User Reviews

I hate to say that Lawrence Olivier is a great actor because it's one of our cultural taken-for-granteds. Everybody says it. And yet the guy is a great actor. In "Term of Trial," all of the stern villainy he embodied in "Spartacus" is absent. So is the dilatory sluggishness of "Hamlet." Here, Olivier is a mouse of an English school teacher -- former conscientious objector, booted about by his tempestuous French wife (Signoret), chivvied by leather-clad hoods in and out of the classroom, manipulated in the most obvious way by his headmaster, brought to court by the accusations of sexual assault brought by an infatuated fifteen-year-old girl (Miles). And the irony is that he's convicted of doing nothing except being afraid to do anything.

Olivier really gets into the role too. He's piqued when faced with rude conduct from his students, but otherwise he shambles around, his shoulders hunched to make himself smaller, blinking his eyelids in confusion and fear. A smart guy and a very moral one, but no guts, you know? That's not to say that the rest of the cast is in any way below professional levels. Sarah Miles and Simone Signoret in particular shine. Miles is a blond here, all shivery with what passes for love among girls in their mid-teens from unhappy families. And, intelligent as Olivier is, he's about the stupidest man walking the earth in failing to recognize what he sees. When he escorts the thrilled girl home after a day spent touring Paris, she stands facing him, a foot or two away, trembling with the desire to be kissed by a handsome and tender grown-up man. And what does Olivier have to say? After a moment's silence, he remarks, in all seriousness, "Poor child -- you're overtired." If that isn't dumb, what is? The novel made a trifle more out of Olivier's drinking than the film does. In the book he considers himself a career juice head because he spends the lunch hour downing a couple of beers. One doesn't know the definition of alcoholism of the novelist (James Barlow) but as presented, Olivier is strictly minor league. The novel, by the way, is nicely written and worth a read.

Signoret is good too except that her exotic, avian eyes are set in a face of compelling homeliness and the body of a tight end. And, man, is she mean. She's always carrying on about herself, about how victimized she is, married to a nobody, a "coward" who refused to fight in the war, a man too frightened even to make love to another woman, even if the woman was only fifteen.

She's leaving him, which, in my opinion, was to his advantage, but he stops her by falsely confessing that, yes, he did make love to Miles in that hotel room. She pauses, stares at him, then slaps him with vigor and sets her suitcases down, saying, "Well, I guess I'll have to keep an eye on you." Olivier gets what he wants but why in God's name he wants it, we're left to wonder.

Nice,comfortably middle-class humanitarian beautifully-spoken and with just a touch of mysterious sadness....how could any blossoming schoolgirl fail to have a crush on Laurence Olivier?As he battles against indifference and incompetence in what would today be called a bog - standard comprehensive,teaching his pupils personal realisation,Olivier strikes a chord in confused adolescent Sarah Miles who develops a crush on him and when he ever-so-gently (and rather nobly) rebuffs her,she throws herself at horrible yob Terence Stamp,openly snogging him in front of Olivier,whose reaction is beautifully portrayed. Not content with this she goes on to accuse him of having sex with her. His wife,the superbly sluttish Simone Signoret,has only contempt for him. Despite being cleared,she will only have him back if he admits that he was guilty after all. Olivier's film career was not unblemished,to put it politely.He tended to go where the money was in later years,preferring success de cash to success d'estime."Term of Trial" was a notable exception.No ludicrous accent,no scenery chewing,but a sensitive and moving performance. Sarah Miles is fragile,desperate and hateful by turns,I don't believe she was ever so good afterwards,despite some high-profile roles. The 7 vote is for them rather than the film ,which is well- intentioned and a bit plodding where it could have been sharp and telling. As a study of the crucifixion of a decent man it works well enough. But generally speaking it is less than the sum of its parts.

***SPOILERS*** Laurence Oilvier or Larry as he liked to be called really outdoes himself in "Term of Trial" as the mosey and abused, by almost everyone in the movie, British high school English teacher Graham Weir. Teaching in a tough inner city high school Weir is treated with almost total disdain by almost everyone he deals with. A conscious objector during the war, that's WWII, because he hates the thought of being violent and possibly killing and injuring somebody even a Nazi Weir served time behind bars which kept him for getting any advances as a teacher in the British school system. This all leads to Wier sneaking drinks under the table at the local pub after school so he can build up enough courage to face his battle ax wife Anna,Simone Signouret, who can't stand the sight of him in how wimpy he, the man in the family, acts towards her.

