This is a very powerful film. Dana Andrews is at his best here, and I always thought it sad that despite some very good movie roles that he never made it to the upper echelon of acting. Perhaps that was due to his alcoholism.
As is made evident in the film, it is based on a true story from 1924 Connecticut, when a priest, walking along a street at night, is shot in the head. A vagrant and discharged soldier with emotional problems in indicted for the murder, but only after the case lags and the local government is skewered by the press and the citizenry. So once a suspect is found and arrested, there is a rush to judgment. However, the local district attorney -- and later Attorney General of the U.S. under FDR -- doesn't believe the man in guilty. Through an interesting courtroom segment, the man is found not guilty.
Elia Kazan does a bang-up job directing here, but, unfortunately, with the film being shot on location (although in a different community from where the events actually took place), production values are not high. It's interesting to see the lovely Jane Wyatt, although her part is of passing interest (as Andrews wife). Lee J. Cobb (as a detective) and Arthur Kennedy (as the suspect) are never favorites of mine, but both turn in very good performances here, as due Karl Malden (another police officer) and Ed Begley (as a shady local politician).
If I were into crime dramas more, this would probably find a place on my DVD shelf, but I'll settle for occasionally watching it on TCM. And, make no mistake, this one is definitely worth watching.
As is made evident in the film, it is based on a true story from 1924 Connecticut, when a priest, walking along a street at night, is shot in the head. A vagrant and discharged soldier with emotional problems in indicted for the murder, but only after the case lags and the local government is skewered by the press and the citizenry. So once a suspect is found and arrested, there is a rush to judgment. However, the local district attorney -- and later Attorney General of the U.S. under FDR -- doesn't believe the man in guilty. Through an interesting courtroom segment, the man is found not guilty.
Elia Kazan does a bang-up job directing here, but, unfortunately, with the film being shot on location (although in a different community from where the events actually took place), production values are not high. It's interesting to see the lovely Jane Wyatt, although her part is of passing interest (as Andrews wife). Lee J. Cobb (as a detective) and Arthur Kennedy (as the suspect) are never favorites of mine, but both turn in very good performances here, as due Karl Malden (another police officer) and Ed Begley (as a shady local politician).
If I were into crime dramas more, this would probably find a place on my DVD shelf, but I'll settle for occasionally watching it on TCM. And, make no mistake, this one is definitely worth watching.