“Allá en el Rancho Grande marks the beginning of a quite vigorous genre, that of the rural comedy which, to this date, continues to be exploited by the Mexican cinema. The action of the film is located on the classical ‘hacienda' or ranch, an anachronistic, medieval survival of the European castle in bucolic surroundings. The plot of this film revolves around feudal rights out of which arise the conflicts among the landowner, the foreman, and the foreman's sweetheart. This conflict is punctuated by feasts, music and song.
“...a landmark film in the... 1930s. The inferior quality of the majority of Mexican films of this period kept the public away from movie houses. The desire to produce films had diminished among the few producers who were daring enough to risk it since financial losses were very difficult to recoup. De Fuentes, with his previous experience as a director, administrator of the Cine Olympia, writer and editor, had vision enough to adapt the plot for a mass audience. The film was premiered at an aristocratic movie house, The Alameda - a theater that was dedicated to the exclusive showing of foreign films. The film enjoyed considerable success with the public and provided the impetus for more Mexican productions, especially more ‘rancheras.'
“The social and political situation of the country in those years explains some of this phenomenon.... These are the times of the government of Lazaro Cardenas and of agrarian reform. The public... feared the present as well as the future. It longed for a... protective and certain world which the film... embodies....”