One does not expect Portuguese cinema to excel at a noir; but this is an accomplished example. A well made picture with an engaging plot, good performances and effectively ambienced.
It is directed by Ladislaus Vadja, an Hungarian emigré who would make several interesting pictures, several of them coproductions around Europe ("The Golden Madonna", "El Cebo"). He is beter known for his Spanish career, specially for "Marcelino, pan y vino" or "Mi tío Jacinto". In fact he handled many different styles, with varied results.
In this picture he effectively manages to give us more than a good story. As Inspector Moisés (excellent Joao Villaret) slowly pulls the thread of the mystery of a murder tried to be covered as a car crash, a contrasted portrait of a man (stock exchange gambler Joao Ramón Esmoriz, played by Rafael Durán) unfolds. His personality is reconstructed by the way he was viewed through the varied people who knew him : his best friend, his business associates and the three very different women in his life.
The action takes place mostly in a home interior during morning hours, with an only flasback interspesed. Yet the sets and ambience are so well achieved, it´s definitively a noir film. Aided by Maria Clara´s evocative voice singing a couple of fados.
Two simultaneous versions of the film were shot, according to Spanish actress Mary Carrillo memoirs. She remembers having travelled to Portugal to shot her scenes playing Amable (played by Maddalena Sotto in the Portuguese version) at Lisbon studios. This makes sense, as in the available Portuguese version, well known leading man Rafael Durán, who has a distinctive voice, is dubbed. He plays the key role of financier Joao Romano (or Juan Ramón) Esmoriz, deemed as unscrupulous by some and loved by others. The rest of the cast is likely to be the same, Joao Villaret renamed Juan Vilaret in the Spanish release (see movie flyer in the image gallery). This is a good bet, as only a handful of scenes needed to be shot twice and the rest could be dubbed. The technical team is mainly Spanish, while most of the cast is Portuguese.
Virgilio Teixeira, who would become leading men in Spanish cinema a decade later, plays Miguel d´Aguiar, Joao´s childhood friend and business associate, in love with Joao´s fiancée played by big eyed Portuguese actress Carmen Dolores. Italian actress Paola Barbara plays a Countess who becomes Joao´s business contact to rich investors, and petite Maddalena Soto plays Amable, the cafe singer to whom Joao confides his worries. The three women different physical types are seen together in the picture, adding credibility to the story. There are many more realistic touches, starting with the tired inspector wanting to go home after a night ward but having to stay instead and set his mind to work on how to solve the murder.
All in all, a very interesting but little known noir to be discovered and enjoyed. And deserving an English subtitled release.
