Thanks to Eddie Muller and the Film Noir Foundation, TCM viewers were treated this fall to a restoration of The Beast Must Die (aka. La Bestia Debe Morir).
This is a cleverly constructed murder mystery with a bevy of suspects, all with sufficient motive. But you could say that about a lot of movies.
Refreshingly, motivations in this one are clear and the movie is devoid of implausible coincidences or ''dumb people making dumb decisions." I was so absorbed that after a while I forgot I was watching a Spanish-language film with English subtitles.
The cast are uniformly excellent. Narciso Ibáñez Menta doesn't strike a single false note as the writer bent on revenge. I hope to see more of his work on TCM. As for Laura Hidalgo, her career was short, but you're not likely to forget her after seeing this movie. She is the very definition of smouldering.
I've said it before and I will say it again: Eddie Muller and TCM are worth the price of my cable subscription.
This is a cleverly constructed murder mystery with a bevy of suspects, all with sufficient motive. But you could say that about a lot of movies.
Refreshingly, motivations in this one are clear and the movie is devoid of implausible coincidences or ''dumb people making dumb decisions." I was so absorbed that after a while I forgot I was watching a Spanish-language film with English subtitles.
The cast are uniformly excellent. Narciso Ibáñez Menta doesn't strike a single false note as the writer bent on revenge. I hope to see more of his work on TCM. As for Laura Hidalgo, her career was short, but you're not likely to forget her after seeing this movie. She is the very definition of smouldering.
I've said it before and I will say it again: Eddie Muller and TCM are worth the price of my cable subscription.