A very good thriller ,rather simple,but this is the kind of simplicity we are in need of today ,when screenplays are complicated instead of complex ; the principal, played by talented George Peppard ,is an ambiguous character ,not really black or white ,but rather gray ,for his methods of questioning -we don't attend - can easily be called into question;on the other hand, his wife 's role is not developed enough and at the time some critics complain that she should disappear so early in the film ( coincidence ,Seberg's premature death in real life has remained mysterious ,because of her political commitment ,she had become a Joan of Arc of sorts ,a figure she portrayed for Preminger )It's possible she disapproves of her husband's brutality but she has too little time on the screen .The title is well chosen and besides the thriller ,the film has a welcome reflection on justice which is still relevant today ( see the remarks of the judge when he dismisses the case for lack of evidence .)
The lousy house of the suspect's mom and her relationship with her mentally-ill son has a Tennessee Williams touch ,reinforced by the fact that Madeleine Sherwood notably played the part of Mae in Brooks's "cat on a hot tin roof" .
Even though you easily guess the whodunit , the movie sustains interest throughout.
The lousy house of the suspect's mom and her relationship with her mentally-ill son has a Tennessee Williams touch ,reinforced by the fact that Madeleine Sherwood notably played the part of Mae in Brooks's "cat on a hot tin roof" .
Even though you easily guess the whodunit , the movie sustains interest throughout.