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The Girl in the News

  • 1940
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 18m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
378
YOUR RATING
The Girl in the News (1940)
CrimeThriller

Anne Graham is acquitted of murder after her patient has died under suspicious circumstances. Changing her name, she gets a position nursing Edward Bentley who soon dies of what appears to b... Read allAnne Graham is acquitted of murder after her patient has died under suspicious circumstances. Changing her name, she gets a position nursing Edward Bentley who soon dies of what appears to be a copycat murder. Again, Anne is arrested.Anne Graham is acquitted of murder after her patient has died under suspicious circumstances. Changing her name, she gets a position nursing Edward Bentley who soon dies of what appears to be a copycat murder. Again, Anne is arrested.

  • Director
    • Carol Reed
  • Writers
    • Sidney Gilliat
    • Roy Vickers
  • Stars
    • Margaret Lockwood
    • Barry K. Barnes
    • Emlyn Williams
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    378
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Carol Reed
    • Writers
      • Sidney Gilliat
      • Roy Vickers
    • Stars
      • Margaret Lockwood
      • Barry K. Barnes
      • Emlyn Williams
    • 10User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos8

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    Top cast25

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    Margaret Lockwood
    Margaret Lockwood
    • Anne Graham a.k.a. Anne Lovell
    Barry K. Barnes
    Barry K. Barnes
    • Stephen Farringdon
    Emlyn Williams
    Emlyn Williams
    • Tracy
    Roger Livesey
    Roger Livesey
    • Bill Mather
    Margaretta Scott
    Margaretta Scott
    • Judith Bentley
    Wyndham Goldie
    • Edward Bentley
    Basil Radford
    Basil Radford
    • Dr. Tredgrove
    Irene Handl
    Irene Handl
    • Gertrude Mary Blaker
    Mervyn Johns
    Mervyn Johns
    • James Fetherwood
    Betty Jardine
    • Elsie
    Kathleen Harrison
    Kathleen Harrison
    • Cook
    Felix Aylmer
    Felix Aylmer
    • Prosecuting Counsel
    Roland Culver
    Roland Culver
    • Police Inspector
    • (uncredited)
    Mark Daly
    Mark Daly
    • Taxi Driver
    • (uncredited)
    Arthur Denton
    • Ticket Collector
    • (uncredited)
    Leo Genn
    Leo Genn
    • Prosecuting Counsel - First Trial
    • (uncredited)
    Bryan Herbert
    • Witness
    • (uncredited)
    Michael Hordern
    Michael Hordern
    • Assistant Prosecuting Counsel - Second Trial
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Carol Reed
    • Writers
      • Sidney Gilliat
      • Roy Vickers
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews10

    6.7378
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    Featured reviews

    9clanciai

    Intriguing thriller of profiting from a stain on a woman's honour

    The plot is thick, and it is difficult to follow all the twists and turns of this intricate concoction of the purposed perfect murder. Margaret Lockwood is perfect as the nurse under suspicion, since more than one patient of hers happens to die of poisoning. Fortunately she has a young alert attorney for her defense who sees through the web of intrigue and finally dispels it. This is typical for Sidney Gilliat's thriller construction with many difficult threads to follow through to an end which no one could have any idea of. The dialog is intensive, intelligent and sharp all through, and inspector Roger Livesey is too straight forward to be able to be fooled or to not commit mistakes. The combination of Gilliat's mastership in script writing with Carol Reed's equally masterful direction makes this film a gem among British thrillers of the 30s. We don't often see Carol Reed conduct a trial and least of all in a murder case, but he handles it expertly only by directing the human hands without any unnecessary dramatic action. This film deserves to be watched more than once, and each time you will find new values in it.
    6davidholmesfr

    Courting Prejudice

    Core to the plot is the extent to which a justifiable acquittal at a trial nevertheless prejudices the accused's future life. Given modern day concerns over sensational press coverage this is an issue as valid today (probably more so) than it was in war-time Britain. But the film does not follow this line, rather it presents us with a good old-fashioned courtroom drama, culminating in a finale of which Perry Mason would have been proud. Quite how the hero lawyer manages this stretches the judicial imagination somewhat, especially with a flawed witness, whose evidence clinches the outcome, not having to testify from the witness box.

