Town on Trial (1957)

When an attractive young girl is murdered, suspicion falls on several members of the local tennis club. It falls to Police Inspector Halloran to sort out all the red herrings, and finally ... See full summary »

Director:

John Guillermin

Writers:

Robert Westerby (screenplay), Ken Hughes (screenplay)

Stars:

John Mills, Charles Coburn, Barbara Bates

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Mills	...	Supt. Mike Halloran
Charles Coburn	...	Dr. John Fenner
Barbara Bates	...	Elizabeth Fenner
Derek Farr	...	Mark Roper
Alec McCowen	...	Peter Crowley (as Alec Mc Cowen)
Fay Compton	...	Mrs. Crowley
Geoffrey Keen	...	Charles Dixon
Margaretta Scott	...	Helen Dixon
Meredith Edwards	...	Sgt. Rogers
Harry Locke	...	Sgt. Beale
Raymond Huntley	...	Dr. Reese
Harry Fowler	...	Leslie (Bandleader)
Maureen Connell	...	Mary Roper
Magda Miller	...	Molly Stevens
Newton Blick	...	Asst. Commissioner Beckett

Storyline

When an attractive young girl is murdered, suspicion falls on several members of the local tennis club. It falls to Police Inspector Halloran to sort out all the red herrings, and finally after a confrontation at the top of the local church spire, arrest the culprit. Another fascinating look at what life was like in Britain during the 50's,

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Plot Keywords:

small town | stocking | murder | detective

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Taglines:

The secrets and scandals of a whole town shocked into the open... AS THE NYLON STOCKING KILLER RUNS AMOK!

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Genres:

Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

By under anklage

Filming Locations:

Weybridge, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Marksman Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The action takes place in Oakley Park. A Surrey Ambulance Service vehicle is glimpsed, whilst a County of London Civil Defence Corps van can also be seen.

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Goofs

Halloran allows himself to be taken for a turn around the Oakley Park boating lake by Elizabeth, but the camera/background shakes more violently when on him (physically rowing the boat in the location footage) than when framing his more sedate companion (in footage shot separately).

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Soundtracks

"Grip of the Law"
(uncredited)
Music by Trevor Duncan
Josef Weinberger Music Ltd

User Reviews

Neat thriller

The calm of prosperous Oakley Park is shattered when a local woman is found murdered. A Scotland Yard detective is called in to solve the case. He unmasks the murderer but not before another woman is killed.

This picture contains some of the stock characters we see in many thrillers; the woman killed just because she is sexually attractive, the detective who gets results by breaking the rules and a community of outwardly respectable people who all have their dirty little secrets. These elements could have resulted in a predictable formulaic thriller but "Town on Trial" is lifted onto a higher class by the writing, direction and acting.

The acting is consistently good from the bit part players up to the stars. The two outstanding performances are given by Alec McCowen as a suspect and John Mills as the detective.

I would recommend this film to any viewer.