Despite his gutless and unmanly demeanor Weir has a sweet kind and tender side to him that no one but sexy 15 year old Shirley Taylor, played by Sarah Miles in her first movie role, notices. Despite the age difference, Weir is 52 and Shirley is 15, Shirley sets her sights on the unsuspecting Weir to first get him to become her both "Sugar Daddy",in helping her with her homework, as well as lover. At first not at all interested in Shirley sexually things get out of hand for the meek shy and introverted Weir when he takes his class on a trip to Paris. It's there that Shirley starts to make her move on him that despite her very openly aggressiveness he's totally blindsided, in him checking out the sights of the city, to! It's later back in the UK at a stay at a local hotel that Shirley faking illness ends up almost bedding down the poor and confused guy who, like the gentleman that he is, kindly rejects her sexual advances towards him. Hurt humiliated and,the worst that a man can do to a woman, scorned Shirley now plans to get even with the upright and perfect gentleman Weir by claiming that he took advantage of her in his hotel room! That in the end would not only cost him his job but even,if convicted, his freedom!

Well done and beautifully crafted film about forbidden love with the great Laurence "Larry" Olivier as the innocent victim in all this sleaziness swirling around him that he has really no control of. You just can't help but feel for the guy, Graham Weir, in how everyone steps on him and yet he comes across more courageous in not fighting back but in taking all the guff that's thrown on him.

***SPOILERS*** Put on trial as a sexual pervert Weir in his willing to not humiliated Shriley any more then she's already been has her change her testimony and admit that she not Weir was the sexual predator in this whole sordid affair! In spite of her anger towards Weir, in him rejecting her sexually, Shirley soon realized that by destroying him she in fact will end up destroying herself as well. Shirley in an effort to get Weir jealous was starting to act like a whore or tramp with every boy in school including the just one step away from being sent up the river,or prison, for life bad boy & pot smoking Mitchell, Terrance Stamp.

It's later in the film that Weir finally wins the respect of his wife Anna by lying to her in that he fact instigated the affair he had with Shirley. Instead of being angry with him Anna had a new found respect in her husband in that he wasn't the wimp and gutless wonder that she thought that he was all these years. And it was that which in the end brought the two,who were on the outs, back together again.

Sir Laurence Olivier portrays a good man,in every sense of the term:he believes in education as a way of social promotion,he believes in respect for the students he teaches to,he believes in nonviolence (wasn't he a conscientious objector in the war? you were because you were afraid ,says his wife you're always afraid).

Mr Weir lives in a world whICH has not still forgotten WW2 ;towards the end,the scene on the streets where he sees young people dance to the sound of a juke box,or a newsstand full of pornographic magazines-hence his anger when the judge brings the verdict- show that the times are changing and perhaps not for the best. He is a teacher,a job which is ,par excellence,a job people love to put down (today more than ever these people need all our respect cause Terence Stamp in this movie is an angel compared to some of today's youngsters);his wife (Simone Signoret) does not consider him a man (the last picture is ,for that matter,revealing:you've got to be cruel to be kind);he gives free private tuition ,and doesn't even get a thank you from the parents. When all the values you believe in are flouted,you have no more reason to live.

Sarah Miles (debut) matches sir Olivier every step of the way,particularly in the scenes of trial.Her portrayal unlayers every nuance of her fragility and desperation (even if we're not told so,isn't it because her father does not give any love or affection that she is not interested in young boys?).She may try to be a woman,but she breaks like a little girl.

This film was a very heavy experience to say the least. It has a lot of similarities with "The Browning Version". A very nobody teacher who no one respects. A guy who he never stands up for himself. A guy who's wife thinks very little of him. He's a fly on the wall.

