The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Luis Buñuel
Ernesto Alonso
Miroslava
Rita Macedo
Ariadne Welter
Rodolfo Landa
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Archibaldo de la Cruz, the spoiled child of wealthy parents, curses his governess with a music box which he believes has the power to will death. The woman is killed by a stray bullet, and her disarrayed skirt exposes to Archibaldo's view her beautiful, shapely legs. As a result of this erotic image, Archibaldo grows into manhood associating desire with murder, and he fabricates elaborate plans for killing women. However, his attempts are all thwarted as his intended victims die of natural causes, accidents, or at the hands of others. While recovering from a nervous breakdown, Archibaldo threatens to murder his nurse, but before he can act, she falls down an elevator shaft. Archibaldo later makes plans to murder an unfaithful lover, but another man robs him of the satisfaction. One of his "victims," a model for store dummies, evades death completely, whereupon Archibaldo burns her wax image in an oven. Mentally distraught, he confesses his "crimes" to the police, but unconcerned with psychic guilt, they pay him no heed. In a gesture of liberation, he throws the music box into a pond just as the model whose effigy he burned passes by; apparently cured of his childish obsession, Archibaldo smiles at her, and the two walk away together hand in hand.
Director
Luis Buñuel
Cast
Ernesto Alonso
Miroslava
Rita Macedo
Ariadne Welter
Rodolfo Landa
Andrea Palma
Carlos Riquelme
José María Linares Rivas
Leonor Llausás
Eva Calvo
Carlos Martínez Baena
Roberto Meyer
Crew
Rodolfo Benitez
Jesús Bracho
Luis Buñuel
Jorge Bustos
Ernesto Caballero
Roberto Figueroa
Agustín Jiménez
Alfonso Patiño Gomez
Jorge Pérez
Eduardo Ugarte Pages
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Produced in Mexico in 1955 as Ensayo de un crimen. A Mexican source gives Rodolfo Benitez sound credit, while other sources credit Ernesto Caballero as sound recordist.
