A married barrister (Gregory Peck) is hired to defend a wealthy but mysterious Italian widow (Alida Valli) on charges of poisoning her blind husband. But he loses all objectivity when he finds himself falling in love with her. This Alfred Hitchcock film isn't admired much and, in fact, most consider it one of his weaker films. I'm not so sure. Granted, it's unusually chatty for a Hitchcock film (only
ROPE and
DIAL M FOR MURDER may be talkier) but outside of the domestic scenes which are the weakest part of the movie, I found it quite vital. Unfortunately, it seems that almost half the film is devoted to the tedious, domestic scenes between Peck (in one of his rare unsympathetic roles) and Ann Todd as his wife, playing the understanding wife to end all understanding wives. Charles Laughton as a lecherous and sadistic judge and Ethel Barrymore (who received an Oscar nomination for her role here) as his mentally abused wife provide some respite from the Peck/Todd domestic scenes. The screenplay is credited to the film's producer David O. Selznick and Hitchcock's wife, Alma Reville. The undistinguished score is by Franz Waxman and Lee Garmes (an Oscar winner for
SHANGHAI EXPRESS) did the crisp B&W cinematography. With Louis Jourdan, Charles Coburn, Leo G. Carroll, Isobel Elsom and Joan Tetzel.
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