Fernando (Fernando Fernan Gomez), is a cavalry soldier, who upon graduating from his barracks in Alcala de Henares finds out that the motorized regiment is going to sell the horses to a bullring contractor. This regiment has received the order of motorize and therefore must sell all their horses to a manager of the bullring that provides horses to the picks. Hence, Fernando decides to buy a "Bucéfalo". So with the money he had reserved for his wedding to Elvirita (Mary Lamar) he buys the horse called Bucephalus, whom he had ridden during the military, to save him from certain death. With this horse he intends to live in a motorized city like Madrid, with no more money than the small salary from his office. With the help of his faithful friend and fellow soldier in the military, the fireman (José Luis Ozores) , and a flower saleswoman (Conchita Montes) , they set out to look for their horse, which has suddenly been sold to the contractor. But, everything has changed, the city is no longer the same does not find stables, and, not even have time to assist it.
A customs and enjoyable movie, considered the first Spanish neorealist film, Neville prints all his skill as a narrator in images and his indescribable effectiveness in knowing how to take advantage of a luxury cast made up of the greatest actors as Fernando Fernán Gómez, Conchita Montes, José Luís Ozores. Interesting mix of tender humor influenced by Charles Chaplin with the skits of Carlos Arniches. The film addresses the denaturalization of the city centered on misfits at the end of the era; search for a place in a world of change. The movie is a conjunctural plea against the excesses of dehumanized modernity, where there is no place for "natural life" in an environment of interests. The story is handled with balance in a friendly mix between drama and comedy, but it is extreme in its final stretch with demagogic dilemmas and an idealistic sermon tone, failing to move in its epic of bonhomie as intended. The film provided Fernán Gómez with one of the best jobs of his career. Fernán Gómez is very good as a young man who has just completed military service in a cavalry regiment who attempt to recover the horse that has been his partner during this time and returns to Madrid taking away the animal. Fernán Gómz shows a young man with some serious personal characters that includes kindness, nostalgia, affection, stubbornness, and his love for animals. One of the main funs of the film is to guess which supporting character will appear in the next frame, including the following: Julia Lajos, Manuel Arbó, Julia Caba Alba, Antonio Ozores, María Cañete, Arturo Marin, Rafael Bardem, José Prada, Manuel Requena, José Franco, among others.
The motion picture was competently written and directed by Edgar Neville. Director Edgar Neville , Count of Berlanga de Duero , was considered to be one of the best filmmakers in the Francoist time . He was a notorious playwright , screenwriter and director , Edgar opted for a humor not politically compromised , which he cultivated in all the artistic genres : theatrical stage , poetry, novels, cinema, painting and others . From their privileged position he criticized without harshness the customs of the bourgeoisie at that time , in which Neville belonged himself as well as the kitsch and the absurd manners . Together with Tono, Antonio Mingote and Mihura, he wrote for the humor magazine La Codorniz , successor to the weekly La Ametralladora, which Mihura published in San Sebastián. Neville stood out above all as a good filmmaker . ¨La vida en un hilo¨ or ¨Life in a thread¨ was a great success both, the public and critic . It was first conceived as a film and later it was turned into a musical comedy by his son Santiago . It is a smiling reflection on the mechanisms of chance, as well as a plot against the bourgeoisie , being understood as a disease of the soul , against corniness and narrow-mindedness disguised as common sense . The play ¨El baile¨, which ran for seven years on stage , it was also a big hit , and reviewing social habits, as well . It is about a loving trio that triumphs over time and generations . Adapted to the cinema, it was distinguished for its agile and brilliant dialogues , in which tenderness and nonsense alternate here and there . Edgar directed a large number of films , some of them written along with his sweetheart actress Conchita Montes , who usually played too. In Edgar Neville's prestigious cinematic work stand out the following movies : La torre de los siete jorobados 1944 , La vida en un hilo 1945 , El crimen de la calle de Bordadores 1946 ,El traje de luces 1946 , Nada 1947 , El marqués de Salamanca 1948 , La ironía del dinero 1955 , El baile 1957 , Mi calle 1959 . He also made documentary , such as : La Ciudad Universitaria , Juventudes de España , Cante Jondo, and this Duende y Misterio del Flamenco, among others .
