Primarily a failure of script, and it's not surprising that it's credited to David O. Selznick himself, who apparently re-wrote this film, Hitchcock's last with Selznick, to death. The whole film hinges on Gregory Peck's attorney falling in love with his client, an accused murderess played by Valli. But that central relationship does not work at all and the movie falls apart around it. There are a few good performances, including Anne Todd as Gregory Peck's increasingly anxious wife and Charles Laughton as a grotesque judge, seen together in the picture above. The black-and-white cinematography, done entirely in the studio, is beautiful.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
The Paradine Case (1947)
Primarily a failure of script, and it's not surprising that it's credited to David O. Selznick himself, who apparently re-wrote this film, Hitchcock's last with Selznick, to death. The whole film hinges on Gregory Peck's attorney falling in love with his client, an accused murderess played by Valli. But that central relationship does not work at all and the movie falls apart around it. There are a few good performances, including Anne Todd as Gregory Peck's increasingly anxious wife and Charles Laughton as a grotesque judge, seen together in the picture above. The black-and-white cinematography, done entirely in the studio, is beautiful.
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Hello Peter. And this film includes a waste of Ethel Barrymore. If you have time, the “If Charlie Parker was a Gunslinger site” has some 20-25 hours of the Hitchcock / Truffaut tapes, but you can just listen to the coverage of this film, which was quite brief, as I recall – but of interest. This is a late comment, because I just found your site. Best. Gerald.
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