This is a good film. It showcases a few common flaws of society very well. The little guy in real life seems to never win. He always gets trampled on. The meek don't inherit the earth. Olivier plays a very passive teacher who refused service in WWII and the few who know, don't respect him. His wife complains incessantly about how her life could have been better. He doesn't do enough for her and such. He never fights or swears. She hates that he doesn't hit her. She thinks this would show some courage and a little affection. The problem is, he's just a nice passive guy who means no harm to anyone. He's a good teacher and the few students that like him know he's a good guy.

Enter the one student who takes more of a fancy to him. Shirley sees in him a kindly man who can teach her more. She has nothing in common with her family. In Mr. Weir she's sees a confidant and eventually, someone she loves. With this, the stage is set for her to finally approach him and tell him what she feels for him. She's 15 and that's a no-no and he tells her so. He still loves his wife (even though she doesn't respect him) and he tells her...this is something you will regret if it were to happen. Shirley doesn't take this too well. She feels spurned and rebels afterwards. A few days later a policeman arrives to question him. Shirley has told them the exact opposite of what happened and he gets tried for indecency. In the end she finally tells the truth(her mother puts her up to bringing the false charges) and he gets vindicated.

Mr. Weir is a classic example of nice guys never win. In real life. Here's the layout. He's a good teacher who's wife doesn't respect him cause he's a passive guy. She wants a guy with fire and a little drama. He has neither....but she marries him anyhow. All she does is complain. He spurns a student in a very gentle way as to not hurt her feelings and he gets dragged into court over something he didn't do. How many news stories from the past has there been when a teacher gets charges or an adult in general over just the words of someone. Nowadays it's much simpler to prove this scenario with electronics and medical tests but can you imagine how many people have been falsely accused because of scorn or revenge? The final blow, or slight blow, is that the school he works at head guy decides since the bad publicity doesn't want him working there. I mean this guy did get acquitted and proved the charges false. He can't dismiss him for legal reasons but in a subtle way mentions it might be a good idea if he were to teach somewhere else. He refuses and very wisely mentions the law. He can't make him leave.

In the end, his wife decides she's had enough of his passive ways and decides she wants to leave him. He does nothing wrong and she wants to leave. He comes up with a way to keep her. He tells her the charges the girl brought were true even though they weren't. She's sees in him a spark of "badness' I guess and decides she wants to stay. Can you believe this?

This just comes down to nice guys never win...plain and simple. Watch this film and see what I mean. You can do all, what's considered, the right things in life and still your left with nothing. What a world we live in.

"Term of Trial" is a rather grim drama about an alcoholic English teacher (Olivier) who is falsely accused of fondling one of his students (Sarah Miles). Miles is lovely and arresting in her first film role.

Olivier, despite his drunkenness, is the most decent character in the film. His french wife (Simone Signoret) constantly belittles him and his lack of money. Terence Stamp, in this early role as "Mitchell" plays a sullen "angry young boy" who has no respect for his teacher or society in general.

It is not a 'fun' film to watch. The sole of nobility, Olivier truly loves his wife, and offers to help the Miles' character, giving her private tutoring at no cost, simply because he sees such potential in her.

Olivier does a fine job as the idealistic drunk. His character is further stigmatized by his being a pacifist during World War II, a fact which is brought up rather unkindly by his disillusioned wife.

This is a rainy, gritty England. A subplot about a young student whose mother has a young, violent boyfriend only adds to the ugliness.

The ending only adds another shade of black to the darkness. His wife, tired of her husband's fine principles, decides to leave him. He can only regain her respect by lying to her and telling her that he did have a relationship with the young Miles. The wife is now intrigued by her husband and decides to stay with him.

Olivier is hard to watch as the suffering teacher. This is almost "The Blue Angel" in post-war Britain--Olivier's teacher character is every bit as degraded as Emil Janning's professor.

The film is a downer, like Burton and Taylor's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Not pleasant to watch but you do appreciate its artistry.

