The Man Who Dared (1946)

A crusading reporter plans his own arrest and conviction for first degree murder, trying to show that the death sentence should be outlawed when based on circumstantial evidence alone, but his plan goes awry.

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

Maxwell Shane (story), Alex Gottlieb (story),

Stars:

Leslie Brooks, George Macready, Forrest Tucker

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Leslie Brooks	...	Lorna Claibourne
George Macready	...	Donald Wayne
Forrest Tucker	...	Larry James
Charles D. Brown	...	Dist. Atty. Darrell Tyson
Warren Mills	...	Felix
Richard Hale	...	Reginald Fogg
Charles Evans	...	Judge
Trevor Bardette	...	Police Sgt. Arthur Landis
William Newell	...	Police Sgt. Clay

Storyline

The screenplay was adapted from a radio script by Maxwell Shane and Alex Gottlieb, and was first shown as the bottom-half of a double feature with the top-billed "Without Reservations" at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre: A newspaper columnist, against capital punishment and crusading against murder convictions based on circumstantial evidence, tampers with evidence found at a murder scene in such a manner that it leads to him being accused of the crime, convicted and on his way to the state prison to be executed. The tampering was to prove a point about circumstantial evidence, and he succeeded in proving that circumstantial evidence will indeed get one convicted. But, now, his problem is to prove his innocence, and he is not in the position to do so.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | circumstantial evidence | newspaper columnist | reporter | columnist | 

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Taglines:

She Knew He Was Innocent... Yet She Condemned the Man She Loved... To Die!

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Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 May 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Anikitis pistolero

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

66 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

The man is an idiot

Reporter George Macready has got a serious problem with people being convicted on circumstantial evidence, so much so that he frames himself for a murder to prove a point. He takes the precaution of providing Forrest Tucker (Larry) with the evidence that will save him once he has been proved guilty only Tucker is run over and put into a coma at the moment he is required to provide this evidence. It's up to Macready to sort things out by himself. First of all, he has to escape from custody.

The cast are good in this film, especially Leslie Brooks as Macready's fiancée. Unfortunately, the film bombards you from the beginning with too much information. The story is not difficult to follow but it is made heavy-going by cramming in so much in such a short space of time. The result is a loss of interest and we end up just waiting for the thing to finish. Come on, get on and resolve the damn thing. It's not bad but George Macready is an idiot and too much happens.