National Heritage
After General Franco’s death, the Leguineches leave their estate, Los Tejadillos, where they have lived in voluntary exile for decades, to go back to Madrid and take active part in the social gatherings of the nobility and get nearer to the Spanish monarch’s inner circle. The old Marquess’ obsession focuses on mingling with the most distinguished surnames, moving up the social ladder and reclaiming the pomp and court life they lost a long time before. To achieve that, he decides to move to an old palace of his, which is in the centre of the capital. Before that, however, he has to overcome the difficulties posed by his wife, who hates both her husband and her son deeply. To regain control of the palace, the Marquess of Leguineche tries to undermine his wife, claiming she has an incurable mental illness, and then reform the palace to adapt it to aristocratic life.
But his plan falls through due to a series of unforeseen events: the demands of a tax inspector who claims payment of the income tax return for the previous 40 years; his son Luis José being arrested for trying to bribe a civil servant and the accidental death of the Marchioness in an absurd duel between Nacho, her ex-lover, and the Marquess. In the end, the Marquess of Leguineche accepts that the old ways don’t work anymore and, finally, turns the palace into a museum where the last vestiges of a long-lost aristocratic class can be admired.
Production: In-Cine Compañía Industria Cinematográfica, S.A. (Madrid) – Jet Films, S.A. (Barcelona).
Director: Luis García Berlanga.
Story and Screenplay: Luis García Berlanga and Rafael Azcona.
Director of Photography: Carlos Suárez (Eastmancolor).
Editor: José Luis Matesanz.
Set Decoration and Costumes: Román Arango and Pin Morales.
Executive Producer: Alfredo Matas.
Production Manager: José Manuel M. Herrero.
Production Chief: Ricardo Bonilla and Marisol Carnicero.
Assistant Director: Miguel Ángel Gil. Second Assistant Director: José Luis García Berlanga. Continuity: Raimundo García. Second Cameraman: Alfredo F. Mayo. Assistant Camera: Miguel Ángel Muñoz. Still photographer: Laureano López. Unit Production Manager: Juan de la Flor. Make-up Artist: José Antonio Sánchez. Hair Stylist: Paquita Núñez. Assistant Make-up Artist: José Quetglas. Sound Engineer: José Nogueira. Laboratory Sound Engineer: Francisco Péramos. Assistant Editor: Claudio García. Second Assistant Editor: Lucio Cortés. Second Assistant Camera: Pilar Catalán. Tailor: Mª Teresa García Trueba. Video Engineer: Manuel Martín. Cameras: Camararent, S.A. Carriages: Tecypro, S.A. Props: Mateos-Luna-Mengibar. Costume Design: Cornejo. Electrical Equipment and Material: Ricardo Arenas. Sound Studios: Tecnison, S.A. Laboratory: Madrid Film, S.A.
Cast
Luis Escobar (Marquess of Leguineche), José Luis López Vázquez (Luis José), Amparo Soler Leal (Chus), Agustín González (Father Calvo), Luis Ciges (Segundo), José Ruiz Lifante (Goyo), Mary Santpere (Countess Eugenia), Alfredo Mayo (Nacho), José Luis de Villalonga (Álvaro), Syliane Stella (Solange), Chus Lampreave (housekeeper), Pedro Beltrán (Chacón), Francisco Regueiro (liberal priest), Jaime Chávarri (palace guide), Carmen Santonja (palace servant), Gloria Van Aerssen (palace servant), Assumpta Serna (girl at the charity raffle), Óscar Ladoire (blind man), Antonio Mingote (royal guard), José Luis Alonso, Patricio Arnaiz, Julio Castronuovo, Rafael Diaz, Manuel Guitián, Myriam de Maeztu, Fausto Moreno, Silvia Murube, Julián Navarro, Adrián Ortega, Joaquín Pascual, Santiago Rivero, Cindy Roberts, Fernando Sala, Juan Daniel Wakonigg.
Awards
Filming Location
Madrid and Guadalajara.
More information
Release Date: 30 March 1981.
Designated as Special Quality.