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5.1/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.1/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Tamale Vendor remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a soft spot for pre-code era shorts that move at a frantic pace, you might dig The Tamale Vendor. It’s barely a blip on the radar of cinema history. If you need a cohesive plot or characters who act like actual human beings, you’re going to hate every single second of this.
Honestly, watching this feels like digging through a shoebox of old black-and-white photos you didn’t take. It’s grainy, it’s loud, and the acting is purely about who can gesture the most wildly.
The whole thing centers on this guy just trying to sell his goods, but the movie refuses to let him have a peaceful moment. Charles Judels is doing a lot of heavy lifting with his face. There’s a specific look he gives when a deal goes south that is just perfectly grumpy. 🤨
The pacing is a nightmare, but in a fun way. It jumps from one gag to the next without even checking if the audience caught the last one. It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in The 'High Sign', though with significantly less Buster Keaton-level brilliance.
There is this one moment where the camera lingers on a tray of tamales for way too long. I’m not sure if the prop department was just really proud of them or if the editor fell asleep. It becomes this weird, quiet centerpiece for a movie that is otherwise just yelling and running around.
It’s not a masterpiece. It’s barely a movie. It’s a curiosity. Sometimes you just need to watch a guy lose his marbles over a food cart for ten minutes to reset your brain after watching something heavy like A Ship Comes In.
Don't look for deep meaning here. You won't find it. Just watch the hat fall off. Again. 🎩