Eddie Muller, noir novelist (The Distance; Shadow Boxer) and President of the Film Noir Foundation, brought this film to my attention in an interview he gave to Despina Veneti which was republished in Noir City Volume 6, Number 2. He called the film 'a terrific adaptation of two Cornell Woolrich stories'. It's certainly a surprise to see that this kind of noir fare was being made in Argentina in 1952. This film never had a release in the UK, and is not available on DVD here. But it can be seen on YouTube, albeit in Argentinian Spanish without subtitles,(fortunately, I'm bilingual), with terrible sound, and not the best picture. The visuals alone, however, are worth it. This is pure noir cinematography. The second story, in fact, has a blind protagonist who can distinguish night from day because "it's a different kind of shadow". The actors resemble Hollywood players of the era (one of the baddies must have been Argentina's answer to George Raft); the women are beautiful, the men are desperate, and the shadows are waiting...Well-written, well-acted, well-shot, well-paced, well...watch it!
3 Reviews
impressive black-and-white diptych
myriamlenys15 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
After writing my most recent review, I thought it would be nice to continue with a closely related work. So on to "No abras nunca esa puerta", a noir diptych featuring two separate tales drawn from the oeuvre of Cornell Woolrich. The first one is a tale about a brother realizing that his sister has gotten herself entangled in quite dreadful trouble. In the second one, a lonely old woman desperately longs for news from her adventurous and self-willed son. When the man does show up, the motives behind his visit are far from filial...
The first tale, "Somebody on the phone", seems to be somewhat weaker, but the second one, "Humming bird comes home", is seriously impressive, transcending the limits of the genre in order to turn into a meditation on the implications of the blood tie uniting parent and child. In doing so the story also grows into a genuine tragedy. Certainly the ancient Greeks would have recognized the combination of irony and inevitability which infuses the outcome.
It's unclear to me why this stylish, taut, suspenseful and even harrowing movie has gathered so little interest from the noir-loving public. It well deserves a respectful (re)discovery.
The first tale, "Somebody on the phone", seems to be somewhat weaker, but the second one, "Humming bird comes home", is seriously impressive, transcending the limits of the genre in order to turn into a meditation on the implications of the blood tie uniting parent and child. In doing so the story also grows into a genuine tragedy. Certainly the ancient Greeks would have recognized the combination of irony and inevitability which infuses the outcome.
It's unclear to me why this stylish, taut, suspenseful and even harrowing movie has gathered so little interest from the noir-loving public. It well deserves a respectful (re)discovery.
Forgotten film noir masterpiece from Argentina
happytrigger-64-3905172 February 2019
This remarkable film noir from Argentina is directed by Carlos Hugo Christensen, admired by Eddie Muller himself. Based on William Irish, the direction is constantly inventive and should be studied in cinema universities, some faces shots made me think of Dreyer. Each movement by the characters, each camera position or movement serve chirurgically the story, especially with the blind character (William Irish' books were all so visual and inspired many masterpieces, Phantom Lady, Rear Window, the Night Has Thousand Eyes, ... and many B noirs). No movies by Carlos Hugo Christensen are available on dvd, what a shame, but, if you understand spanish, there are around 20 titles directed by him on youtube, among them his version of Steeman's "l'Assassin Habite au 21", "la Muerte Camina en la Lluvia", 10 minutes shorter than Clouzot's version. Enjoy yourselves.
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