''Beyond a Reasonable Doubt'' is a 1956 film noir directed by

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...

and written by

Douglas Morrow Douglas Morrow (September 13, 1913 – September 9, 1994) was a Hollywood screenwriter and film producer. He earned an Academy Award for his script for 1949's ''The Stratton Story'', a biography of baseball player Monty Stratton, who was disabl ...

. The film stars

Dana Andrews Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts ...

Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...

, Sidney Blackmer, and Arthur Franz. It was Lang's second film for producer Bert E. Friedlob, and the last American film he directed.

Plot

Austin Spencer (Sidney Blackmer), a newspaper publisher who opposes the death penalty, wants to prove a point about the inadequacy of circumstantial evidence. He talks his daughter's fiancé, Tom Garrett (Dana Andrews), into participating in a hoax, in an attempt to expose the ineptitude of the city's hard-line district attorney. The plan is for Tom to plant clues that will lead to his arrest for the recent murder of a female nightclub dancer, Patty Gray. Once Tom is found guilty, Spencer is to reveal the setup and humiliate the District Attorney. Tom agrees to the plan, and is convicted on the circumstantial evidence. But Spencer dies in a car accident before he can clear Tom, and the photographic evidence he had intended to use to clear Tom after his trial is burned to an unrecognizable state. Tom remains on death row in prison. However, in time to prove the two men's intentions, written testimony by the dead man is discovered. Because of this, Tom is to be pardoned. However, while talking to his fiancée Susan (Joan Fontaine), Garrett reveals he knows the late woman's real name; this leads him to confess that the murder victim is actually his estranged wife, Emma Blucher, who had reneged on her promise to divorce him in Mexico. As this was preventing him from marrying Susan, he murdered her. Susan tells the police, and Garrett's pardon is canceled before the

double jeopardy In jurisprudence, double jeopardy is a procedural defence (primarily in common law jurisdictions) that prevents an accused person from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges following an acquittal or conviction and in rare case ...

rule comes into effect, and the film closes with him being led back to his cell pending execution.

Cast

as Tom Garrett *

as Susan Spencer * Sidney Blackmer as Austin Spencer *

Shepperd Strudwick Shepperd Strudwick (September 22, 1907 – January 15, 1983) was an American actor of film, television, and stage. He was also billed as John Shepperd for some of his films and for his acting on stage in New York. Early years Strudwick was ...

as Jonathan Wilson * Arthur Franz as Bob Hale *

Philip Bourneuf Philip Bourneuf (January 7, 1908 - March 23, 1979) was an American character actor who had a long stage career before appearing in films. Early years The son of engineer Ambrose Bourneuf and his wife, the former Josephine Comeau, Bourneuf was ...

as DA Roy Thompson *

Edward Binns Edward Binns (September 12, 1916 – December 4, 1990) was an American actor. He had a wide-spanning career in film and television, often portraying competent, hard working and purposeful characters in his various roles. He is best known for hi ...

as Lt. Kennedy *

Robin Raymond Robin Raymond (born Rayemon Robin, October 4, 1916 – June 20, 1994) was an American film actress. Early life Raymond graduated from Northwestern University with a BA degree and worked as a press agent in Chicago. Personal life Ray ...

as Terry Larue *

Barbara Nichols Barbara Marie Nickerauer (December 10, 1928 – October 5, 1976), known professionally as Barbara Nichols, was an American actress who often played brassy or comic roles in films in the 1950s and 1960s. Early life and career Nichols was b ...

as Dolly Moore *

Dan Seymour Dan Seymour (February 22, 1915 – May 25, 1993) was an American character actor who frequently played villains in Warner Bros. films. He appeared in several Humphrey Bogart films, including ''Casablanca'' (1942), ''To Have and Have Not'' ...

as Greco * Rusty Lane as Judge *

Joyce Taylor Joyce Taylor (born Joyce Crowder; September 14, 1937) is an American actress. She starred in movies and TV series mostly in the 1950s and 1960s. Early years Born in Taylorville, Illinois, she based her stage name on her hometown. A coal miner's d ...

as Joan Williams *

Carleton Young Captain Carleton Scott Young (October 21, 1905 – November 7, 1994) was an American character actor who was known for his deep voice. Early years Born in Fulton, Oswego, New York, Young was the second and only surviving child of Sta ...

as Allan Kirk *

Joe Kirk Ignazio "Nat" Curcuruto (October 1, 1903 – April 16, 1975), better known by his stage name Joe Kirk, was an American radio, film, and television actor who was best known for playing the role of Mr. Bacciagalupe on ''The Abbott and Costello S ...

as Clothing Store Clerk * Charles Evans as Governor *

Wendell Niles Wendell Niles (December 29, 1904 – March 28, 1994) was an announcer during the American golden age of radio and later in television. Early years Niles was born in Livingston, Montana and grew up there. He attended New York University and ...

as Announcer

Reception

Critical response

Keith M. Booker states that ''Beyond a Reasonable Doubt'' is "perhaps the bleakest of his ang'sAmerican noir films". Dennis L. White describes the film as having "considerable impact, due not so much to visual style, but as to the narrative structure and mood and to the expertly devised plot, in which the turnabout is both surprising and convincing." Stella Bruzzi, author of ''Men's Cinema: Masculinity and Mise-en-Scene in Hollywood'', felt that the film plot was "overly schematic" and "motivated by a paradox", affecting "an invisible, transparent style while, at the same time, being all about surface and performance". She adds that Lang "deploys an ostentatiously unintrusive 'classical' style", which he "purposefully reduces down to its minimalist bare necessities". Writer James McKay notes that Fontaine as Susan Spencer is "a little bit more forward than we normally expect, in a role that requires her to do all the running where her man's concerned". Film critic Dennis Schwartz wrote a mixed review, but appreciated Lang's efforts, "Cheerlessly written with many plot holes, implausible contrivances and legal absurdities by law school graduate Douglas Morrow, though ably directed by film noir maven Fritz Lang ('' M''/''

While the City Sleeps While the City Sleeps may refer to: * ''While the City Sleeps'' (1928 film), an American silent film starring Lon Chaney * ''While the City Sleeps'' (1950 film), a Swedish drama scripted by Ingmar Bergman * ''While the City Sleeps'' (1956 film), ...

''/''

Scarlet Street ''Scarlet Street'' is a 1945 American film noir directed by Fritz Lang. The screenplay concerns two criminals who take advantage of a middle-aged painter in order to steal his artwork. The film is based on the French novel ''La Chienne'' (literal ...

''). Lang's last American film is a low-budget twisty courtroom drama about the dangers of capital punishment that ends up being about something more intangible--the unpredictability of fate ... But in this subversive film a perverse atmosphere of subliminal uncertainty prevails over the established surface reality, and the surprise ending comes as more of an emotional shock than as a real surprise--allowing the filmmaker to pass on his cynicism and disillusionment over the human condition. The stark, alluring and unconventional film is worth seeing for the ingenuous way it resolves the brain-teasing dilemma it raised."Schwartz, Dennis
''Ozus' World Movie Reviews'', film review, February 2, 2007. Accessed: August 6, 2013.

References

External links