Frente de Madrid (1939), feature film by Spanish director Edgar Neville , shot in Italy in a double version. During the Spanish Civil War, a Falangist (Fosco Giachetti ) battling in the University City is ordered to tour Madrid posing as a Republican militiaman to deliver a message to a leader of the resistence Amalio (Juan de Landa) . Once the order is fulfilled, he takes the opportunity to visit his fiancee (Conchita Montes) , she is under the protection of the father of his maid, a faithful Republican opposed to the purges who lives on Serrano Street. Things go wrong when the Falangist returns to the University City, and he is seriously wounded and takes refuge in a hollow in which is also injured a young Republican .
Edgar Neville was called in by the Bassoli Brothers in Rome to bring to the screen his novel set during the Spanish Civil War and that had been published in Italy. The title of the Italian version is Carmen fra i Rossi and it had practically the same team, unlike the main protagonist, who in the latter case was not Rafael Rivelles but Fosco Giachetti. The Spanish version of the film is lost, while the Italian version was recovered and shown at the XX Ritrovato Cinema Festival in Bologna, in July 2006. Attractive but sad war film dealing with a nationalitst soldier passing beyond enemy lines on the Republican front in a destroyed Madrid . It has a message of sacrifice against a fraticide war , understanding the futility of a civil confrontation , and ultimately redemption . As the main issue of the movie is the dangerous mission of the starring who disguising as an anarchist militiaman has to deliver a message to a head of the resistance and also take the opportunity to visit his girlfriend Carmen, who lives under the protection of her maid's father, a Republican however, then the soldier returns to Ciudad Universitaria ; he is seriously injured; and he takes refuge in a hollow with another soldier who is also hiding, subsequently together they will spend the last hours of their lives, . Main starring Fosco Giachetti and Conchita Montes give nice performances along with a notorious plethora of secondaries as Juan de Landa, Blanca de Silos , Carlos Muñoz and special mention for the always sympathetic Manolo Morán.
The motion picture was competently directed by Edgar Neville , who also wrote along with his sweetheart actress Conchita Montes . 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 , standing 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 , El último caballo 1950 , La ironía del dinero 1955 , El baile 1957 , Mi calle 1959 . He also made documentary as La Ciudad Universitaria, Juventudes de España, Duende y Misterio del Flamenco. Cante Jondo, among others .