    Despite these reservations this is an enjoyable enough production which canters along at a good pace without any pretensions to high art. And it was nice to see some early work from two actresses, Irene Handl (particularly malevolent as the first "victim") and Kathleen Harrison, who both went on to greater things in post-war British TV.
    7blanche-2

    Carol Reed film from 1940

    Margaret Lockwood is "The Girl in the News" as a nurse who is acquitted of murder, only to find herself accused again. Carol Reed directed, and besides Lockwood, it stars Emlyn Williams and Roger Livesey. Lockwood is Anne Graham, a young nurse working in a household when her invalid employer takes too many sleeping pills. Graham is accused of murder but acquitted. However, she finds getting a job impossible until she changes her name. Someone mails her a classified ad for a nursing job, for which she applies and is accepted. Then history repeats itself.

    A very good film, excellently directed by Reed with an underplayed performance by Lockwood. Emlyn Williams plays her attorney. Though I figured this film out before the plot unfolded, "The Girl in the News" is still good and worth seeing.
    9paxveritas

    Excellent cast in absorbing, gentle courtroom drama

    Very good script by Gilliat based on a novel. Likable protagonists and support characters, as well as nearly-likable villains in a wonderful cast who work pleasingly together.

    I'm glad Barnes, not Redgrave (apparently as originally planned), fell into the role of "Stephen." Barnes is gentlemanly distant and professional, but obviously protective of Lockwood as friend and client. Redgrave might have handled the role in a cheesier, more intimate manner, not appropriate in this quiet script. Livesey provides a friendly but professional touch as Barnes' policeman flat-mate.

    Refreshing to see characters interact without sturm und drang for a change, in well-paced unfolding of Barnes' defense of Lockwood.

    Enjoyed this movie very much. There aren't many that succeed in first gear - maybe "A Canterbury Tale" is another such, but there aren't many others.
    6boblipton

    A Carol Reed Mystery

    Nurse Margaret Lockwood is acquitted of killing her patient by poison -- we see the woman commit suicide, so that's fine. However, when her next patient dies under almost identical circumstances, can she escape the hangman's noose? Twentieth Century-Fox spared no expense for their British production of this movie. They hired director Carol Reed and a fabulous cast, including Margaret Lockwood, Barry Barnes, Emlyn Williams, Roger Livesy, Basil Radford.... well, the list of performers whose name you'd recognize goes on and on. Sidney Giliat wrote the screenplay. Unfortunately, there are some problems with that script. There is never any doubt as to Miss Lockwood's innocence, and the attempt to do a Hitchcock-style thriller is weakened, both by the lack of Hitchcock's black humor and much of a sense of trying to hide from the police. Most of the actual action takes place while Miss Lockwood is in prison and on trial.

    Without comparing it to other works, how does it stand on its own, as a mystery and courtroom drama? Pretty good. There seems a very real chance until the very end that Miss Lockwood will be found guilty, and the way she is acquitted is very clever. All the performers do a fine job and Carol Reed's direction is impeccable. I might have been happier if her guilt had been left in doubt; from my viewpoint, not showing the first patient kill herself might have better served the movie's suspense. However, there is still plenty of excellence to go around.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Third theatrical movie of Sir Michael Hordern (Assistant Prosecuting Counsel). His first two were "A Girl Must Live" (1939) and "Band Waggon" (1940).
    • Quotes

      Bill Mather: You took your chance like a Marshall Hall.

      Stephen Farringdon: I wouldn't say that.

      Bill Mather: You ought to be able to start up a nice business - 'gallows cheated at reasonable rates'

    • Soundtracks
      Quartet No.1, Op.11: Andante
      (uncredited)

      Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

      Arranged by Louis Levy

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • January 31, 1941 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Komplott!
    • Filming locations
      • Gaumont-British Studios, Lime Grove, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Twentieth Century-Fox Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 18 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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