- In pre-WWI England, a youngster is expelled from a naval academy over a petty theft, and his parents raise a political furor by demanding a trial.
- In Edwardian England, 13-year-old cadet Ronnie Winslow is expelled from the naval academy at Osborn for stealing a 7-shilling postal order. His father and sister become obsessed with proving his innocence at any cost to themselves and turn the case into a national cause celebre.—David Levene <D.S.Levene@durham.ac.uk>
- In Edwardian England, 13-year-old cadet Ronnie Winslow is expelled from the naval academy at Osborn for stealing a 5-shilling postal order. His father and sister become obsessed with proving his innocence at any cost to themselves and turn the case into a national cause celebre. Mr Winslow then goes to Sir Robert Morton a brilliant barrister and MP, who examines Ronnie and suggests that they take the matter before Parliament to seek permission to sue the Crown.—kevindwilkinson
- Until I saw this recently on TCM, I'd never heard of it: the youngest of a staid Edwardian England family is expelled from a Royal Navy prep school for stealing; father goes to extraordinary lengths to clear his son's name. English actor Robert Donat was a heartthrob of the period: he portrays barrister (English version of our litigator or trial lawyer) Sir Robert Morton, an expensive, what-we'd-call corporate attorney; after several false starts, including a debate in the House of Commons (over what in English law was basically a lawsuit against the Crown), Sir Robert accepts the case.
The centerpiece here is Sir Robert's interrogation of young Ronnie, the defendant, in the boy's home, in front of his rapidly deteriorating father & antagonistic, suffragette sister. Sir Robert's battery of questions quickly turns into an 18-K cross-examination, the kind he knows the boy can expect in court, over vehement objections from his family. Meanwhile, the case & the Winslow family become objects of public ridicule & derision.
Also interesting are the ways family members change: in the beginning, Pop Winslow (played with Cedric Hardwicke's usual aplomb) seems the most value-rigid & proper fish in a sea of rebels (Lindy Hops, cigarettes); gradually, it's pop who must convince even feminist daugther Katy to stay the course.
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