Review by alserrano

Edgar Neville did a bunch of movies who were starred by typical, or archetypal, or even topical, Spanish town characters. This is one of his best known, a sort of detective story which takes place in the last years of the XIX century, where a rich woman is killed and his lover and servant are suspects. The story then moves backwards to tell what happened before the crime, and moves forward into the trial clichés. So what's original about this movie? The characters and setting. It takes place in Madrid, in the most stereotypical Madrid you can ever imagine, with all its traditions, and the movie works a lot as an historical curiosity. Moreover, the characters are vivid and interesting, taking the place of the 'noir' clichés but adapting them to this world: a sort of femme fatale, a mean and selfish man, rich and poors... and all of them played by a truly wonderful cast. It works as a comedy, it works as a crime story, the musical sections it has in between are very good, and never drops your attention as you see how "Lola la billetera" (the, we could say, main character) is messed with dark feelings carried by jealousy and such. As many Spanish movies from this era, like the ones from Florian Rey, it's a pity that no one has kept the celluloid with more care all these years. Because Edgar Neville is, still, one of our better story-tellers and inspired directors.