Juan Antonio Bardem (uncle of actor Javier Bardem) was an outspoken opponent of Franco, but mostly left his criticism out of his films and avoided censorship. Despite this, he was arrested numerous times. Highlight of his oeuvre is this social realist drama that grandiosely links a Hitchcockian murder mystery with a forbidden film noir-style romance. The film begins with a couple hitting a cyclist, but because they are lovers they ride on. The story of guilt, infidelity and blackmail reveals the wide gap between rich and poor in Spain and the corrupt ethics of a society seduced by decadence. Juan Antonio Bardem’s loaded melodrama was a direct attack on Spanish society of the 1950s under Franco’s rule.