In a slummy Northern England town, kindhearted schoolteacher Laurence Olivier (as Graham Weir) is browbeaten by wife Simone Signoret (as Anna), an ex-barmaid guilt-ridden over her inability to have children. Having served time in prison for declining to serve in World War II, Mr. Olivier doesn't expect to rise above his present station as an English secondary school teacher. He offers to tutor mature-looking 15-year-old Sarah Miles (as Shirley Taylor) and she becomes infatuated. On a field trip to Paris, Ms. Miles attempts to seduce Olivier, but he resists, Miles starts kissing passionate student bully Terence Stamp (as Mitchell). According to his girlfriends, Mr. Stamp likes to bite. He also teases Olivier in class about his fondness for whiskey. Unable to deal with rejection, and encouraged by her mother, Miles enacts her revenge...

This is nicely done socially conscious drama by Peter Glenville, but good teachers would have figured Miles out earlier than Olivier (okay, he's a weak-willed alcoholic). In real life, older actors and filmmakers have more success with teenage newcomers. Miles and Stamp make impressive feature film debuts. Hugh Griffith (as O'Hara) does well in the last act, and it would have been nice to see more of the subplot involving bright young Ray Holder (as Thompson), who is neglected and abused by his mother and her boyfriend. In fact, most adults in this film are lacking. Consequently, young people become enthralled with lurid magazines and movies; witness, for example, their hypnotic stares as Olivier approaches the courtroom. At the end, an unexpected decision made by Ms. Signoret lets you know whether the future is bleak or hopeful.

****** Term of Trial (8/16/62) Peter Glenville ~ Laurence Olivier, Sarah Miles, Simone Signoret, Terence Stamp

I haven't seen this movie for a good many years so my comments and rating are very much a shot from the hip. I had even forgotten the title and in my memory had given the starring role to Micheal Hordern.

I only watched it once on television sometime in the 1970's or 1980's, by which time the gritty genre of 'kitchen sink drama' had begun to lose its edge and appeal.

However, even as a young adult it had me completely riveted. It's Lawrence Olivier who plays a tortured soul with a dysfunctional marriage to a wife he cannot sexual gratify and who never loses an opportunity to scorn him with her frustration. As a teacher in a 'secondary school' he attempts to teach kids not just what to think, but how to think, which is surely what teaching is all about. One pubescent girl shows a little academic promise, and his partiality towards her efforts go misconstrued on her part. She develops a crush on him which he rather clumsily dismisses.

Hell hath no fury. She makes a false allegation to the police that he indecently assaulted her whilst on a school trip. He is arrested. His treatment at the hands of the police and other authorities is terrifying. The girl's testimony is accepted without question and he goes to trial. Towards the end, he breaks down in court, and the girl - at last realising the harm she has done - confesses to the lies she has told. He is freed.

But there's no smoke without fire. His career is irretrievably blighted. He is tainted goods to the other staff. His wife belittles him all the more that he wasn't man enough even to take advantage of this girl. The only way he can keep her is to admit the lie that he really did commit the crimes for which he was accused.

As I say; it is many years since I saw this movie and my evaluation today may be more critical. But it certainly had a powerful impact upon me at the time, just like 'The Browning Version', of which I now have the copy and find to be just as good as my former memories.

Well worth a watch if the chance avails - especially if you're a teacher, or considering this as a career.

I don't remember when I first say this film. Certainly not in 1962; I was only 13 then, so this was not exactly the type of film I would have been drawn to at that age. Sometime later it must have shown up on television, and I actually remember it. But let me tell you why I remember it. Along with some other films that I saw around the same time (which I don't remember), I got a very negative view of England and its schools. Now I don't know whether that was fair at the time or not, but as a person who ended up as a public school teacher.administrator, that view of England and its schools remained with me for many year.

Depressing. That's what this film is. Simply depressing. The school is depressing. Class sizes are depressing. The children are depressing. The teachers and administrators are depressing. The community is depressing. Olivier's marriage is depressing. And, of course, a false charge of molestation is depressing.

I find it difficult to get a handle on Laurence Olivier's acting in this and quite a few other films. Is it more realistic than what we see from traditional movie actors? Or is it too accented toward his career on stage? I just know that I often enjoy Olivier on the big screen. I was most impressed her with his speech to the court -- a man who is truly desperate to save his career and reputation.

This is -- believe it or not -- the first film I have ever seen with Simone Signoret. I am not impressed. Maybe a French actresses' talents don't translate well from France to Britain to America. Or maybe it's just me.

