In "Cantinflas and the Chaos of Mexican Modernity", Professor Jeffrey M. Pilcher questioned the idea of the film portraying a symphatetic policeman, noting that at the time, corruption within the Mexico City police reached new highs under chief of police Arturo "El Negro" Durazo, who was under indictment in the United States for drug trafficking, and accused Cantinflas of "pathetically selling out his beloved old "gendarme" character to the power elite."