This unknown and obscure film is inspired by the play of the same title by Angel Guimerá. The movie tells how Marsal (Francisco Rabal), at night and without witnesses, murders a man with the aim of blaming the crime on the husband of the woman (Núria Espert) he is in love with. The innocent man is sentenced to life imprisonment. With Andrés imprisoned, Marsal becomes María Rosa's protector while he waits for events to unfold. But it casts suspicion on his friend Salvador (Luís Davila), an ex-prisoner who was in prison with Andrés.
Only feature film by Armando Moreno, husband of Núria Espert and actor and scene director. Here the main highlights are the great interpretations of the leading actors and the luxurious and evocative photography. In Maria Rosa there is a deep drama with an intrigue behind it, highlighting the final part during the wedding, the wedding celebration and especially the first night in the room where the dramatic finale takes place. Main cast are very good, such as Francisco Rabal as the jealous man who's deeply in love, that'w why he murders a moneylender hated by the entire town , and Núria Espert as the failthful wife and completely in love with her imprisoned husband.
The support cast is frankly excellent, such as: Luís Dávila that plays a role between main and secondary, Asunción Balaguer (who married Francisco Rabal), Carlos Otero, Antonio Iranzo and with a special mention for Antonio Vico as the old drunk who talks more than necessary, highlighting the scenes of him when the newlyweds are sitting celebrating at the table.
And the cinematography excels thanks to great cameraman Cecilio Paniagua. The latter was a magnificent photographer who initially worked as an assistant to the prestigious cameraman Enrique Guerner. His first film was ¨A Heritage of Paris¨ and his last one ¨Los Restos del Naufragio¨, during the thirty-four years that separate them he made a total of 81 movies. Working for the greatest directors at the time as Rafael Gil, Luís Lucia, José Maria Forqué, J. A. Bardem, Luís Garcia Berlanga, in films such as: ¨A White Suit¨, ¨Siega Verde¨, ¨Jeromin¨, ¨La Vida en un Bloc¨, Un Día Perdido¨, ¨Amanecer en la Puerta Oscura¨,¨Sonatas¨, ¨Novio a la vista¨, and especially in the sixties and seventies he was the cameraman of multiple foreign productions that are filmed in Spain, such as: ¨Custer in the West¨, ¨100 Rifles¨, ¨The light at the edge of the world¨, ¨Treasure Island¨, ¨Count Sandorf¨, ¨The Legion's Last Patrol¨, among others.
Despite being his first directorial film, Armando Moreno provides a decent direction. It won National Syndicate of Spectacle: Núria Espert and Francisco Rabal in María Rosa (1965) and 1964 winner Prize of the National Syndicate of Spectacle Best Film. Rating: 6.5/10. Better than average.
