The Great Madcap

El Gran Calavera a dark comedy directed by Luis Buñuel deals with a family's attempt to change the spending habit of the indulgent and hedonistic patriarch, Alfredo (Luis Alconira). The family decides to try to fool him into spending less by telling him that his large fortune is gone. He discovers that this is a ruse but -- in order to teach his family that they are all worthless and lazy and to vindicate his own reputation -- he continues to feign ignorance while sneaking off during the day to conduct his very prosperous business. Since he had not made a film since L'Age d'Or in 1930, this was Buñuel's comeback film, and it provided enough box office and critical acceptance to reestablish him as a filmmaker. (Linda Rasmussen: All Movie Guide)