As I re-watched this film, I was sort of impressed by it all over again. Basil Dearden the director previously helmed SAPPHIRE and VICTIM...this later production is not quite a kitchen sink drama, but the theme is certainly thought-provoking.
LIFE FOR RUTH (1962) is about a couple torn apart by the death of their young daughter. The twist is that the husband/father goes on trial, because as a Jehovah's witness he refused to let the little girl receive a blood transfusion...so she of course died and the doctor (Patrick McGoohan) trying to save the little girl's life reported him to the police.
The performances are all first-rate, and Dearden's cinematographer does some interesting things with the lighting. Michael Craig, who plays the lead role, was often put into romantic comedies so this is a chance for him to stretch his acting muscles. Janet Munro, who appeared in some live-action fare for Disney, as the wife/mother also gets a chance to show how well she can act.
I think I am impressed by it, because it's crafted in such a way that you cannot totally side with or against the protagonists. Their religion isn't trashed, but earthly life and saving a child from death is considered just as important as a heavenly afterlife. The dialogue is intelligent throughout, and it is obvious the filmmakers took their time in thinking it through, so the subject is explored from all possible angles.
The scene where the little girl receives life-threatening injuries at the beginning, filmed on location at a seashore, is well staged. It just pulls you in, then when it turns into more of a legal melodrama, you do wonder what the verdict will be and how it will all be resolved.
The title is clever, because what does it mean exactly...is it the fact that Ruth no longer has life, or that her father may get life in prison for letting her die..?
LIFE FOR RUTH (1962) is about a couple torn apart by the death of their young daughter. The twist is that the husband/father goes on trial, because as a Jehovah's witness he refused to let the little girl receive a blood transfusion...so she of course died and the doctor (Patrick McGoohan) trying to save the little girl's life reported him to the police.
The performances are all first-rate, and Dearden's cinematographer does some interesting things with the lighting. Michael Craig, who plays the lead role, was often put into romantic comedies so this is a chance for him to stretch his acting muscles. Janet Munro, who appeared in some live-action fare for Disney, as the wife/mother also gets a chance to show how well she can act.
I think I am impressed by it, because it's crafted in such a way that you cannot totally side with or against the protagonists. Their religion isn't trashed, but earthly life and saving a child from death is considered just as important as a heavenly afterlife. The dialogue is intelligent throughout, and it is obvious the filmmakers took their time in thinking it through, so the subject is explored from all possible angles.
The scene where the little girl receives life-threatening injuries at the beginning, filmed on location at a seashore, is well staged. It just pulls you in, then when it turns into more of a legal melodrama, you do wonder what the verdict will be and how it will all be resolved.
The title is clever, because what does it mean exactly...is it the fact that Ruth no longer has life, or that her father may get life in prison for letting her die..?