''Judgment Deferred'' is a 1952 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by John Baxter and starring

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...

, Hugh Sinclair, Helen Shingler and Abraham Sofaer. The film is a remake of the director's earlier film, '' Doss House'' (1933).

Production

The film was shot at

Southall Studios Southall Studios was a film studio located in Southall, Middlesex (now west London) which operated between 1924 and 1958. The studio was constructed on the site of a former aircraft hangar by the silent film director and producer G.B. Samuelson. ...

with sets designed by the art director Don Russell. It was the first production from Group 3 Films, a company formed to encourage new young British film-makers (which later produced '' The Brave Don't Cry'', ''

Conflict of Wings ''Conflict of Wings'' is a 1954 British comedy drama film directed by John Eldridge and starring John Gregson, Muriel Pavlow and Kieron Moore. The film is based on a novel of the same title by Don Sharp who later became a noted director. It ...

'', '' The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp'' and several other low-budget features).

Plot

With the assistance of a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

a group of

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

and down and outs try and unmask the criminal who has framed one of their number as a

drug dealer A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...

Selected cast

* Hugh Sinclair as David Kennedy * Helen Shingler as Kay Kennedy * Abraham Sofaer as Chancellor *

Leslie Dwyer Leslie Gilbert Dwyer (28 August 1906 – 26 December 1986) was an English film and television actor. Career He was born in Catford, the son of the popular music hall comedian Johnny Dwyer, and acted from the age of ten and appeared in his fi ...

as Flowers *

as Lil Carter * Harry Locke as Bert *

Elwyn Brook-Jones Elwyn Brook-Jones (11 December 1911 – 4 September 1962) was a British theatre, film and television actor. Life Brook-Jones was born in Kuching, Sarawak, on the island of Borneo. After a private education, he attended Jesus College, Oxford. Hi ...

as Coxon * Marcel Poncin as Stranger * Martin Benson as Pierre Desportes * Bud Flannagan as Himself * Bransby Williams as Dad * Michael Martin Harvey as Martin * Harry Welchman as Doc * Wilfred Walter as Judge *

Maire O'Neill Maire O'Neill (born Mary Agnes Allgood; 11 January 1886 – 2 November 1952) was an Irish actress of stage and film. She holds a place in theatre history as the first actress to interpret the lead character of Pegeen Mike Flaherty in John Mill ...

as Mrs. O'Halloran * Mary Merrall as Lady Musterby *

Edgar Driver Edgar Driver (1 November 188515 September 1964) was a British actor."Edgar Driver"
at BFI.

Selec ...

as Blackie * Billy Russell as Ginger *

Sam Kydd Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British-Irish actor. His best-known roles were in two major British television series of the 1960s, as the smuggler Orlando O'Connor in ''Crane'' and its sequel '' Orlando''. He als ...

as Ambulance Driver

Critical reception

'' The Radio Times'' described the film as "a muddled, maudlin melodrama that feels like substandard

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s ...

done by amateur theatricals." ''

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

'' found the film "captivating mainly because of the novelty of the story and the many strange characters that are introduced."

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinem ...

wrote "this one occasionally creaks under the strain of its longish running time but offers some striking tableaux, especially within the weird 'court' held by a crowd of criminals, eccentrics and jobless that in some ways recalls the 'jury' that proved the nemesis of

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...

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 ...

's classic thriller ' M'."

References

Bibliography

* Chibnall, Steve & McFarlane, Brian. ''The British 'B' Film''. Palgrave MacMillan, 2009.

External links

* 1952 films British crime drama films 1952 crime drama films 1950s English-language films Films directed by John Baxter Films set in London Films shot at Southall Studios Remakes of British films British black-and-white films 1950s British films {{1950s-UK-film-stub