Sarah Miles, in her first screen role, is very good here.

Terence Stamp had only been in one movie previous to this. Again, I am not impressed.

Hugh Griffith as O'Hara As a retired educator, there is one thing that bothers me about this film. Laurence Olivier's character seem so naive about the crush that Sarah Miles' character has on him, and that is a mistake no wise, experienced teacher should make. A young teacher, perhaps, But this is a degree of naivety that is unreasonable. Or was it naivety at all? He played right into it and enjoyed it. So while there was no molestation in terms of actual sex, he allowed a situation to develop between a teacher and a student which was totally inappropriate and showed shocking misjudgment. And then after the incident, he handled it totally unprofessionally. As a school principal, I would have fired him. Period.

It was interesting to see Hugh Griffith as Olivier's lawyer. Before, I only thought of him as the horse racing Arab in " Ben-Hur".

I admired that they wrapped things up in this film, rather than leaving us up in the air about the teacher's fate in his job and the situation with his wife.

Despite being such a negative film, I do recommend it. In many ways it is a rather riveting film.

Never forgot it. Forgot the title, tho-knew it had the word: TRIAL--in it-then thanks to your page--there it was! For years I've ben babbling to friends and film rental folks--I'd get the cold fish eye! Fie--on them! Olivier at his best--when wasn't he? And-Simone Signoret as his slatternly "fish wife"--how she must have lapped up that role. Sarah Miles as the young student from the slums who suddenly understands what her teacher (Oliver) has been trying to teach her about being a person of noble character. Oooh! I'm getting emotional chills-just thinking of the last scene. Sir Laurence-besotted with love for his evil wife-is lying on his side-fully dressed-on their bed. He is looking directly into the camera--at us. She is packing to leave him but if he will admit to a LIE--she will remain. He admits to the lie-his degradation complete--his eyelids drooping--fadeout. Chloe

What`s the problem film critics have with Laurence Olivier ? One of the greatest actors who has ever lived has the reputation as one of the worst film actors of all time ! Okay I don`t think playing Jews ( As in THE JAZZ SINGER and BOYS FROM BRAZIL ) was his forte but look at his performances in WUTHERING HEIGHTS and SPARTACUS . These are towering performances without a whiff of ham and if we`re talking understated under-rated performances take a look at TERM OF TRIAL

***** SPOILER *****

Olivier plays Graham Weir an alcoholic school teacher who spent the war as a " conchie " and who is taken to court for indecently assaulting one of his female pupils . Olivier plays the role very well but unfortunately this is hardly a great film . Most the problems are down to Peter Glenville`s script. For example two male pupils Mitchell and Thompson are written as though they`re going to be major characters throughout the movie but disappear totally from the plot in the last third , and there`s a problem with Weir`s appearance in court at the end , he strangely never takes the witness stand which means it`s after he is found guilty that he makes an impassioned speech which causes the victim to tell the truth . Logically Weir should have made the speech as he was being cross examined in the witness box

A fairly good performance by Olivier in a rather melodramatic British film from 1962 . It should also be pointed out DR NO was also released that year which led to the death of the British Kitchen sink drama , but by this time the sub genre was probably past its sell by date anyway

Based on the 1961 novel of the same name by James Barlow, this is a wonderfully engrossing and often very bleak psychological drama. The film belongs to the great tradition of kitchen sink drama. Dealing with issues such as sexual awakening, inappropriate infatuation, troubled marriages, gang violence and general misery, it was certainly gritty and unrelenting by the standards of the time. There is not a false note in the excellent script by Peter Glenville, whose direction was of the same high quality. Taken together, the writing and the direction are able to very effectively paint a picture of a decent but thoroughly unhappy man.

