The Skeleton of Mrs. Morales (El Esqueleto de la Senora Morales) (1960)
Runtime: 82 minutes
Directed by: Rogelio A. Gonzalez
Starring: Arturo de Cordova, Amparo Rivelles, Elda Peralta, Guillermo Orea, Rosenda Monteros
From: Alfa Fila S.A.
I am glad to have “tracked down” a copy of this film over two years ago; about darn time I finally checked it out, right? This film is more black comedy than horror, but indeed the titular Mrs. Morales is a rather terrifying woman. Domestic/familial abuse is a real-life nightmare.
She's long been married to a taxidermist, but Pablo is no Norman Bates; Gloria treats him disgracefully. She has convinced her pals that he's an alcoholic, woman-beating lout when he's actually a cool, gregarious dude that interacts w/ children and did not deserve all her manipulations, her vile behavior while professing she's a pious member of the Catholic church... screenwriter Luis Alcoriza wrote some Luis Bunuel films so I shouldn't have been surprised by this angle. It was made clear that Pablo still has feelings for his girl despite her hideous mistreatment of him.
Whether you think Pablo's behavior in the second half of the picture is warranted is up to personal opinion. For certain, director Rogelio A. Gonzalez and cinematographer Victor Herrera do a swell job w/ their jobs, creating a lovely black-and-white film to examine, striking imagery seen throughout. The colorful characters were acted well by the talented cast. Pablo has friends of his own we see on a few occasions. Gloria's priest is the most memorable of her pals. Arturo de Cordova was a gem as Pablo, relishing this delicious part.
Skeleton is a macabre delight, especially during the great finale. It's a shame that at least in America, people have to do some digging to even find a copy for streaming purposes. It is worth the effort, IMO.
