LA BARCA SIN PESCADOR (1964)
aka The Boat Without a Fisherman
Article 4408 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 12-31-2013
Directed by Josep Maria Forn
Featuring Gerard Landy, Amparo Soler Leal, Mable Karr
Country: Spain
What it is: Deal with the devil

When a shipping magnate loses his fortune in the stock market, he is offered a deal by the devil to recoup his losses if he allows a poor fisherman to fall to his death. The businessman agrees, but he finds himself haunted by his action and ends up meeting with the fisherman’s family and friends.

Here’s another movie I was only able to find in Spanish without English subtitles. Fortunately, a user comment on IMDB provided me with the general basis of the story, so I wasn’t at a total loss. However, outside of the scene where he makes the agreement, the movie doesn’t give me much visually to work with in figuring out the story, and most of it consists of people talking to each other. There are some special effects involving the Mephistopheles character, but he is used sparingly, and the movie is primarily concerned with the interactions between the other characters. As such, I have to reserve judgment on this one, though I’ve heard there’s an English translation of the stage play on which this one is based, so someday I might be able to find out more of what’s going on. Still, I do have the general impression that the movie is really no better than average.