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The Tattered Dress (1957) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
6.9/10   67 votes
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Director:
Jack Arnold
Writer:
George Zuckerman (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Tattered Dress on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
14 March 1957 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Film-Noir more
Plot:
After a wild night, wealthy Michael Reston's adulterous wife Charleen comes home with her ripe young... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
User Comments:
Pretentious courtroom drama can't live up to steamy opening more (5 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Jeff Chandler ... James Gordon Blane
Jeanne Crain ... Diane Blane

Jack Carson ... Sheriff Nick Hoak
Gail Russell ... Carol Morrow
Elaine Stewart ... Charleen Reston
George Tobias ... Billy Giles
Edward Andrews ... Lester Rawlings
Phillip Reed ... Michael Reston

Edward Platt ... Ralph Adams, Reporter (as Edward C. Platt)
Paul Birch ... Prosecutor Frank Mitchell
Alexander Lockwood ... Paul Vernon
Edwin Jerome ... Judge David L. Johnson
William Schallert ... Court Clerk
June McCall ... Girl at Slot Machine
Frank J. Scannell ... Cal Morrison, Blackjack Dealer (as Frank Scannell)
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
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Runtime:
93 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15
Company:
Universal International Pictures (UI) more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Dick Wilson's film debut. more
Quotes:
Michael Reston: When I spill a drink on the carpet, my butler cleans up after me.
James Gordon Blane: When you spill blood, your lawyer is expected to do the same.
Michael Reston: Exactly.
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User Comments

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6 out of 11 people found the following comment useful.
Pretentious courtroom drama can't live up to steamy opening, 28 January 2002
6/10
Author: bmacv from Western New York

By far the best few minutes in The Tattered Dress occur in its swift, provocative prologue. In filthy-rich Desert Valley, California, there's an illicit tryst (where a bodice actually gets ripped); a fight between the adulterous blonde and her jealous husband; and the stalking and slaying of the popular young man who cuckolded him. When a hotshot mouthpiece from New York rolls into town to defend the killer, on the grounds that he was only avenging his wife's rape, it promises to be down-and-dirty fun, like Anatomy of Murder a couple years later.

No such luck. The trial is but a plot point, winning lawyer Jeff Chandler not only an acquittal for his client but the everlasting enmity of the town sheriff and political boss (Jack Carson). Chandler finds himself framed for bribing a juror and ill-advisedly chooses to defend himself. To his side rushes Jeanne Crain, playing that most thankless of roles, the loyal ex-wife. Though there's some welcome noirish violence, the movie has aspirations to being a big courtroom drama where Chandler fights for his reputation, his self-respect, and "principle."

Turning Chandler into the central character proves a colossal miscalculation. He can't begin to impersonate a legal legend who's been compared to Clarence Darrow; though he sweats and strains to work up a full head of steam in his flat, wide skull, he convinces only the jurors -- never us viewers.

Elaine Stewart, as the trampy trophy-wife, and Gail Russell, as the bribed juror, get tossed aside, as does Crain. Only Carson emerges unscathed; once again, as in a long line of supporting roles, he uses his affable, average-joe persona to hide the ruthless schemer inside. When Chandler turns the ripped dress of the original trial into a metaphor for the "tattered" garb of the blind statue of Justice, it's clear that this movie is giving itself airs because it has nothing else to give.

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