Combining shades of Chair de Poule (1963), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), and even They Drive by Night (1940), Manos Sucias, directed by José Antonio de la Loma and Marcello Baldi, is a lesser known, Franco-era Spanish noir that fits neatly into that surprisingly capacious sub-genre we can call trucker noir. Set largely in a bland mountainside service station, the film stars Italian actor Amedeo Nazzari as Miguel, an always-broke truck driver who endeavors to sabotage his competitor’s truck by loosening one of its tires when both men have stopped at a roadside diner; while his goal is to destroy the truck so he can pick up his more lucrative route, the resulting accident kills the driver and severely injures the driver’s partner Andrès (Francisco Piquer). Having purchased a service station as his new venture, Miguel courts and marries the sexy diner waitress Teresa (Katia Loritz), who had witnessed him loosening the tire, and hires his victim, the now disabled Andrès, out of guilt. As Teresa becomes bored, she ventures out to pursue extramarital affairs, which raises tension at the station as Miguel, Teresa, and Andrès form an unholy trinity of secrets and resentments, which can only lead to violence. Despite a few weak rear projection shots, the film has plenty of skillfully composed and suspenseful moments, especially the sabotage scene where the viewer (but not Miguel) can see the witness in the background and the high-tension sequence when Miguel drives past the accident he caused, resisting his instinct to stop.