Libel (1959)

A shell-shocked World War II veteran with memory problems is accused of being an impostor by a former comrade.

Director:

Anthony Asquith

Writers:

Anatole de Grunwald (screenplay), Karl Tunberg (screenplay)

Stars:

Dirk Bogarde, Olivia de Havilland, Paul Massie

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dirk Bogarde	...	Sir Mark Loddon / Frank Welney / Number Fifteen
Olivia de Havilland	...	Lady Margaret Loddon
Paul Massie	...	Jeffrey Buckenham
Robert Morley	...	Sir Wilfred
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Hubert Foxley (as Wilfrid Hyde White)
Anthony Dawson	...	Gerald Loddon
Richard Wattis	...	The Judge
Richard Dimbleby	...	Richard Dimbleby
Martin Miller	...	Dr. Schrott
Millicent Martin	...	Maisie
Toke Townley	...	Associate
Deering Wells	...	Editor
Bill Shine	...	The Guide
Ivan Samson	...	Admiral Loddon
Sebastian Saville	...	Michael Loddon

Storyline

A Canadian commercial pilot sees a telecast in London of an interview with Sir Mark Lodden (Sir Dirk Bogarde) at his home. The Canadian is convinced that the baronet is a fraud, that he is actually a look-alike actor named Frank Welney (Sir Dirk Bogarde). The Canadian, the baronet, and the actor were all prisoners in the same German camp during the war and escaped together. One of them disappeared during the escape. Was he Sir Mark or Welney? The tabloids have a field day with the Canadian's accusations, and Lady Margaret Lodden (Olivia de Havilland) urges her husband to sue for libel and engage the distinguished barrister Sir Wilfred (Robert Morley). The long drawn-out case is made complex by the fact that Sir Mark is not quite sure of his identity. Injured in the war, he stutters on occasion and has difficulty remembering portions of his life. As the evidence sways back and forth in court, it begins to appear that Sir Mark is an impostor and the possible murderer of the missing ...

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Plot Keywords:

courtroom drama | impersonation | pow camp | based on play | whistling | 

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Taglines:

The surprise witness ! The searching question ! The perjured testimony ! The accusing finger ! The shattering truth !

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film barely broke even at the box office, earning MGM the paltry profit of $10,000 according to studio records.

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Goofs

In opening credits, Arthur Davey is listed as In Charge of Adminstration; no way of missing the obvious error - it takes up half the screen; of course, it should be Administration. How can such glaring errors be missed by editors.

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Connections

References First Man Into Space (1959)

User Reviews

Great retelling of an old story

This film seems to be based on the true story of Martin Guerre, the sixteenth century Frenchman who went off to war and came back a changed man. Some of these changes turned out to be so great that his neighbors suspected it wasn't really Martin. It turned out they were right; it was an impostor, Arnaud du Tilh, so clever he even fooled Martin's wife. The real Martin eventually showed up and Arnaud confessed his crime. IN 192 the story was made into a film starring Gerard Depardieu as Arnaud. American audiences will be more familiar with Sommersby (1993), an adaptation of the same story starring Jodie Foster and Richard Gere, set after the American Civil War.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

6 May 1960 (Finland)

Also Known As:

La noche es mi enemiga

Filming Locations:

Wiltshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$615,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

De Grunwald Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1