A rich and famous painter (Fernando Rey's voice) dies leaving a secret that kept him apart from the woman ( Argentinian Zully Moreno who role was played on stage by María Asquerino ) he loved. As the lover of a famous painter, Mauricio , 42 years old on her deathbed, gathers the family to pay off outstanding debts . Suspecting a family plot , she will attempt to unveil it keeping his death from the greedy relatives who are called in the middle of the night . The ambitious relatives mistrust and fear that she can seize all the assets . Along the way , emerging unspeakable secrets, personal quarrels and mutual reproaches. All of them try to seize the estate of the ill-fated brother, where everyone is suspicious and everyone lies. As they will attempt to discover the truth before the dawn comes at last . Then Miss Paula (Mara Cruz) appears later , she is the intimate niece of the deceased , who enters the meeting as an impartial witness of the hostilities unleashed , resulting in a game of twisted suspicions, impostures and falsehoods in a closed space .
It has some very brooding and careful dialogues by exhibiting the dirty events and the environment of moral misery in which the characters live . The play of the same title written by Buero Vallejo is brought to the big screen and performed by several of the the best actors in Spanish cinema who had already represented on stage . Narrated to the rhythm of the wall clock that presides over the room, here there's a deep analysis of the family institution, including ambition, envy , furtive loves , sinister interests , betrayal and contempt . In Madrugada(1957) , words , gestures and interpretations take total prominence delivering the necessary goods to entertain enough . It is particularly enjoyed when we approach the gestures , close-up, and voices of the stunning cast , almost forgotten today , and in fact , on the seat of a theater scenario , could not be perceived with the same intensity. It maintains interest enough throughout the nice performances thanks to the competent artists . Except for two or three exterior scenes , everything takes place inside a house and although Antonio Román, at his best , to make it adequate , he does not achieve it uniformly throughout the footage . The interest that the dialogues have alleviate the slight defects of this worthy realization. The sets catch the viewer, yes, and the film space is skillfully used. The principal interest is provided by the interpreters . We must highlight the absolutely brilliant creation of some actors as Zully Moreno , perhaps this is the best acting she played in Spain , Antonio Prieto who played ¨For a Fistful of Dollars¨, Luis Peña who acted in various Spanish classics , the great José Luis López Vázquez to be followed a long successful career , María Francés , the unforgettable mother of the unfortunate family in the well-remembered "Surcos" , Mari Carmen Díaz de Mendoza , Manuel Díaz González, and a little known actress as Isabel Pallarés with that peculiar sarcasm reveals the peculiar role she plays . Here stands out the work of the main teachnician of the Spanish cinema such as José Aguayo who provides an excellent cinematography , production design by the classic designer Enrique Alarcón and Cristóbal Halffter's music fits perfectly for this film.
The picture was professionally directed by Antonio Román , it can be said that he solved the project with solvency enough , though a little bit boring . Antonio Román's direction is agile with nice camera movements despite the lack of action. Antonio Román's work in translating into cinema a type of theater scenarios that did not offer many possibilities of being brought to life on a screen without the viewer getting too bored . . Román was Spain's most celebrated filmmaker , wrote a lot of of movies and directed a few short documentaries and went on to become one of the managers of the Cooperativa Cinematográfica Castilla . His film debut was a documentary , ¨La Ciudad Encantada¨. And subsequently his first full length film was 1941's "Escuadrilla" (Squadron), it was made in collaboration with Raza's José Luis Sáenz De Heredia . Later on , he directed various dated historical dramas as the biographic ¨Lola Montes¨ , and ¨Lópe De Vega's Fuenteovejuna¨ . And notorious adaptations : ¨Shakespeare's Fierecilla Domada¨,¨ Buero Vallejo's Madrugada¨, ¨Angel Maria Lera's Clarines Del Miedo¨. Furthermore , several dramas as ¨Pacto De Silencio¨ , ¨La Vida Encadenada¨ and ¨Intriga¨. Madrugada(1957) Rating : 6/10 . Although the film has a certain interest and curiosity and although with a little patience it can be a little entertaining. An unknown film but interesting and recommended.
