El salario del crimen

Don't expect a dull movie here in the vein of the Spanish 50's melodramas. This is almost the Spanish version of Bad Lieutenant filmed 40 years before, obviously it's a bit exaggerated but if you see it under perspective of the political situation in Spain during these years El Salario de la Violencia turns out to be quite a quite risky film. You can find many films covering similar grounds in the US or France , but sadly that's not the case for Spain ,where due to the political situation all cinema was oriented to a more folkloric side. This is what it makes this film special , had this been filmed in the US it would be an unremarkable film but in Spain you can hardly find any film noirs nor many alumni of the works of Richard Thorpe , Phil Karlson or J.Becquer.

Plot is about police corruption , a fine cop who felt in love with a kind of rich femme fatal he met during an investigation . Obviously he can afford to follow up her expensive living with his modest salary so he starts behaving randomly in a Bad Liutenant' style, taking money and hiding evidences until finally he ends up planning a bank heist .

It's not only the subject of the film id quite audacious due to the Spanish censorship in force at that time . It's also that the film itself is well constructed , plot and actors are quite credible and realistic ( even A. Fernandez who later became a popular figure in Spain for his comical roles in popular movies and also for his total lack of any acting skills ) You can avoid to come across to a moralistic end and some bizarre turns made the plot became a bit cheesy at the end but it's well worth the time .