Torment (1974 film)

Torment
Theatrical release poster
Spanish	Tormento
Directed by	Pedro Olea
Screenplay by	Ricardo López Aranda José Frade Pedro Olea Ángel María de Lera
Based on	Tormento by Benito Pérez Galdós
Produced by	José Frade
Starring	Ana Belén Francisco Rabal Conchita Velasco Javier Escrivá
Cinematography	Fernando Arribas
Edited by	José Antonio Rojo
Music by	Carmelo Bernaola
Production company	José Frade PC
Distributed by	Atlántida
Release date	2 September 1974 (1974-09-02)
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish
Box office	120.6 million pesetas[1]

Torment (Spanish: Tormento) is a 1974 Spanish drama film directed by Pedro Olea based on the novel of the same name by Benito Pérez Galdós which stars Ana Belén, Francisco Rabal, Concha Velasco, and Javier Escrivá.

Plot

The plot is set in 19th-century Madrid.^[2] Upon the return of enriched Agustín from the Americas to Spain, young maid Amparo, working for the Bringas and in a relationship with priest Pedro Polo, is courted by Agustín.

Cast

• Ana Belén as Amparo^[3]
• Conchita Velasco as Rosalía de Bringas^[4]
• Francisco Rabal as Agustín Caballero^[5]
• Javier Escrivá [es] as Pedro Polo^[6]
• Rafael Alonso as Francisco Bringas^[6]
• Ismael Merlo as Padre Nones^[6]
• María Luisa San José [es] as Refugio^[6]
• Amelia de la Torre [es] as Marcelina Polo^[6]
• Milagros Leal as Celedonia^[6]
• María Isbert as Prudencia^[6]

Production

An adaptation of the novel Tormento [es] by Benito Pérez Galdós, the screenplay was penned by Ricardo López Aranda, José Frade [es], Pedro Olea, and Ángel María de Lera [es].^[6] The film is a José Frade PC production.^[6]

Release

Distributed by Atlántida, the film was released theatrically in Spain on 2 September 1974.^[7][8] The film became Olea's most successful film and was the highest-grossing Spanish film of the year with a gross of 75 million pesetas.^[9][10] By the end of 1975, it was the seventh highest-grossing Spanish film of all time with a gross of 106 million pesetas from 1.7 million admissions.^[11] By 1987, it had over 2 million admissions and a gross of 120.6 million,^[1]

The film's critical reception was also positive.^[9]

See also

• List of Spanish films of 1974

References

1. Boletín informativo del control de taquila. Datos de 1987 (PDF). ICAA. 1988. pp. 152. 156.
2. "Tormento". Fotogramas. 29 May 2008.
3. Prol Galiñanes, Teresa María (2005). "Un Tormento literario, un Tormento cinematográfico: la novela de Galdós y la versión de Pedro Olea". VIII Congreso Internacional Galdosiano. p. 796.
4. Ansola González, Txomin (2010). "Pedro Olea: semblanza de un brillante artesano del cine". Bidebarrieta. 21: 261. ISSN 1137-4888.
5. Prol Galiñanes 2005, p. 789.
6. Prol Galiñanes 2005, p. 796.
7. "Tormento · España 1974". Adaptaciones de la literatura española en el cine español. Referencias y bibliografía. Retrieved 3 December 2023 – via Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes.
8. Faulkner, Sally (2016). "Rehearsing for democracy in dictatorship Spain: middlebrow period drama 1970–77". In Faulkner, Sally (ed.). Middlebrow Cinema. Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-77712-5.
9. Ansola González 2010, p. 261.
10. Boletín informativo del control de taquila. Datos del cuatro trimestre 1974 (PDF). ICAA. 1975. pp. 347, 303.
11. Boletín informativo del control de taquila. Datos de 1975 (PDF). ICAA. 1976. pp. 211, 258.