Edit
Storyline
Writer sets himself up to take murder rap to show the errors of circumstantial evidence. With a friend holding back evidence so he can prove his innocence at the last minute, he goes to trial. But during the trial, his friend is killed in a car accident. Written by
Humberto Amador
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Taglines:
Put them all together they spell M-U-R-D-E-R !
See more »
Edit
Did You Know?
Trivia
The last film that
Fritz Lang made in the USA before returning to Germany.
See more »
Quotes
Roy Thompson:
Nothing about this case will be dead until Garrett is executed.
See more »
Soundtracks
"Beyond A Reasonable Doubt"
Sung by
The Hi-Los (as The Hi-Lo's)
Music by
Herschel Burke Gilbert
Lyrics by
Alfred Perry See more »
"Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" is a curious film - it has the look and feel of a B movie and two stars who had seen better days - Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine - yet it's a good script directed by Fritz Lang. A novelist (Andrews) and his future father-in-law, a newspaper magnet (Sidney Blackmer) work together to prove that the death penalty isn't justified by framing Andrews for a recent murder.
I thought the story excellent with some exciting twists, though the whole movie has an underplayed (not to mention inexpensive) feeling to it. Fontaine seemed a little old for her role. However, she does a good job as a sophisticate, and Andrews is good as well. Barbara Nichols does a fine job in a typical supporting role for her.
Lang returned to Germany after this film, his last in America. It's an effective plot but one wishes the man who made Metropolis and so many other fine films was given more of a budget for his swansong.