La bestia debe morir

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.

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.

An Argentinian film noir from 1952. A boy has just poisoned the patriarch of a family w/an investigator assured of his guilt (he catches the boy trying to dispose of the incriminating potable). We then flashback as to how we got here as we meet a popular crime novelist enjoying a day out sailing w/his doting son. It's his birthday & instead of being a joyous occasion it turns tragic when he dies due to a fatal hit & run. Despondent, the novelist, played by Narciso Inbanez Menta, drowns his sorrows in booze & wayward travel but when his car gets stuck on the road near a farm, the caretaker takes him in for the night & relates to him (as he notices hanging movie star pics on a wall) about her prized autographed photo from an actress who was in the area briefly when she & her companion were stuck in the area due to a fender bender. Menta is sure this is his man (since their accident & his son's death took place at the same time). Inveigling his way w/his notoriety into the actress's orbit, his investigation leads to her man, the same poisoned fellow from the film's onset & after discovering his masochistic, arrogant nature, Menta sets out on a road to revenge (he details his conclusions & actions in a comprehensive diary) where he gets his goal but not in the way he expected. Other than the ill fitting opening (putting an unnecessarily weird time signature on a story which doesn't need it), the film ranks as an excellent contender to American counterparts w/a French version & a British mini-series made afterwards confirming the sweep of such a well told tale. The English translation of the title is "The Beast Must Die."

THE BEAST MUST DIE (not to be confused with the 1974 Amicus horror film of the same name) is a 1952 Film Noir and is one of two new releases from Flicker Alley and the Film Noir Foundation that showcase two "lost" movies from 1950s Argentina. The film is based on a once celebrated novel from an unusual source, the 1938 crime thriller of the same name written by Nicholas Blake. What makes it unusual is that Blake was the pen name used by England's then Poet Laureate, Cecil Day-Lewis when he wrote crime novels before he became PL. Today he is remembered as the father of award winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis.

The story concerns a widower, mystery writer Felix Lane, whose young son is struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver. He becomes obsessed with finding that driver and then killing him personally. It takes a while but he eventually locates the person and then infiltrates his household in order to get closer to his victim. He befriends and uses various family members in order to achieve his quest. Lane discovers that the person is a rich, no-good scoundrel that everyone hates so his task is made both easier and harder since many people have good reasons to want him dead.

The performances by an ensemble cast of top Argentinian actors is first rate led by Narciso Ibanez Benta as the grief stricken and then later revenge obsessed father. Other standouts include Laura Hidalgo as the female lead (but not a femme fatale), Guillermo Bataglia as the "beast" who brutalizes his family, and Humberto Balado as the young nephew who reminds the father of his dead son. The photography is suitably atmospheric and the direction by Roman Vinoly Barreto is as good as anything by John Huston, Jacques Tourneur, or Anthony Mann.

Thanks once again to Flicker Alley for continuing their ongoing Film Noir Series in partnership with "Noircheologist" Eddie Muller and to his Film Nor Foundation for rescuing THE BEAST MUST DIE from oblivion. The DVD/Blu Ray combo comes with a 21 page booklet that is loaded with photos and information. Other extras include a filmed introduction on the movie with Muller, a conversation with the director's son, and a profile of lead actor Narciso Ibanez Menta. Finally there is an optional commentary from film historian Guido Segal. An absolute must have for fans of Film Noir...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

Thanks to Eddie Muller and the Film Noir Foundation, TCM viewers were treated this fall to a restoration of The Beast Must Die (aka. La Bestia Debe Morir).

This is a cleverly constructed murder mystery with a bevy of suspects, all with sufficient motive. But you could say that about a lot of movies.

Refreshingly, motivations in this one are clear and the movie is devoid of implausible coincidences or ''dumb people making dumb decisions." I was so absorbed that after a while I forgot I was watching a Spanish-language film with English subtitles.

The cast are uniformly excellent. Narciso Ibáñez Menta doesn't strike a single false note as the writer bent on revenge. I hope to see more of his work on TCM. As for Laura Hidalgo, her career was short, but you're not likely to forget her after seeing this movie. She is the very definition of smouldering.

I've said it before and I will say it again: Eddie Muller and TCM are worth the price of my cable subscription.