As is well known, Joseph Losey was born in the United States but in 1954 he resettled to the United Kingdom in order not to face the House Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC) and its intimidatory tactics to extract information relating to himself and others of alleged communist persuasion.
In the UK he achieved works of considerable distinction. TIME WITHOUT PITY reveals his capacity to draw superior performances from his cast, notably from Michael Redgrave and Leo McKern, with competent support from Peter Cushing, Ann Todd, Alec McCowen... and future Miss Moneypenny of James Bondian fame, Lois Maxwell.
First rate B&W cinematography by Freddie Francis. I find the weakest link to be the script. Redgrave is the drunkard of a father who manages to leave his treatment institution in Canada only the day before his son is scheduled to be hanged for supposedly killing a young woman. In an often drunken stupor, Redgrave somehow manages to hit the mouche where everyone else had missed it over the course of months of investigation (Scotland Yard not that great, after all...)
And so he finds the real killer, whose temper keeps getting the better of him. That the wrong man is about to be hanged is a clear indictment of the death penalty in force in the UK at the time. The acting, sublime as it is, often borders on the hysterical and cannot paper over all credibility cracks - which is a pity but does not irreparably damage the film: it is still very watchworthy. 7/10.
In the UK he achieved works of considerable distinction. TIME WITHOUT PITY reveals his capacity to draw superior performances from his cast, notably from Michael Redgrave and Leo McKern, with competent support from Peter Cushing, Ann Todd, Alec McCowen... and future Miss Moneypenny of James Bondian fame, Lois Maxwell.
First rate B&W cinematography by Freddie Francis. I find the weakest link to be the script. Redgrave is the drunkard of a father who manages to leave his treatment institution in Canada only the day before his son is scheduled to be hanged for supposedly killing a young woman. In an often drunken stupor, Redgrave somehow manages to hit the mouche where everyone else had missed it over the course of months of investigation (Scotland Yard not that great, after all...)
And so he finds the real killer, whose temper keeps getting the better of him. That the wrong man is about to be hanged is a clear indictment of the death penalty in force in the UK at the time. The acting, sublime as it is, often borders on the hysterical and cannot paper over all credibility cracks - which is a pity but does not irreparably damage the film: it is still very watchworthy. 7/10.