A Life in the Balance (1955): Cast & Plot

Antonio Gomez [Ricardo Montalban] is a nearly destitute musician and widower in Mexico City, trying to support his 11-year-old son, Paco Gomez [José Pérez], amid unemployment and neighbors who want custody. He argues with an ex-girlfriend over money she owes him. The city is haunted by a religious fanatic serial killer [Lee Marvin] who stabs his young female victims and leaves them with their arms folded, a chilling signature that unsettles the neighborhood. When neighbors report the argument Gomez had with the murdered girl, the police presume they’re closing in on the killer, and Gomez quickly becomes a target of the investigation. The tension in the apartment buildings and crowded streets underscores a life stretched thin by poverty, fear, and the ever-present threat of violence.