Dana Andrews, Jane Wyatt, Lee J Cobb

This dramatization of a factual incident opens in a quiet Connecticut town where a kindly priest is murdered while waiting at a street corner. The citizens are horrified and demand action from the pol...( read more  read more... )ice. All of the witnesses identify John Waldron, a nervous out-of-towner, as the killer. Although Waldron vehemently denies the crime, no one will believe him. District Attorney Henry Harvey is then put on the case and faces political opposition in his attempt to prove Waldron's innocence.

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63% liked it

83 ratings

Unrated, 88 min.

Directed by: Elia Kazan

Release Date: April 28, 1947

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DVD Release Date: June 6, 2006

Stats: 34 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (34)


  • October 24, 2009
    I'm teetering between 3 and 3 1/2 stars. I liked the essence more than I liked the premise of this politically motivated courtroom drama. Dana Andrews and Lee J Cobb are superb, as always, but the narration and structure is a little too heavy-handed for my taste.
  • May 23, 2009
    Filmed on location in my current hometown - Stamford CT - yay! Good buildup about political shenanigans related to the prosecution of a mysterious murder in small town America is ultimately spoiled by a by third act courtroom scene where all is miraculously revealed. A compell...( read more)ing mix of documentary and noir styles in this early effort by Elia Kazan.
  • October 19, 2007
    An honest district attourney is pressured into convicting a man accused of the murder of a priest, but when he examines the evidence, he has second thoughts as to the man's guilt. Rather similar to 12 Angry Men, which was released 10 years later and also featured Lee J. Cobb and ...( read more)Ed Begley, this is an intelligent courtroom drama based on a real case from the same director as Brando's On The Waterfront and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. It shows not only the investigation of the evidence, but also the pressures behind the scenes from self-serving politicians, the press and a public eager for a quick conviction. Dana Andrews is solid as the crusading DA, but it is Cobb's worldly wise chief of police and Arthur Kennedy as the suspect railroaded into a false confession that are the stand-out performances. The true identity of the murderer is only hinted at, and he suffers a rather contrived timely come-uppance no doubt to appease the "crime doesn't pay" censorship laws, but otherwise a fine noir-style examination of the American justice system.
  • October 18, 2007
    I was bored to tears. A man's conscience vs. a society's bloodlust to see someone... ANYONE hang for a murder. Political bureaucracy in a small town.
  • October 13, 2009
    Worth watching at least once
  • July 11, 2008
    nominated for best picture by NBR

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