A grown up wartime evacuee called Paul Mathry (Van Johnson) arrives back in Liverpool from the States after being away for nearly twenty years. He discovers that his father, Patrick (Bernard Lee), has been in prison for all that time for killing a young woman, Mona Spirling, at her flat during an air raid. It seems that he had been having an affair with her and she had got pregnant supposedly with his child and had demanded money. Paul isn't convinced his father did it and begins his own inquiry aided by his new girlfriend, the librarian Lena Anderson (Vera Miles), but he finds that a number of people in high places are determined to stop him from snooping...
This tense, emotional and very satisfying murder mystery drama, adapted from AJ Cronin's novel, was only cinematographer turned director Jack Cardiff's second film in the latter capacity. Despite the reservations expressed by the reviewer in my Radio Times Film Guide who said that Cardiff "was still finding his feet " in the role and moaned that it is a "a rather turgid adaptation", I was gripped from first to last frame. He sustains the suspense throughout by creating an electric atmosphere of corruption in high places and you can sense that just about everyone has something to hide. For example, it transpires that the prosecutor at Mathry's trial, Sir Matthew Sprott (Ralph Truman), had doubts about the strength of the evidence against him, but he nevertheless employed his considerable skills as a barrister to ensure he got convicted because he didn't want the embarrassment of losing a case. It would have affected his career progression and, today, he is standing for parliament in a highly publicised by-election. When Paul pushes his way into his office asking a lot of awkward questions about his father, he puts pressure upon the police superintendent to have him confined to his ship until it sets sail for America again because he doesn't want the scandal and potential mud slinging from political opponents to cost him his election. But, are Sir Matthew's concerns really all about politics? The key witness at Mathry's trial, Louise Birt, the murdered woman's flat mate, has done very nicely since then owning her own nightclub and bar on New Brighton. Paul suspects that somebody paid her to perjure her testimony and set her up in business as a reward for shielding the real killer. Could that person be Sir Matthew? And why did Enoch Oswald (Emlyn Williams), the chairman of the local welfare committee and director of a successful shipping company, launch a petition at the time to prevent Mathry from being hanged? Guilty conscience, perhaps?
All of these twists and turns are sufficient to hold an audience's interest and the performances from the imported American leads are quite good too. Johnson displays the anguish and passion as Paul Mathry who finds himself battling the city's establishment to clear his dad's name and Miles is more than competent as his girlfriend. The pair are falling in love with each other, but the relationship is put in jeopardy as a result of an incident in her past that has left her emotionally scarred.
This tense, emotional and very satisfying murder mystery drama, adapted from AJ Cronin's novel, was only cinematographer turned director Jack Cardiff's second film in the latter capacity. Despite the reservations expressed by the reviewer in my Radio Times Film Guide who said that Cardiff "was still finding his feet " in the role and moaned that it is a "a rather turgid adaptation", I was gripped from first to last frame. He sustains the suspense throughout by creating an electric atmosphere of corruption in high places and you can sense that just about everyone has something to hide. For example, it transpires that the prosecutor at Mathry's trial, Sir Matthew Sprott (Ralph Truman), had doubts about the strength of the evidence against him, but he nevertheless employed his considerable skills as a barrister to ensure he got convicted because he didn't want the embarrassment of losing a case. It would have affected his career progression and, today, he is standing for parliament in a highly publicised by-election. When Paul pushes his way into his office asking a lot of awkward questions about his father, he puts pressure upon the police superintendent to have him confined to his ship until it sets sail for America again because he doesn't want the scandal and potential mud slinging from political opponents to cost him his election. But, are Sir Matthew's concerns really all about politics? The key witness at Mathry's trial, Louise Birt, the murdered woman's flat mate, has done very nicely since then owning her own nightclub and bar on New Brighton. Paul suspects that somebody paid her to perjure her testimony and set her up in business as a reward for shielding the real killer. Could that person be Sir Matthew? And why did Enoch Oswald (Emlyn Williams), the chairman of the local welfare committee and director of a successful shipping company, launch a petition at the time to prevent Mathry from being hanged? Guilty conscience, perhaps?
All of these twists and turns are sufficient to hold an audience's interest and the performances from the imported American leads are quite good too. Johnson displays the anguish and passion as Paul Mathry who finds himself battling the city's establishment to clear his dad's name and Miles is more than competent as his girlfriend. The pair are falling in love with each other, but the relationship is put in jeopardy as a result of an incident in her past that has left her emotionally scarred.