Judgment Deferred (1952)

A group of very strange men, refugees and casualties of the war, rally round when one of their number is framed by a drug racketeer. Co-opting a well-known journalist to their cause, they ... See full summary »

Director:

John Baxter

Writers:

Barbara K. Emary, Walter Meade,

Stars:

Hugh Sinclair, Helen Shingler, Abraham Sofaer

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hugh Sinclair	...	David Kennedy
Helen Shingler	...	Kay Kennedy
Abraham Sofaer	...	Chancellor
Leslie Dwyer	...	Flowers
Joan Collins	...	Lil Carter
Harry Locke	...	Bert
Elwyn Brook-Jones	...	Coxon
Marcel Poncin	...	Stranger
Martin Benson	...	Pierre Desportes
Bransby Williams	...	Dad
Michael Martin Harvey	...	Martin
Harry Welchman	...	Doc
Wilfred Walter	...	Judge
Maire O'Neill	...	Mrs. O'Halloran
Mary Merrall	...	Lady Musterby

Storyline

A group of very strange men, refugees and casualties of the war, rally round when one of their number is framed by a drug racketeer. Co-opting a well-known journalist to their cause, they scheme to bring the racketeer to justice in a home-made "trial" in the crypt of a ruined church.

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Plot Keywords:

refugee | framed | group 3

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 1952 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Group 3

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"With a Kiss and a Sigh"
(uncredited)
Written by Edmundo Ros
Performed by Edmundo Ros and His Orchestra

User Reviews

Hugh Sinclair meets an assortment of characters trying to free a man who was framed

The producer and director of "Judgement Deferred" (spelled that way in the title) was John Baxter, who had directed many movies since 1933. Most are out of circulation. By looking at their summaries, it's not hard to see that Baxter specialized in a certain kind of movie, one that mixed family, comedy, music, an uplifting togetherness quality and sometimes suspense or crime. This is what "Judgement Deferred" does.

In an early movie of his, there is a concert pianist and in this one there is again a pianist, and he plays a concerto, very nice music too, for several minutes. There are also samba interludes in a night club run by the bad guy, and a song-writing scene.

Several notable actors appear, Hugh Sinclair, Joan Collins and Abraham Sofaer. I recognized Michael Martin Harvey from "The Case of Charles Peace". Here he plays a harmless deranged man with a poetic streak. In fact, the movie has a wide assortment of characters on the lower fringes of society who congregate in the basement of a bombed church, and they form a kind of family there. Their benefactor was a Mr. Carter, who has been in prison for 2 years, framed for being a drug dealer. He's the father of Joan Collins. Now he has escaped, and this motley crew is trying to gather evidence against the real drug dealer and club owner. Sinclair, a newspaperman, is assisting, in another plot element that is also drawn from an earlier Baxter movie.

There is, for my American taste, too much of heavy accents that sound obviously put on or exaggerated, and too much of peripheral conversations that are not plot-related. This is a fairly common aspect of older British movies like this one. It is very like how American situation comedies come off. Instead of a movie being an out an out mystery or thriller or crime story, it introduces situation comedy. This was apparently entertaining to British audiences of the time, and may or may not be to contemporary viewers.

The movie does get on with the story and ends up with a mock trial, something in a very remote way reminding one of "M".

I would not call this movie a noir or even a light Brit-noir. It's more like a Damon Runyan story or treatment.