"The Lovemaker" or ¨Main Street¨ deals with a group of ¨Amigotes¨ or friends (Luis Peña , Jose Calvo , Alfonso Godá , Manuel Alexandre) decide to have a good time and play a trick on a spinster named Isabel (Betsy Blair married to Gene Kelly) . Therefore one of them , called Juan (Jose Suarez who was a big star in Spanish and Italian cinema) , has to pretend to fall in love with her .
This splendid drama develops a peculiar romance , plenty of sadness and melancholy , between a bank clerk full of doubts and an unmarried woman . Based on on the play "La Señorita de Trévelez" by Carlos Arniches , being well adapted by the same filmmaker , Juan Antonio Bardem . Fine performances from Betsy Blair as a bourgeoisie lady , a sweet and lonely woman who falls in love with an unscrupulous person . Betsy Blair , recent her Oscar for ¨Marty¨, steals the show , she gives a sensitive and unforgettable acting . The movie displays a Spanish secondary star-studded such as Jose Calvo , Manuel Alexandre , Jose Prada , Luis Peña and international actors as Dora Doll , Ives Massard and Lila Kedrova . This is a 'rara avis' film of the 50s because dealing with a strong portrait of Spanish society , it didn't please the pro-Franco authorities and was strongly censored . Bardem's conceptual and political audacity as well as the social criticism result to be so evident in this film who he had to fight the censorship which didn't admit the some engaging scenes and obligated a determined ending . During the start of filming , student protests in Madrid, led to the arrest of director Juan Antonio Bardem, a communist, in the city of Palencia and carried out by the Brigada Politica Social . He was jailed for a few days and released on the condition that he could not talk about his personal life or beliefs during interviews related to the film . After Bardem's jailing and release, he decided to stop early filming in Palencia, and shot the remaining of the movie in other cities . Atmospheric and Neo-realist cinematography by Michael Kelber and adequate musical score by Joseph Kosma . Being shot on location in Palencia , Cuenca in which was filmed most nature images and the apartment building being constructed . And Plaza Mayor of Logroño , where took place most city scenes, including the main square with the arcades . The rest was shot in Madrid , in Chamartín Studios and Suevia Films-Cesáreo González Studios .
The motion picture was very well directed by Juan Antonio Bardem . Bardem was a good filmmaker and older brother of Pilar Bardem and son of notorious actors as Rafael Bardem and Matilde Muñoz Sampedro , who in ¨Main street¨ she plays the maid or Chacha . Furthermore , he is uncle of Oscarized Javier Bardem , Carlos Bardem , Mónica Bardem and father of Miguel Bardem . Bardem was an outspoken critic of the Franco regime, his political views prevented him from gaining a diploma from the Spanish cinema institute in 1947 . Thereafter, he worked as a critic and finally broke into films as writer/director of the much acclaimed ¨Death of a cyclist¨ or Muerte De un Ciclista (1955), which won the 1956 Cannes International Critics Award . Other classic films he wrote or directed are the followings : ¨Bienvenido Mr. Marshall¨ (co-directed by Luis Garcia Berlanga) , ¨Esa Pareja Feliz¨, ¨Comicos¨ , ¨Sonatas¨, ¨La Venganza¨, among others . ¨Calle Mayor¨ rating : Above average , essential and indispensable seeing for Spanish cinema fans ; in fact it was voted ninth best Spanish film by professionals and critics in 1996 Spanish cinema centenary and being prized in Festival Of Venice . This one is deservedly considered one of the best movies of the Spanish cinema .
