Apenas un delincuente

The script combines two criminal events that had just been added to Argentina’s police records: one had been committed by an employee who stole money from an insurance company and happily went to jail knowing that the maximum prison sentence was not proportional to the amount stolen; the other involved a terrorist group that had escaped from prison by digging a tunnel.
The film was an instant classic of Argentine noir that was praised for the performance of young lead actor Jorge Salcedo, for the extensive use of real locations and, above all, for the expert handling of the suspense that began to be one of Fregonese’s trademarks. The escape sequence has all the classical elements to be appropriately intense, but Fregonese truly hits his stride in the scene that describes the employee’s swindle from his own point of view, step by step and with minimum dialogue.
The success of the film won Fregonese his entrance to Hollywood, where he remained several years and worked with stars like Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Jack Palance, Edward G. Robinson, James Mason, Joel McCrea and many others.

Curated by Richard Peña and Roger Koza.