While it borrows perhaps the most common noir story set-up (murderous man marries rich woman to inherit her wealth), Mario Soffici’s El hombre que debía una muerte (US: The Man Who Owed a Death) is a perfectly fine variation on the theme, one that juxtaposes the simplicity of a vast, mountainous countryside in La Rioja (a rare backdrop for Argentinian film) with the corruption of material wealth in an opulent Buenos Aires mansion. Carlos Cores plays Héctor Rossi, a greedy conman who fakes an accident in order to gain entry into the home of small-town schoolteacher Leonor (Amelia Bence), who not only monitors his convalescence but soon marries him. When Leonor’s wealthy uncle falls to his death from a construction project, Leonor inherits a mountain of money, which, of course, makes her the next target for elimination. While it was one of Soffici’s least favorite of his films, it entertains through deception, intrigue, and beautiful backdrops, the lead actors performing on all cylinders, the suspense crafted meticulously in parts (Rossi’s return to the manse after attempting to gas Leonor is particularly well done).