Culpables

In a closed theater for some time , one night four of the main actors who belonged to the company are summoned . They are the following ones : Anna Maria Ferrero as Margarita , Fernando Rey as Mario , Lina Rosales as Mercedes , and Jacques Sernas as Emilio. The person in charge of bringing them together in that place results to be their former stage director called Ignacio : Pastor Serrador , a man who took advantage of each and every one of them and to whom he owes a considerable amount of money for all the salaries that they have not yet received. In this way the four characters are very clear that the director is to blame for the terrible situation they suffer , without work , without economic means and almost unsuccessful . The guests discuss and argue each other , only to find that an unseen person has committed a grisly killing . After a long wait in which they recall certain situations experienced with said character through the use of flashbacks, they discover the corpse of Ignacio with a completely disfigured face in his theater office . They then begin to accuse each other , since they all have reasons to dare to commit the crime and subsequently to discover the true murderer . That's why the main question of the movie turns out to be to guess : Who's the killer ?. 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 four people have been summoned , they were theater co-workers and when they are all gathered, they hear from their host some compromising claims , hovering around mouthing chunks of exposition, then he appears suddenly murdered and completely disfigured . A psychological thriller in which four actors are forced to come face to face with their pasts after receiving invitation by a theater manager . This suspenseful film is inevitably reminiscent of the classic ¨Cautivos del Mal¨ (The Bad and the Beautiful by Vicente Minnelli, 1952) and the novels of Agatha Christie, turning out to be original enough , because being an intrigue movie without any police presence. In this case, it is 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 two fine Italian actors : Anna Maria Ferreriro , Jacques Sernas and great Spanish actors as Fernando Rey , Lina Rosales , Pastor Serrador . Alongside , a group of familiar secondaries in brief appearances , such as : Roberto Camardiel, Lorenzo Robledo , Manuel Guitián, Rufino Inglés . This medium-budgeted picture is a reallly slow with some interesting elements ; sticks with an extremely stagy adaptation and some claustrophobic scenarios .

The settings are decent though mostly in a theater , backstage and studios . It contains evocative cinematography in black and white from Godofredo Pacheco and Mario Pacheco , though being necessary a alright remastering . Likewise, thrilling and atmospheric musical score by classic composer Cristóbal Halffter . The motion picture was well produced by Jorge Griñán and being professionally directed by Arturo Ruiz Del Castillo , 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 . Arturo Ruiz Castillo is generally considered to be a decent director . He made several shorts and documentaries and directed all kind of genres . As he filmed autobiography about a soccer player, Kubala , : ¨Los Ases Buscan La Paz¨, Historical : Catalina La Grande¨ , Drama : ¨Culpables¨, ¨Llovidos Del Cielo¨ , ¨Dos Caminos¨, ¨Pachin¨. His most known picture was ¨La Laguna Negra¨ a film adaptation of a poem by Antonio Machado, "La Tierra De Alvargonzález" included in what is considered his best work, "Campos De Castilla¨ and the notorious ¨Las Inquietudes de Shanti Andia¨ 1947 that won some Prizes : Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain 1948 Winner , "Gimeno" Revelation Award Arturo Ruiz Castillo for the direction and Winner CEC Award Best Supporting Actor Jesús Tordesillas . Furthermore , ¨El Santuario No Se Rinde¨ dealing with a heroic event during the Spanish Civil War and even an inferior Paella Western : ¨El Secreto Capitan O'Hara¨ . Rating : 6/10 .Acceptable and passable Spanish flick.