''The Court Martial of Major Keller'' is a 1961 British film directed by Ernest Morris and written by Brian Clemens. It stars

Laurence Payne Laurence Stanley Payne (5 June 1919 – 23 February 2009) was an English actor and novelist. Early life Payne was born in London. His father died when he was three years old, and he and his elder brother and sister were brought up by their ...

Susan Stephen Susan Rennie Stephen (16 July 1931 – 21 April 2000) was an English film actress. Born in London, she was known in the 1950s for appearing in a number of B-films. She appeared in over 20 films including ''The Red Beret'' (1953), ''The Hou ...

and Austin Trevor. The film recounts the

court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

for murder of Major Keller, a

British army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

officer during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He is charged with killing his superior officer, but remains silent, refusing to defend himself.

Cast

as Major Keller *

as Laura Winch * Ralph Michael as Colonel Winch * Richard Caldicot as Harrison *

Basil Dignam Basil Dignam (24 October 1905 – 31 January 1979) was an English character actor. Basil Dignam was born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire. Before the acting, he tried many jobs, from a company clerk to a journalist. He acted on film and ...

as Morrell * Austin Trevor as Power * Simon Lack as Wilson *

Jack McNaughton Jack McNaughton (22 December 190522 February 1990) was a British stage and film actor. As a character actor he mostly played supporting roles, but occasionally featured in major roles such as playing the male lead in the 1951 comedy '' Cheer the ...

as Miller *

Hugh Cross Hugh Cross (24 September 1925 – 14 May 1989) was a British television and film actor. Selected filmography * '' Just William's Luck'' (1947) * ''William Comes to Town'' (1948) * ''Warning to Wantons'' (1949) * ''Seven Days to Noon'' (1950 ...

as Captain Cuby * Peter Sinclair as Sergeant * Humphrey Lestocq as Lieutenant Cameron

Critical reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

gave the film two out of four stars, calling it an "occasionally interesting courtroom drama."

References

External links

* 1961 films 1961 drama films British drama films Military courtroom films Films shot at New Elstree Studios 1960s English-language films Films directed by Ernest Morris 1960s British films {{1960s-UK-film-stub