The Bitter Stems (Los tallos amargos)

BLU-RAY / DVD DUAL-FORMAT EDITION This rarely seen 1956 film was lauded in its day but only recently rediscovered, hidden away in a private collector’s home outside Buenos Aires. Thanks to the diligent efforts of the Film Noir Foundation and Argentine cinephile Fernando Martín Peña, a gorgeous new print of The Bitter Stems (Los tallos amargos) was created, by UCLA Film & Television Archive, from the reconditioned original negative, now presented in its first ever home video release–with special thanks to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Charitable Trust (The HFPA Trust). Alfredo Gasper, a dissatisfied Buenos Aires newspaperman (Carlos Cores), partners with Paar Liudas, a clever Hungarian refugee (Vassili Lambrinos) who needs money to bring his family to Argentina. Together they create a bogus correspondence school, exploiting the hopes of would-be journalists. As their scheme succeeds beyond their wildest dreams, a mystery woman from Liudas’ past sparks Gasper’s suspicion