      • Francisco Elías
      • José Martínez de la Vega
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews3

    5.8160
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    Featured reviews

    3zorrito1953

    Cantinflas before Cantinflas

    The movie is about an anthropologist/wizard trying to invoke an ancient legendary hero Quetzalcoatl. For those viewers not well informed about the Mexican Aztecs, many of the errors about the Aztecs portrayed in the movie will be overlooked. However, for those well informed, it will be a very hard pill to swallow. Unfortunately, I know enough about the Nahua Nations that the errors and stereotypes portrayed stuck out greatly. The movie is more focused around the plot to obtain 4 virgins for sacrificial offerings administered by the wizard. This is Mario Moreno's 3rd year in the movies. His debut was in 1937. Therefore, his Cantinflas character is still being developed. In this movie, Mario plays "Cantinflas" and is the anthropologist's assistant. Though his "way with words about talking and talking without saying anything" is apparent, his clothing is "normal" and not with the sagging pants nor tattered clothes. Again, the movie is centered around the plot and not around Cantinflas. What is unique about this movie is that a woman's full naked breasts are exposed and clearly visible in one of the sacrifices. The detective in the movie dropped the ratings even lower. He was assigned terrible acting parts or is a very bad actor. Whatever, if you want to see the Cantinflas character that is well known internationally, see his other movies.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Final film of Matilde Corell.
    • Goofs
      At approximately 20:24 there's a close-up of a newspaper, showing the want-ads page. The most prominent ad displays the services of an indigenous witch. You can see that the ad was probably printed separately and then glued on top of a real newspaper, since the gutter to the left is narrower where the ad is than that of the ads beneath. When set in type, a typesetter would have a single metal divider among text columns, which would produce a gutter with an equal width all along.
    • Connections
      Featured in Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (2021)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 23, 1939 (Mexico)
    • Country of origin
      • Mexico
    • Language
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • The Sign of Death
    • Production company
      • CISA
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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    By what name was El signo de la muerte (1939) officially released in Canada in English?
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