The Beast Must Die

Original title: La bestia debe morir

1952
1h 35m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Guillermo Battaglia, Laura Hidalgo, and Narciso Ibáñez Menta in The Beast Must Die (1952)

When his child is hit by a car, a writer of thrillers is desperate to avenge his death and goes in search of the murderer.When his child is hit by a car, a writer of thrillers is desperate to avenge his death and goes in search of the murderer.When his child is hit by a car, a writer of thrillers is desperate to avenge his death and goes in search of the murderer.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

600

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Nicholas Blake, the author of the source novel, is the pen name for Cecil Day-Lewis, the father of Daniel Day-Lewis.

Goofs
In the montage sequence, Martie salutes with his left hand, showing that the negative must have been reversed.

Quotes
Linda Lawson: What are you implying?
Carpax: Nothing. That escapade at my house. You and Rafferty were "playing around."
Linda Lawson: Let me tell you, that wasn't "play." Rafferty was always a beast. He never left me alone, although I was his wife's sister.

Connections
Referenced in The 3 Faces of M (2022)

Soundtracks
Home! Sweet Home!
Music by H.R. Bishop

User reviews9

Review

Featured review

8/10

This Beast Comes Alive

Thanks to Eddie Muller and the Film Noir Foundation, TCM viewers were treated this fall to a restoration of The Beast Must Die (aka. La Bestia Debe Morir).

This is a cleverly constructed murder mystery with a bevy of suspects, all with sufficient motive. But you could say that about a lot of movies.

Refreshingly, motivations in this one are clear and the movie is devoid of implausible coincidences or ''dumb people making dumb decisions." I was so absorbed that after a while I forgot I was watching a Spanish-language film with English subtitles.

The cast are uniformly excellent. Narciso Ibáñez Menta doesn't strike a single false note as the writer bent on revenge. I hope to see more of his work on TCM. As for Laura Hidalgo, her career was short, but you're not likely to forget her after seeing this movie. She is the very definition of smouldering.

I've said it before and I will say it again: Eddie Muller and TCM are worth the price of my cable subscription.