When Mercedes (Conchita Montes) returns to Madrid from the small provincial town where she lived with her late husband, she meets the clairvoyant Dupont (Julia Lajos) on the train, who tells her how her life would have been if she had made a different decision at a certain moment. So the psychic makes her see that there was a time she could have chosen another partner and shows her what life would have been like with the other suitor: One rainy afternoon Mercedes meets the well-born engineer Ramón (Guillermo Marin) and the bohemian sculptor Angel (Rafael Durán) in a flower shop. Both offer to take her home in a taxi. She logically chooses the first one and ends up getting tired of him and leads a luxurious but boring life. The clairvoyant tells her how very different her life would have been if the sculptor had accompanied her. However, Mercedes accepts Ramon's offer, which gives her a comfortable and very different life from the one she would have had with Angel, whom she has not could forget. The film makes us see what would have been her life if she could have chosen another partner. We all carry two lives inside... the one we live and the one we could have lived...!
Edgar Neville's comedy, ¨La Vida En Un Hilo¨(1945) boasts a good cast with Conchita Montes, Rafael Durán, Guillermo Marín, Julia Lajos and it is considered a classic of Spanish cinema. There are funny dialogues, the montage is sharp, cinematography is brilliant, the cast is marvellous giving a very likable acting, and it is still an agreeable film with this peculiar premise: Mercedes nostalgically recalls her years of marriage with deadly-dull Ramón from an upper-class family and after showing us what life would have been like with the other suitor. The relative success of this film led the screenwriter, producer and director Neville, following a common practice at the time, to a new project, this time a theatrical one, which is based on the film's main theme, establishing him as one of the greatest of the inconsequential comedy and fantastic stories written in the post-war period. A few years later, director José Diaz Morales made an adaptation in Mexico with the title: ¨La Engañadora (Mi Noche de Bodas)¨ (1953) and many years later, the notable costume designer, set designer, actor, and filmmaker Gerardo Vera made his debut as a director with ¨Una Mujer Bajo La Lluvia¨, a new version quite faithful to the original but which does not surpass the classic of 1945. In fact, this more modern adaptation is clearly inferior to the vintahe movie, and in which only the luxurious and well remastered photography, the elegant costumes, the three leading actors: Imanol Arias, Angela Molina, Antonio Banderas and an impressive supporting cast with the best supporting actors of Spanish cinema of the time stand out.
La vida en un hilo(1945) contains an atmospheric score by José Muñoz Molleda, as well as evocative cinematography by Henri Barreyre. The motion picture was competently written/directed shot by Edgar Neville, being filmed in his usual formal and stylistic scholarship, without leaving a trace the thought-provoking issues, in terms of dramatic and narrative excitement. 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 . Rating ¨La vida en un hilo¨: 7/10. Better than average Spanish classic comedy.
