This is a very fine Film Noir thriller anthology based
on the stories of crime writer
Cornell Woolrich AKA William Irish AKA George Hopley (read more about
him
on my Film Noir page).
Directed by Carlos Hugo Christensen
once a famous Argentinian film director
(1914-1999) and these films were good and the cinematography looked
stunning.
Once thought to be a trilogy film anthology based on Woolrich writings
it instead
was released as two film episodes "Somebody's on the phone"
and "Hummingbird
comes home" with the third film episode "If I should die before
I wake" later.
My favourite episode was the second due to the performance of the old
Italian/
Argentine actress Iilde Pirovano as Rosa.
Above: Reversible sleeve
Never Open That Door / No abras nunca esa puerta
(Three suspense movies)
Film one: Somebody's on the Phone
- Raul Valdés (Angel Magaña) is worried when
he sees his sister Luisa (Renée Dumas) at a nightclub in company
with a bad man.
At home she's obviously in a state of stress and someone calls her on
the phone.
When visiting the bank he sees that their joint account has been emptied
out and
she has lost it all by gambling. Then it gets even worse.
Film two: Humming Bird Comes Home
(El pájaro cantor vuelve al hogar) -
Aunt Rosa (Iilde Pirovano) is old and blind and her niece Maria helps
her with i.a.
reading letters. Most of all Rosa want her son to visit her.
Her son, Daniel (Roberto Escalada) has turned into a bad man and a robber
though
and his trait is that he whistles when nervous (like a Humming Bird).
After robbing a jewellery store Daniel and his
gang seeks refuge in Rosa's house.
She has waited for 8 years for her son to visit her, and when he finally
does he has
turned into something bad.
This suspense story was very fine with an amazing
performance from Pirovano
as Rosa and with a genuinely gripping and even haunting ending. Great
stuff !
Above: Angel Magaña
Film 1 and 2 were restored by UCLA.
Film 3 is an archival conservation scan
Film three: If I Should Die Before I Wake
(Si muerto antes de despertar) -
Lucho is an unruly boy who harasses a girl, Alicia, at school. The girl
has a secret
and she tells him that a grown man gives her candy and that he will
take her to
his house in the woods. After school Lucho sees a sleazy man leading
Alicia
away. Later she's found dead.
A suspenseful and pretty intense Fairy
Tale thriller that somehow reminded me
about Charles Laughton's masterpiece "The Night of the Hunter"
and the
Cornell Woolrich based film "The Window" with a young boy
alone against evil
Film presented in 4:3 original fullscreen
and black & white - Region all.
Spanish audio with english subtitles
Extras:
Audio commentary by author and film historian Guido Segal
Preserving memory: Fernando Martin Peña on Argentine cinema (15
minutes, 2024)
If I should die before I wake (Third part of the Woolrich anthology
(71 minutes)
Cornell Woolrich: Fear has no borders (26 minutes, 2024)
Booklet with text and pics
