The Mark (1961)

A man (Stuart Whitman) is released from prison after serving three years for kidnapping a ten year old girl with intent to molest her. With the help of a caring psychiatrist (Rod Steiger), he attempts to rebuild a life but the real challenge comes when he falls in love with a widow (Maria Schell) with a young daughter. The film, directed by Guy Green, is filled with good intentions but it seems rather naive today especially with what we now know about pedophiles. The film seems to think it's daring in its subject matter and so it is but it cops out by having Whitman's character attracted to little girls but never actually acting on his impulses so it's easier to sympathize with his predicament. It would have been more of a challenge doing a film about a man who had actually committed the act but, of course, he would have lost all audience sympathy. Here, the cards are stacked against Whitman's character that he almost seems the underdog. Still, it's an intelligent, well written film. Whitman is surprisingly good and good enough to get an Oscar nomination for his performance. Rod Steiger is more subdued than usual, maybe it was that Scottish accent. An understated score by Richard Rodney Bennett. With Brenda De Banzie, Donald Wolfit, Maurice Denham and Donald Houston.