Madeleine (1950)
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100% of critics liked it
(5 reviews) -
68% of users liked it
(119 ratings)
David Lean's Madeleine was inspired by a true story that rocked the English legal system to its foundations in the mid-19th century. Told in flashback, the film explains why aristocratic young Scotswoman Madeleine Smith (Ann Todd, then the wife of director Lean) is on trial for murder. The… More David Lean's Madeleine was inspired by a true story that rocked the English legal system to its foundations in the mid-19th century. Told in flashback, the film explains why aristocratic young Scotswoman Madeleine Smith (Ann Todd, then the wife of director Lean) is on trial for murder. The audience is apprised of Madeleine's illicit romance with deceptively charming Frenchman Emile L'Angelier (Ivan Desny), her futile attempts to break off the relationship, her "proper" betrothal to Englishman William Minnoch (Norman Wooland), and the murder by poison of the now-inconvenient L'Angelier. The jury's verdict was as controversial in 1950 as it had been a century earlier. David Lean and scenarists Stanley Haynes and Nicholas Phipps refuse to take sides, permitting the viewers to draw their own conclusions about the notorious Madeleine. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- David Lean
- Written By
- Stanley Haynes, Nicholas Phipps
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Aug 31, 1950 Wide
- Studio
- Universal Pictures
Critic Reviews
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, Time Out
One of three films Lean made virtually as star vehicles for his wife Ann Todd. Here she manages to extend the range of her semi-hysterical screen personality into a flimsily forceful character who pits her amoral deviousness against... rigid hypocrisy.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
This compelling character study is one of the three films David Lean made with his then wife Ann Todd.
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Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
Murder underneath patrician façades
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The script and direction are handled with amazing restraint, cleverly and carefully constructed, heightened by Todd's inherently enigmatic image.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Well-made courtroom drama.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
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Cast
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Ann Todd
as Madeleine Smith
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Norman Wooland
as William Minnoch
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Ivan Desny
as Emile l'Angelier
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Leslie Banks
as James Smith
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Barbara Everest
as Mrs. Smith
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Susan Stranks
as Janet Smith
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Patricia Raine
as Bessie Smith
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Elizabeth Sellars
as Christina
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Edward Chapman
as Dr. Thompson
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Jean Cadell
as Mrs. Jenkins
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Eugene Deckers
as Thuau
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Ivor Barnard
as Mr. Murdoch
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Henry Edwards
as Clerk of the Court
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Barry Jones
as Prosecuting Counsel
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André Morell
as Defending Counsel
- Eva Bartok
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Irene Browne
as Miss Grant
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Moyra Fraser
as Dancer
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Cameron Hall
as Dr. Yeoman
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John Laurie
as Scots Divine
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James McKechnie
as Commentator
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Kynaston Reeves
as Dr. Penny
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Amy Veness
as Miss Aiken
- Anthony Newley
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Douglas Barr
as William the Boot Boy
