The Verdict (1946)

After an Innocent man is executed in a case he was responsible for, a Scotland Yard superintendent finds himself investigating the murder of his key witness.

Director:

Don Siegel

Writers:

Peter Milne (screenplay), Israel Zangwill (novel)

Stars:

Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Joan Lorring

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sydney Greenstreet	...	Supt. George Edward Grodman
Peter Lorre	...	Victor Emmric
Joan Lorring	...	Lottie Rawson
George Coulouris	...	Supt. John R. Buckley
Rosalind Ivan	...	Mrs. Vicky Benson
Paul Cavanagh	...	Clive Russell
Arthur Shields	...	Rev. Holbrook
Morton Lowry	...	Arthur Kendall
Holmes Herbert	...	Sir William Dawson
Art Foster	...	PC Warren
Clyde Cook	...	Barney Cole

Storyline

Mr. Grodman was a respected superintendent at Scotland Yard until a mistake in an investigation caused the execution of an innocent man. He takes the blame and is dismissed, replaced by the obnoxious, gloating Buckley. Feeling vengeful, Grodman would like nothing more than to see Buckley look foolish on the job. His friend Victor Emmric, an artist with macabre tastes, wouldn't mind either and soon a mysterious murder occurs that may provide them with the chance.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | artist | execution | bracelet | stabbed in the heart | 

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller | Crime

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Az ítélet

Filming Locations:

Warner Bros. Museum, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Supt. George Edward Grodman: I feel as if I were drinking at my own wake.

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Connections

Version of The Crime Doctor (1934)

User Reviews

Victorian mystery with one of the great screen pairs

When historians talk about the great screen pairings, one hears Tracy and Hepburn and Bogart and Bacall tossed around, as well as other male-female combinations. One of the truly great screen pairings of all time was Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre - the former a large, sinister-looking man, and the latter a small, sinister-looking man with a quirky voice. They made nine films together, and when I see their names in a cast list, I know not to miss the movie.

"The Verdict," made in 1946, is a heavily atmospheric mystery set around 1890, when Supt. George Edward Grodman (Greenstreet) inadvertently sends an innocent man to the gallows for a woman's death and loses his job. The man claimed he had an alibi, but the person wasn't found until after the hanging. After many years in service, Grodman leaves with a blemish on his reputation. Replacing him is his ambitious nemesis, Supt. John R. Buckley (George Coulouris). Grodman begins to write the stories of his various cases, in the hopes that it can serve as a primer for police investigations.

When Arthur Kendall is murdered across the street from him, Grodman is pulled into the investigation, since Kendall's landlady (Rosalind Ivan) summoned him to help her get into the room. Kendall's aunt was the murder victim in the case where the innocent man was hanged. Before Kendall was killed, he visited Grodman, along with Grodman's friend Peter Emmric (Lorre) who lives in the same house as Kendall, and a politician, Clive Russell (Paul Cavanagh), who hates Kendall. Russell and Kendall come to blows outside of Grodman's house. Grodman now finds himself in a position of helping the man who replaced him.

This is an very clever mystery, brought up a few levels by the acting of Greenstreet and Lorre. Paul Cavanagh and George Coulouris turn in good performances in smaller roles, and Joan Lorring is fine as a dance hall girl who was involved with Kendall. Though not a great beauty, she has a great figure and conveys a low class background.

Highly recommended. With the Victorian times, the heavy fog, and the presence of Cavanagh and Coulouris, the film reminds one of the Sherlock Holmes movies.