''El miedo no anda en burro'' (Fear Doesn't Ride a Donkey) is a 1976 Mexican comedy horror film directed by

Fernando Cortés Fernando "Papi" Cortés (October 4, 1909 – 1979) was a Puerto Rican film actor, writer and director. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but he spent most of his adult life in Mexico City, where he died. On 1932, while in New York City, Fe ...

and starring

María Elena Velasco María Elena Velasco Fragoso (17 December 1940 – 1 May 2015) was a Mexican actress, comedian, singer-songwriter and dancer. She is best known for creating and portraying La India María, a comical character based on indigenous Mexican women. E ...

Eleazar García Eleazar García Sáenz (September 28, 1924 – August 24, 1999) was a Mexican character actor best remembered as Antonio Aguilar's comic sidekick. Eleazar originally is from a ranch called, El Rancho de Los Guerras, current municipality of ...

Fernando Luján Fernando Luján (born Fernando Ciangherotti Díaz; August 23, 1938 – January 11, 2019) was a Mexican actor. He was a star of the silver screen in classic mexican films during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. His father; Alejandro Ciangherotti ...

Emma Roldán Emma Roldán (February 3, 1893 – August 29, 1978) was a Mexican character actress and costume designer. She is remembered as the sharp-tongued, domineering matron of Mexican cinema, and was nominated three times for a Silver Ariel Award. ...

and

Óscar Ortiz de Pinedo Óscar Ortiz de Pinedo (November 2, 1910 – December 13, 1978) was a Cuban character actor best remembered for his numerous roles as eccentric businessmen. Married to actress Lupita Pallás, he was the father of famous comedian Jorge Ortiz ...

. Literally, the title is an idiom used to express that fear strikes quickly, not calmly as if on top of a donkey. The film is one of the most successful comedies of the India María franchise, having remained in the Cine Metropolitan for an astounding nineteen weeks. In the film, the death of a wealthy woman is expected to benefit her greedy relatives. Her will actually leaves her entire estate to her pet dog, and entrusts her loyal maid to be its caretaker. The dead woman's family make several attempts to kill both the dog and its caretaker. During a vacation at a supposedly haunted house, the caretaker encounters several monsters. The monsters are actually the villains in disguise, preparing another murder attempt.

Plot

María Nicolasa Cruz is doña Clarita's loyal indigenous maid. However, doña Clarita is dying, and she is leaving behind a large monetary estate, a mansion, properties, and Mimí: her affectionate

Shih Tzu The Shih Tzu (, ; literally " Hsi Shih dog") is a toy dog breed originating from Tibet and was bred from the Pekingese and the Lhasa Apso. Shih Tzus are known for their short snouts and large round eyes, as well as their long coat, floppy ea ...

dog. María is with doña Clarita during her last moments, albeit her sister Paz, brother Marciano, nephew Braulio, and grandsons Raul and Laura are waiting anxiously downstairs for her death, believing they will inherit all her riches. Doña Clarita finally dies at the hand of a corrupt doctor employed by her own relatives, and María inconsolably goes downstairs to the living room to deliver the news. As expected, María finds none of doña Clarita's relatives mourning her death. Believing she is of no use anymore, doña Clarita's relatives (or "The Vultures" as María calls them) fire María, therefore she decides to return to her native hometown. Marciano, Paz, Braulio, Raul, and Laura meet with the notary to hear Doña Clarita's will. To everyone's surprise, the will only mentions Mimí (the dog), and María as her guardian. The family members go back to stop María from leaving the mansion. The "''zopilotes''" (vultures, María's nickname for Doña Clarita's family) convince María to stay in the mansion to take care of Mimí as her new guardian. The "''zopilotes''" try several times to kill María along with Mimí but their attempts go awry. Until Marciano feeds Mimí a piece of meat with an explosive inside. Before Mimí eats it, María takes it from her and cooks it for the afternoon meal. Braulio, unfortunately, receives the piece of meat and after cutting it, the explosive goes off. Mimí's ears were gravely affected. The doctor advises María to go on a vacation with Mimí - to Doña Clarita's old vacation house in Guanajuato. Upon arrival, María and Mimí are scared by the butler Franki who guides them through the ''haunted'' house. Both María and Mimí survive two scary hands, a cyclops, a giant talking frog, a fern monster, a werewolf, and many more horrific things. To María's surprise, she discovers that those scary characters are the "''zopilotes''". They catch them and put them in a squishing torture machine. María and Mimí, on the verge of death, are saved by Franki who was a detective investigating Doña Clarita's murder - committed by her family members. María with all these surprises asks Franki, whose real name is Maldonado, permission to faint on the floor. As she does, Marciano, Paz, Braulio, Raul, and Laura end up arrested for homicide.

Cast

as María Nicolasa Cruz *

as Braulio *

as Raúl *

as doña Paz *

(in his final film role before his death in 1978) as don Marciano * Gloria Mayo as Laura * Alfredo Wally Barrón as Frankie / Maldonado (credited as Wally Barron) * José Cibrián Jr. as American tourist * Antonio Bravo as Doctor *

Carlos Bravo y Fernández Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewher ...

as Notary *

Alfonso Zayas Juan Alfonso Zayas Inclán (30 June 1941 – 8 July 2021), better known as Alfonso Zayas, was a Mexican actor and comedian. He was best known for his participation in many Cinema of Mexico, Mexican sex comedy, sex comedies. In Mexico, Zayas partic ...

as Policeman * Mimí as herself (Eleazar García "Chelelo" was her owner)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Miedo no anda en Burro 1976 films 1976 comedy horror films Mexican comedy horror films Haunted house films Films set in country houses Films set in Mexico Films about inheritances Films about dogs Films about vacationing