If you are familiar with the work of Roberto Gómez Bolaños (aka Chespirito, El Chavo, El Chapulín Colorado, El Chanfle, etc.), especially with his immensely popular TV series among adults and children in Latin America called "El Chavo del 8" (after the character he played), you may recognize the script for this film (based on a screen story also written by him) as the basis for that series. In "El dolor de pagar la renta" most of the action and characters are developed in a tenant house and its main common area, the central patio with a water fountain. In both the film and the TV series, all the families and single tenants are very poor, and in the film one of the leading characters (played by Capulina, of the comedy team Viruta and Capulina) tries to help a little boy who needs an operation so he can walk again, but Capulina gets in trouble when Viruta and everybody else believe he is a thief. Apart from this basic plot there are funny clashes between a few characters that live in the same building, but the principal enemies are the high cost of living (hence the title of the film) and the owners of the house Don Próspero (Mr. Prosperous) and his over-weight wife Mrs. Robusta, and their acolytes. For the television program, Bolaños would further develop the character of the tenants, increasing their levels of nastiness, abuse and social criticism to the point of absurdity, making it all very funny. The Viruta and Capulina comedy is softer, tamer, and extremely sentimental, a tone that was practically absent in the acid "Chavo del 8." Bolaños was still developing his writing skills and his own comic persona, working for the couple of vaudeville comedians whose career together lasted until the mid-1960s, when they separated in bitter terms.
2 Reviews
The Hilarious Forerunner of Roberto Gómez Bolaños' "El Chavo del Ocho"
biblicalepicfan29 October 2012
"El dolor de pagar la renta" ("The Pain of Paying Rent") is one of the first films that Roberto Gómez Bolaños, also known as "Chespirito", wrote for the popular double act Viruta y Capulina. The film's plot, screenplay, and gags authentically resemble the comedy shown in Roberto Gómez Bolaños' later work, the sitcom "El Chavo del Ocho" (1972-1980).
The film was shot at Estudios Churubusco in 1959, as were all productions of Miguel Zacarías. The set used as Viruta and Capulina's neighborhood was also used as Cantinflas' carpentry workplace in his 1961 Eastmancolor film, "El analfabeto".
The supporting cast is outstanding. Among them is Miguel Suárez who plays the neighborhood landlord Don Próspero, and who later appeared as La India María's stingy grandfather in "Duro pero seguro" in 1978. Mercedes Ruffino, who appeared in Victor Fleming's 1942 "Tortilla Flat", is very funny as Don Próspero's wife, Robusta. Celia Viveros, Amparo Arozamena, Julián de Meriche, Tito Novaro, Miguel Córcega, Guillermo Hernández and the leading ladies Lilia Guízar, Norma Lazareno, and Rosa Cué also give great performances.
The film was shot at Estudios Churubusco in 1959, as were all productions of Miguel Zacarías. The set used as Viruta and Capulina's neighborhood was also used as Cantinflas' carpentry workplace in his 1961 Eastmancolor film, "El analfabeto".
The supporting cast is outstanding. Among them is Miguel Suárez who plays the neighborhood landlord Don Próspero, and who later appeared as La India María's stingy grandfather in "Duro pero seguro" in 1978. Mercedes Ruffino, who appeared in Victor Fleming's 1942 "Tortilla Flat", is very funny as Don Próspero's wife, Robusta. Celia Viveros, Amparo Arozamena, Julián de Meriche, Tito Novaro, Miguel Córcega, Guillermo Hernández and the leading ladies Lilia Guízar, Norma Lazareno, and Rosa Cué also give great performances.
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