La Bestia Debe Morir (aka The Beast Must Die) (1952)

A mystery writer (Narciso Ibanez Menta) suffers a tragic loss when his 9 year old son (Eduardo Moyano) is killed by a hit and run driver. Seeking justice, he bypasses the authorities and begins looking for clues that will lead him to his son's murderer. This will lead him to an affluent family with their own dysfunctional intrigues. Based on the novel by Cecil Day Lewis (Daniel's father) and directed by Roman Vinoly Barreto. Not all film noirs come out of Hollywood and this jewel of a film noir comes out of Argentina. The movie begins with the murder of a man (Guillermo Battaglia) then goes into flashback mode as we see the events that lead up to his death. There's also a touch of an Agatha Christie whodunit as the victim was so vile and disgusting that everyone except his bitch of a mother (Milagros De La Vega) hated him so there's no shortage of suspects. The film is similar to Christie's MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS in that the murder victim is so reprehensible a human being that his death is deserved and you don't want the murderer punished. A first rate thriller that is a MUST for all film noir fans! Remade by Claude Chabrol in 1969. With Laura Hidalgo, Nathan Pinzon, Josefa Goldar, Humberto Balado and Beba Bidart.