The Beast Must Die

1952 [SPANISH]

Film-Noir / Mystery / Thriller

3
IMDb Rating 7.4/10 10 829 829

husband wife relationship poison based on novel or book hit-and-run murder investigation dead son

Plot summary

A crime writer searching for the truth about a personal tragedy becomes involved in a murder investigation.

Director

Román Viñoly Barreto Photo
Román Viñoly Barreto

Top cast

Beba Bidart Photo
Beba Bidart as Rhoda Carpax
Nathán Pinzón Photo
Nathán Pinzón as Carpax
Laura Hidalgo Photo
Laura Hidalgo as Linda Lawson
Carlos Cotto Photo
Carlos Cotto
720p.BluRay
958.11 MB
986*720
Spanish 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 44 min
Seeds 2

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by gbill-74877 8 / 10

Well done

A quality noir drama out of Argentina from director Román Viñoly Barreto, but beware going into it that the titular beast (Guillermo Battaglia) is a real jerk. This is a guy who openly carries on an affair with his business partner's wife, can't keep his hands off his sister-in-law, beats his wife and stepson, and kills a boy in a hit and run. There are many who would love to see him dead (including the viewer!), but none more so than a murder mystery author (Narciso Ibáñez Menta) who wheedles his way closer to him by romancing the sister-in-law (Laura Hidalgo).The story was adapted from the novel of the same name by Cecil Day-Lewis (Daniel's father), and as Eddie Muller from TCM explains, told out of order to heighten the drama, a technique that worked. Barreto moves the film along well, and the fine cinematography helps create an atmosphere of menace, one felt more acutely because children are involved. Menta's reserved character (and performance) are a great contrast to Battaglia's, and Hidalgo adds sizzle. Overall, quite entertaining, and it was very refreshing that its ending was unencumbered by the American Production Code.
Reviewed by AlsExGal 9 / 10

A fascinating film I'd never heard of

I knew Flicker Alley had restored this, so I was anxious to see it. It's an Argentine film based on a novel about a crime novelist widower whose young son is the center of his world. When the boy is killed by a hit and run driver - and worse he could have been saved if the driver had stopped and gotten help - he goes on his own search to find the killer and kill him himself. But all of his trails go cold. And then, in a really fantastic and unbelievable turn, he gets a lead. And I'll just leave specifics of the plot at that.The original novel, according to Eddie Muller on TCM's Noir Alley, had the diary of the avenging father first, and what turns into a murder mystery later. How do you adapt that to film? I think it was done quite artfully. The acting, especially of the two child actors, was well done and the production values are quite high. There were a few things that were surprises to me. Apparently in 1952 Argentina it was considered an intrusion to stop a man from beating his wife? And there was some Christian symbolism, especially at the end, that seemed rather odd.I will say one bad thing about the restoration. The picture and sound are wonderful, but the English subtitles are white. Thus there are lots of times, when they are superimposed on a light image, that they are difficult or impossible to read. And dialogue is a big part of this film. Still I'd recommend it as something you'd never see coming out of the American studio system of the same year.
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