The film stars Laurence Olivier in one of his best performances as Graham Weir, an English teacher who is leading a life of quiet desperation. Having been imprisoned for refusing to serve during the Second World War, he is relegated to teaching in the rough and underfunded East Secondary Modern School. His criminal record means that he is unable to secure employment in public schools in spite of the fact that he is eminently qualified for such a position. It is not made explicitly clear but it is hinted that he may have taught at such a school before the war. Although Weir considers himself to be a man of principle, most people think of him as being no more than a coward. He is a good and kind man who wants to make a difference in his students' lives but most of them take pleasure in taunting him and have no interest in what he has to say on English or any other subject. His home life is not better as he is regularly browbeaten by his domineering wife Anna, played in a phenomenal performance by Simone Signoret. She tells him during an argument that she only married him because all of the other eligible men went to fight in the war and believes that he is so noble that he has no guts. Throughout the film, Anna complains that he has not given her the life that she feels is her due and she never misses an opportunity to tell him exactly what she thinks of him.

Given all of the problems that he faces, it is perhaps not terribly surprising that Weir has turned to alcohol as there is seemingly nothing else in his life to dull the pain. However, he sees a ray of hope in an attentive and enthusiastic 15-year-old student named Shirley Taylor, played excellently by Sarah Miles in her film debut. Shirley wants to improve her already good marks in English so that she can get a job working as a secretary in a factory when she leaves school at the end of the term. As the night school classes are already well underway, Weir agrees to tutor privately free of charge. From her first scene, it is clear that Shirley has a crush on Weir and it grows into full blown infatuation, bordering on obsession, as they spend more time together alone. At the end of their last lesson, she kisses him on the cheek and gives him her phone number but Weir does nothing to discourage such behaviour as he believes that it is perfectly innocent. During a class trip to Paris, she feigns sickness and the two of them spend the day together. After returning to Britain, the entire party are forced to spend the night in a hotel in London after missing the last train. While there, Shirley visits Weir in his room wearing nothing under her coat but her nightie and offers him sex. However, Weir rejects her as kindly as possible and sends her back to her room.

Several days later, a policeman comes to his house and informs him that Shirley is charging him with indecent assault, claiming that he tried to force her to have sex with him. When he comes before a magistrate, Weir breaks down in a wonderfully acted scene. He admits that he was attracted to Shirley but he was attracted to her innocence and purity as opposed to having any sort of sexual interest in her. I suspect that if it were made today, this admission would be removed as it does not really fit in with the rest of the film's generally sympathetic treatment of Weir. Although Shirley eventually confesses that she lied, Weir nevertheless must face the consequences as the controversy surrounding the accusation means that he is out of the running for the coveted position of deputy headmaster. On a personal level, Anna threatens to leave him as she believes that his refusal to have sex with Shirley means that he has no spirit. However, he lies to her, telling her that the accusations were true in the first place, and she develops a newfound respect for him. This scenario is rather bizarre by modern standards and would likewise be excised from a modern version but it is a fantastic scene as it says a great deal about the Weirs' strained and unusual relationship.

Terence Stamp, likewise making his film debut, is excellent as Mitchell, a cruel, violent bully who threatens to cut off Shirley's hair (which may have merely been the prelude to rape) when she rejects him and has the other members of his gang assault Weir. Mitchell is the most interesting of the supporting characters as he represents the very dangerous young men who can be found on the fringes of any society. The film also features strong performances from Thora Hird as Mrs. Taylor, Roland Culver as Donald Trowman, Hugh Griffith as O'Hara, Allan Cuthbertson as Sylvan-Jones, Nicholas Hannen as the magistrate, Norman Bird as Mr. Taylor and Derren Nesbitt as a lodger who abuses a young boy named Thompson.

Overall, this is an excellent film which deals with its tricky subject matter as sensitively and respectfully as possible given the time in which it was made.

Laurence Olivier as always shines and this 1962 film is no exception. As the quiet, unassuming English teacher at a school in a low income section of England, Olivier's career has been stymied as he was a conscientious objector during World War 11.

Meeting difficult students and seeing their problems from dysfunctional families, Olivier shows kindness and that kindness eventually leads to plenty of trouble.

Simone Signoret does a wonderful job in portraying his embittered wife who feels that her husband lacks ambition and has settled down to an unfulfilled life.

Sarah Miles is excellent as the student he devotes much attention to with her mistaking his kindness for love and eventual great problems resulting.

A story of a man having to show his manhood. A story of environment playing a role in how people act. This is a great, underestimated film of major proportions.