Upon finishing secondary school in Segovia, he began to study law in Madrid, joining the Falange Española de las JONS (Spanish Phalanx of the Councils of the National Syndicalist Offensive), a fascist political party, whose social ideology would have a profound impact on his cinematographic works.

At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he joined the front as a voluntary Falangist as part of the Nationalist or Rebel faction, opposing the unification of the Falange and the Requetés decreed by Franco, allying himself in the Falangist faction with the "hedillistas" (supporters of Manuel Hedilla, the successor of José Antonio Primo de Rivera, at the head of the Falange that was opposed to the unification as decreed by Franco) and reaching the rank of Infantry Second Lieutenant.

This was followed by Angustia [Anguish] (1947), featuring Rafael Bardem and Julia Caba Alba, another crime film, which was declared of "national interest," and Llegada la noche [Night Arrival] (1949), with a script from Carlos Blanco.

In 1950 he directed Balarrasa [Reckless] (1950) with a script from Vicente Escrivá and with actors such as Fernando Fernán Gómez, María Rosa Salgado, Maruchi Fresno, Luis Prendes, and José Bódalo.

It has a script from Natividad Zaro and Gonzalo Torrente Ballester based on a plot by Eugenio Montes and features Luis Peña and María Asquerino as its protagonists.