"It was Adam's fault" or ¨Tuvo la culpa Adan¨is a fast-paced , zany classic of 1940s Spanish cinema dealing with an outlandish , eccentric family . Ther're the Olmedos, a family of misogynistic men , formed by the old father (Joaquin Roa) and sons (Juan Espantaleón , Juan Calvo...) who have sworn eternal hatred to the women, ever since one (Juan Espantaleón) of them left a family member jilted at the door of the church . However , young Adam many years later being planted by his bride is willing to break that promise when he falls in love with the beautiful Nora . But our starring Leonor 'Nora' Urquiza (María Esperanza Navarro) who abandoned her nun convent is run over by a car driven by Gerardo Bernal (Rafael Durán) . Nora is healed by Gerardo and his wealthy aunt Sandi (Matilde Muñoz Sampedro) , but she has lost her memory and knows nothing of her past . Her identity mistaken a new life begins for her, where she will encounter love , emotion , adventure and even crime. Nora starts out with her hair up, and then when she has to get into society she lets her hair down and there is a change of image , noticing the beauty of the actress.
In post-Civil War Spain and in the middle of World War II, there were few reasons to go to the cinema to have a good fun , and this is a story of love affairs and simple entanglements to pass the time without further ado . A Spanish comedy from the 40s with commendable sense of rhythm that has a somewhat more agile pace than might be expected , and belongs to a time when corny sentimental comedies predominated in Spanish cinema . Juan de Orduña handled the ingredients of this project with brisk pacing , snappy dialog , and adding the use of overlapping speeches of the family members . Including a rapid-fire and old dialog that loses at times a great deal of the script's wit . And to be aware the reason for the film's title , you have to wait until the very last sentence of the film in the car . Reinforcing the interest of each of the situations exposed through a send-up of the family/romance genre and providing a sense of exquisiteness that such an irregular filmmaker displayed more than once . Stars Rafael Durán who was a gallant actor , successful in the 40s and 50s , starring in known films such as : Elosia está debajo un almendro , La Fe , El Gran galeoto, El capitán Loyola , El Clavo, Jeromin , Paz , Sin uniforme , La gran barrera, among others . Co-stars María Esperanza Navarro who had one of her most outstanding roles in the cinema here, playing the young Nora who leaves the convent where she has been raised to marry a relative and just arrived she has an accident resulting in total amnesia. She is very good in the scene when she discovers a dark attitude in the two characters who are not very honorable , as her role is very fun. Another beauty of the time who appears in the film is Luchy Soto, a splendid actress who gave her interpretations a peculiar charm . We must not forget either other great secondaries . Such as : Guadalupe Muñoz Sampedro , Joaquin Roa, Juan Espantaleón , Antonio Riquelme, Matilde Muñoz Sampedro , Guadalupe Muñoz Sampedro, Juan Calvo Manuel Requena and Ana María Campoy, another splendid actress who is very elegant in the film. Is a good example of sympathetic and refined comedy, in which everything is very well measured while preserving all the virtues of the best Hispanic comedies at the time. In short, a very acceptable film, with which you can spend quite a pleasant time.
The motion picture was professionally directed by Juan de Orduña, if it remains unknown to English-speaking audiences. So the always competent Juan de Orduña produced this evasive comedy, without major social pretensions or message, and inferior to the who filmed the same year "Ella, él y sus millions" . Today the film deserves to be seen as a post-war social document, although that was not Juan de Orduña's goal. Orduña was a considerable actor and a craftsman filmmaker. He directed his first one in 1928 titled Una aventura de cine, and following : Porque te vi llorar 1941, El frente de los suspiros 1942 and A mi la Legion!. After that, directing all kinds of genres as dramas, comedies, and musical , such as Rosa de otoño, Ella el y sus millones, Yo me caso, Leyenda de feria, Mision blanca, Tuvo la culpa Adam, La Tirana. Going on with biopics, spectacular and blockbuster films in carton/stone as Agustina de Aragon, Serenata Española, La Leona de Castilla, Alba de America, Teresa de Jesus, being most of them produced by the powerful company Cifesa . And making notorious literary adaptations based on prestigious novels as Cañas y Barro written by Blasco Ibañez and Zalacain el aventurero by Pio Baroja. Subsequently, he made rendition upon known Zarzuelas as Bohemios, El huesped del Sevillano, La revoltosa. His greatest hit was El ultimo Cuplé with Sara Montiel. Furthermore, Nobleza Baturra (1965) and considered to be inferior to 1935 version. And his last films were La tonta del bote with Lina Morgan and Me has hecho perder el juicio with Manolo Escobar. Rating : 6/10. The picture will appeal to Spanish vintage cinema enthusiasts.
