Kieron Moore is deaf, dumb and blind since birth. He is also a successful author. Finally, he is the self-confessed murderer of Phil Brown, a man whom neither Moore, nor Moore's wife, Ann Todd, had ever met. French lawyer Michael Redgrave -- for this is a courtroom drama set in France -- does not believe Moore could murder anyone and takes his case to prove him innocent.
I have some issues with the format of courtroom dramas like this, as clever lawyers discover and prove plots far distant from the ones that the entire apparatus of law enforcement could not uncover. Yet this is one in which the reasons for that failure make sense, merely underlining the brilliance of the man who penetrates the haze of lies with such little trouble. That brilliance is underlined by the eccentricity and size of Redgrave's performance, half Charles Laughton, half Michel Simon and half Leo McKern.
I told you his performance was big. It's the third movie I've seen that was directed by George More O'Ferrell, a brilliant producer and director. The vast majority of his work is lost, because he went straight from working in the West End to being "the drama producer" at the launch of BBC Television in 1936. Between then and 1962, he produced more than 120 long-form shows for BBC and ITV; directed 80; wrote a dozen. So the seven big-screen movies he directed over five years in the 1950s -- including one Christmas classic, THE HOLLY AND THE IVY -- seem more like a minor distraction.
I would not call this one a classic, but it is a solid movie with good performances and a fine, mad one by Redgrave. More than good enough.
I have some issues with the format of courtroom dramas like this, as clever lawyers discover and prove plots far distant from the ones that the entire apparatus of law enforcement could not uncover. Yet this is one in which the reasons for that failure make sense, merely underlining the brilliance of the man who penetrates the haze of lies with such little trouble. That brilliance is underlined by the eccentricity and size of Redgrave's performance, half Charles Laughton, half Michel Simon and half Leo McKern.
I told you his performance was big. It's the third movie I've seen that was directed by George More O'Ferrell, a brilliant producer and director. The vast majority of his work is lost, because he went straight from working in the West End to being "the drama producer" at the launch of BBC Television in 1936. Between then and 1962, he produced more than 120 long-form shows for BBC and ITV; directed 80; wrote a dozen. So the seven big-screen movies he directed over five years in the 1950s -- including one Christmas classic, THE HOLLY AND THE IVY -- seem more like a minor distraction.
I would not call this one a classic, but it is a solid movie with good performances and a fine, mad one by Redgrave. More than good enough.