Streetcar for Sale

This excellent short film written by the magnificent filmmaker duo of Luis García Berlanga and screenwriter Rafael Azcona was to be part of a series entitled Los Pícaros (The Rogues) which was never continued. These two artists were responsible for such masterpieces of Spanish cinema as Plácido and El verdugo (The Executioner). Here, Berlanga and Azcona collaborated for the first time, setting the stage for the post-war "Berlanguiana" vision that would develop. José Luis López Vázquez plays Julián, a seedy swindler, who with his cronies tries to sell a streetcar to a rich but naive farmer, a newcomer to the city. High jinx ensue. With this film begins the great stage of Berlanga's filmmaking in which he mixes a little social criticism and notes of anti-clericalism with a great deal of farce.

Cast

José Luis López Vázquez

Julián el Toribio

Antonio García Quijada

Felipe

María Luisa Ponte

Julia

Antonio Martínez

Víctima de la estafa

Goyo Lebrero

Próxima víctima

Chus Lampreave

Marujita

José María Tasso

Paco

Luis García Berlanga

Comprador de la baliza aerostática (uncredited)

Pedro Beltrán

Falso inspector

Luis Ciges

Manolo