The Glass Ceiling (film)
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''The Glass Ceiling'' (Spanish:''El techo de cristal'') is a 1971
psychological thriller film Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and ...
, written and directed by
Eloy de la Iglesia Eloy de la Iglesia (1 January 1944 – 23 March 2006) was a Spanish screenwriter and film director. De la Iglesia was an outspoken gay socialist filmmaker who is relatively unknown outside Spain despite a prolific and successful career in his ...
. It stars Carmen Sevilla, Dean Selmier and Patty Shepard.Mira p.281 The plot follows a bored housewife who begins to suspect that her upstairs neighbor killed her invalid husband. Sevilla won a major award in her home country (the Cinema Writers Circle Award) for this performance. The film is somewhat inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's ''
Rear Window ''Rear Window'' is a 1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder". Originally released by Paramount Pictures, the film st ...
'' (1954) and the
paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy co ...
classic
George Cukor George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head ...
's ''
Gaslight Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either direct ...
'' (1944). The film was a commercial success.D’Lugo, ''Guide to the Cinema of Spain'', p. 168


Plot

Martha is an attractive housewife living in a small rural apartment house in the outskirt of Madrid. Her husband, Carlos, leaves frequently on business trips so Martha spends most of her time alone with her pet cat, Fedra, as her only companion. While Carlos is away, Martha hears heavy footsteps in the apartment above her. Her sexy upstairs neighbor, Julia, is in a similar situation. Victor, Julia's husband, happens to be away this time as well. After overhearing a few things, Martha, already prone to fantasizing away her boredom and loneliness, begins to suspect that Julia has killed her sick husband. Julia claims that Victor left for business reasons. Martha does not believe her and begins to investigate. She soon discovers that nobody has seen Julia's husband leaving town which seems to confirm Martha's theory. Adding to Martha's suspicions, Julia keeps asking to put things in her fridge, even though her own refrigerator is clearly working. On top of this, someone is secretly feeding something to the landlord's dogs. When Rita, Matha's close friend, stops for a visit with her young daughter, Yolanda, Martha tells her that she thinks Julia has a lover and that they both had killed Victor. Unfortunately the imprudent Yolanda tells Julia that Martha said that she had a lover. The building's landlord, Ricardo, a sculptor and artist living downstairs, works in his sculptures and pottery when he is not fussing over his dogs and pigs. He has piqued the interest of Rosa, the young daughter of a farmer, who delivers milk there every morning to the various tenants. Though Ricardo does not discourage Rosa's attentions, he finds himself being drawn to Martha instead. Pedro, a grocery delivery man, also seems to have a thing for Martha and may be having an affair with Julia. When Martha firmly rebuffs Pedro's advances, Pedro threatens her. Meanwhile, someone is spying on and taking provocative pictures of all three of the women. Ultimately it is revealed that Martha's husband Carlos has been having an affair with Julia, and that he killed Julia's husband with the agreement that Julia would then kill Martha. However, as Julia and Carlos are about to kill Martha, Ricardo arrives and shoots Carlos dead. Ricardo exchanges a knowing glance with Julia, and the voyeuristic photos appear onscreen, indicating that Ricardo was the photographer.


Cast

* Carmen Sevilla as Marta * Dean Selmier as Ricardo * Patty Shepard as Julia *
Emma Cohen Emmanuela Beltrán Rahola (21 November 1946 – 11 July 2016) better known as Emma Cohen was a Spanish actress, director, producer, and writer. She appeared in many Spanish language films. She portrayed ''Gallina Caponata'' in Barrio Sésamo, a ...
as Rosa * Fernando Cebrián as Carlos *
Encarna Paso María de la Encarnación Paso Ramos (25 March 1931 – 18 August 2019), better known as Encarna Paso, was a Spanish film and television actress. Biography Daughter of playwright Antonio Paso Díaz, granddaughter of Antonio Paso y Cano and n ...
as Rita * Rafael Hernández as Padre * Javier De Campos as Empleado * Patricia Cealot * Hugo Blanco as delivery man


Notes


Bibliography

* Mira, Alberto. ''The A to Z of Spanish Cinema''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2010. *D’Lugo, Marvin. '' Guide to the Cinema of Spain''. Greenwood Press, 1997.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Glass Ceiling 1971 films Spanish horror drama films 1971 horror films Spanish horror thriller films 1970s horror thriller films 1970s Spanish-language films Films directed by Eloy de la Iglesia Adultery in films Spanish psychological thriller films 1970s Spanish films