El pasado te acusa (1958) Poster

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6/10
Typical suspense film about an astonishing murder and to find out the killer at in a place on the coast
ma-cortes9 September 2022
Mystery thriller in which Diego (Alberto Closas) and Jeanette (Luz Márquez) arrive at Diego's old castle to spend their honeymoon. There his friends await them, they are summoned for a fun weekend . They are the following ones : Luis Peña as Andrés, Lina Rosales as Laura , Rafael Durán as Gaspar , Maruja García Alonso as Cristina , José Marco as Miguel , Mara Cruz as Paulita. The guests discuss and argue each other , only to find that an unseen person has committed a grisly killing . As step by step strange things happen and subsequently a murder connected to Diego's past takes place . A bit later , another murder is committed . After that , A police inspector (Gino Cervi) will try to discover the truth . In a closed and isolated place for some time , a number of suspicious roles spend a tumultuos night and one of them is the true murderer . They then begin to accuse each other , since they all have reasons to dare to commit the crime and eventually to discover the killer . That's why the main question of the movie turns out to be to guess : Who's the murderer ?. There is no way for any of them to flee , so they set about attempting to determine who the hidden killer might be and where he might be hiding . Just before the gripping climax of the movie , you will be given a time to guess the murderer's identity !

Whodunit in which various people have been summoned , and when they are all gathered, then one of the guests appears suddenly murdered . A psychological thriller in which various friends are forced to come face to face with their pasts in this mysterious story . Excruciantly tense and so-so recounting with the usual suspicious characters , packing tension , thrills , twists and turns , but being slowly paced . The whole cast overacts at times and playing cardboard roles against beach scenarios and a luxurious mansion . This suspenseful film is inevitably reminiscent of the classic novels of Agatha Christie , and especially ¨Ten Little Indians¨ turning out to be original enough , because being an intriguing movie with important actors and adequate filmmaking . In this case, it is the stubborn police inspector and the suspects themselves -not someone who is free from doubt as usual- who must carry out the investigation and discover the truth . Excruciantly tense and passable rendition about a mysterious crime with the usual characters , but resulting to be slowly paced . The whole cast overacts at times and playing predictable roles , being nicely performed by a good Spanish cast, predominantly prestigious and veteran interpreters with the only exception of the great Italian actor Gino Cervi , famous for the films of the priest ¨Don Camilo¨ together with Fernandel . This medium-budgeted picture is a reallly slow with some engaging elements ; sticks with an extremely stagy adaptation and some claustrophobic scenarios . An interesting film for its atmosphere as it is located on an island and specifically in a castle, which is perfectly suited to the claustrophobia felt by the characters when questioned by the insolent inspector. As they recall certain situations experienced with said characters through the use of flashbacks. All in all , it ends up being another one of the many Hispanian-Italian co-productions of those years and which in any case brings to mind classic suspense literature written by and Edgar Alan Poe and Agatha Christie from which certain elements will also be taken in the later " El asesino está en los trece or The Killer Is One of Thirteen" (Javier Aguirre,1973) and ¨5 dolls for August Moon¨ (Mario Bava, 1970) also set at a isolate location with various guests invited by a colleague to his private island , being little by little cruelly murdered .

The settings are decent , though mostly in studios and in the castle of Lloret de Mar . It contains evocative cinematography in black and white by cameraman José María Beltrán, though being necessary an alright remastering . Being shot on location in Lloret de Mar , Costa Brava, Girona, Catalonia, Spain . Likewise, thrilling and atmospheric musical score by composer Manuel Parada . The motion picture was well produced by writer/producer/director Luis Marquina and Dia P. C. and being professionally directed by Lionello De Felice , but with some corny and dated moments . Being filmed in 50s and 60s usual style and in stylistic scholarship , without leaving a trace on the intriguing issues , in terms of dramatic and narrative excitement . Lionello De Felice is generally considered to be a decent director . Lionello was an expert writer and director of attractive dramas , such as : Disperato addio ,I tre ladri , Cento anni d'amore , L'età dell'amore , Il romanzo della mia vita , Senza bandiera and made a great epic peplum about a historic figure : Costantino il grande (1961) .
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