| Beyond a Reasonable Doubt | |
|---|---|
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt movie poster |
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| Directed by | Fritz Lang |
| Produced by | Bert E. Friedlob |
| Written by | Douglas Morrow |
| Starring | Dana Andrews Joan Fontaine |
| Music by | Herschel Burke Gilbert |
| Cinematography | William Snyder |
| Editing by | Gene Fowler, Jr. |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures Inc. |
| Release date(s) | September 5, 1956 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | 80 min |
| Language | English |
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt is a 1956 film directed by Fritz Lang and written by Douglas Morrow. The film, considered film noir, was the last American film directed by Lang.
Contents |
Austin Spencer (Sidney Blackmer), a newspaper publisher, wants to prove a point about the insufficiency of circumstantial evidence, talks his possible son-in-law Tom Garrett (Dana Andrews) into a hoax in an attempt to expose the alleged ineptitude of the city's hard-line district attorney. The plan is to have Tom plant clues leading to his arrest for killing a female nightclub dancer, Patty Gray. Once Tom is found guilty, he is to reveal the setup and humiliate the DA.
Tom agrees to the plan, not knowing that unforeseen events will put such a snag in the scheme. Spencer dies in a car accident before he can testify, and photographic evidence intended to clear Tom at his trial is burned to an unrecognisable state. Tom is found guilty and placed on death row in prison. A written testimony by the dead man is found in time to demonstrate the veracity of the two men's intentions, and Garrett is to be pardoned.
However, a slip about the late woman's unreported real name to his by now former fiance leads him to confess. Gray or rather Emma Blucher, the murder victim, is actually Tom Garrett's estranged wife who had rescinded on her promise to divorce him in Mexico. As this would prevent Garrett from marrying Susan (Joan Fontaine), the late publisher's daughter, he had murdered Emma/Patty. Garrett's potential pardon is rejected in time to prevent the double jeopardy rule coming into effect, and he is returned to the cells.
Dennis L. White describes Beyond a Reasonable Doubt as having "considerable impact, due not so much to visual style, as to the narrative structure and mood and to the expertly devised plot, in which the turnabout is both surprising and convincing."[1]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Dana Andrews | Tom Garrett |
| Joan Fontaine | Susan Spencer |
| Sidney Blackmer | Austin Spencer |
| Arthur Franz | Bob Hale |
| Philip Bourneuf | DA Roy Thompson |
| Ed Binns | Lt. Kennedy |
| Shepperd Strudwick | Jonathan Wilson |
| Robin Raymond | Terry Larue |
| Barbara Nichols | Dolly Moore |
| William F. Leicester | Charlie Miller (as William Leicester) |
| Dan Seymour | Greco |
| Rusty Lane | Judge |
| Joyce Taylor | Joan Williams |
| Carleton Young | Allan Kirk |
| Trudy Wroe | Hatcheck girl |
A new version of Beyond a Reasonable Doubt directed by Peter Hyams and starring Michael Douglas, Amber Tamblyn, and Jesse Metcalfe was released in theaters on September 11, 2009.[2] It has been negatively received by critics, and currently has 7% on Rotten tomatoes, based on 27 reviews.[3]
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