ianlouisiana Review of Court Martial

Court Martial (1954)

A good reputation is hard won,easily lost and rarely regained.

[9/10 · 21 January 2009]

Released at a time when the majority of the audience would have been only too familiar with the culture of the armed forces,"Carrington VC"raises the thorny issue of the different qualities required of an army officer in peace and war."Copper" Carrington,brave,dashing and debonair as he might have been when up to his neck in mud and bullets has failed to impress his war - dodging CO Col.Henniker(the splendidly disdainful Mr Alan Cuthbertson)in the performance of his more mundane administrative duties.Furthermore he is admired and respected by his men in a way Henniker will never be.Carrington(Mr D.Niven) and his wife(Miss M Leighton) have been moved from base to base so often that his allowances have not kept up with him,and,fed up with receiving no co - operation in this matter,Carrington informs Henniker that he is removing a sum of money from the safe consistent with that owed to him which he will repay when his overdue cash arrives. The money is found to be missing and Henniker denies having been spoken to about it.Carrington is consequently put up for Court Martial. To add to his woes,distraught about the behaviour of his increasingly drunken wife,Carrington embarks on a brief fling with a female colleague(the winsome Miss N.Middleton)and is further charged with that. Back in the 1950s adultery was a serious matter whether committed by serving army officers or no.He is in serious trouble. At his trial his defence - obviously - is that as he informed his CO that he was taking the money there was no criminal intent involved. Unfortunately the malevolent Henniker perjures himself,the wronged wife perjures herself and he is convicted on all charges despite the doubt of two of the five "Judges". Jealousy,envy and prudishness have won out over courage and integrity. The career,indeed, the life of one of the bravest of the brave is in tatters. Further,ridiculously,in my opinion,he could have been stripped of his VC as a result of his conviction,as if his subsequent conduct - however reprehensible - could have any bearing on the act of heroism that earned him the medal in the first place. Carington refuses to appeal in order to prevent his wife having to undergo a further ordeal but at the last minute,having been left in no doubt how his men felt about the verdict,a witness emerges,a switchboard operator who overheard Carrington's telephone conversation to Henniker about taking the money from the safe.Immediately,Carrington's Defending Officer (Mr R.Francis)gives Notice of Appeal,but it is hard to see how his career will remain unaffected even if he is acquitted at a later date. Henniker,the bean counter/flower grader/button pusher will have succeeded in ruining the "lead from the front" hero officer. A good reputation is hard to win,easy to lose and almost impossible to regain. Mr Niven's Carrington is seemingly a rather ineffectual,hesitant character.Clearly in his moment of glory it was a case of "cometh the hour,cometh the man".Susceptible to a well - turned ankle,he has many of the ills the flesh is heir to yet was capable of selfless bravery at the right time.No vainglorious Flashman - type hero he. "Carrington VC" tells us that literally anyone can be a hero given the circumstances,that it can be thrust upon those least likely to be seeking it,and that it's blessings can be considerably mixed.