Successful lawyer, Anthony Keane (Peck), has a reputation for his sensational antics in the courtroom. He is happily married and devoted to wife Gay (Todd). But he forgets his vows when he meets his new client, Maddalena Paradine (Valli). Maddalena is accused of poisoning her late husband, who was blind and much older.
Anthony believes she is innocent and becomes obsessed with saving her: spending extra time at the prison or going to her estate to find someone who will vouch for her character. His attentions are noticed by the media and Gay. When Anthony realizes how much it hurts Gay, he offers to drop the case, but she urges him to win the case... that way he will get over his crush, but if she dies, he will always wonder "what if she lived."
What a waste... Tedious, long, s l o w - it didn't even feel like a Hitchcock film. I kept waiting for the suspense to build, or the villain to emerge, or someone to die.... any glimmer of an interesting sequence, for the first time I was truly disappointed. Mr. & Mrs. Smith wasn't great (I had high expectations), but it was better than this (I went in with a blank slate). I have nothing against films with a slower pace, but this was just ridiculous.
I also understand that the material doesn't exactly lend itself to suspenseful chases or daring escapes; there is only so much you can do in a courtroom. But maybe the problem isn't the story. Maybe the problem is Gregory Peck... his acting isn't amazing in this (but I am willing to forgive him because of his performances in Roman Holiday, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Guns of Navarone). Honestly, the only character that I actually enjoyed was Joan Tetzel's Judy Flaquer: her father works with Anthony Keane and her best friend is Gay Keane. She tells it like it is and seems to genuinely enjoy and understand the proceedings.
In addition, I wasn't really surprised by the plot "twists"... but I won't give away any secrets, in case you don't immediately figure them out.
I did enjoy some of the long shots within the courtroom. When Latour is brought into the courtroom, the camera follows his movements, while focusing on Maddalena. It works well and shows that even in a mostly sucky movie, Hitchcock could still knock your socks off!
Hitch didn't even like this film... and I can see why. Underwhelming, especially after the triumph of the film he made immediately prior to this film, Notorious... But don't let me stop you from seeing it.
The Paradine Case (1947) 125 minutes
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Gregory Peck as Anthony Keane
Ann Todd as Gay Keane
Charles Laughton as Judge Lord Thomas Horfield
Charles Coburn as Sir Simon Flaquer
Ethel Barrymore as Lady Sophie Horfield
Louis Jourdan as Andre Latour
Alida Valli as Mrs. Maddalena Anna Paradine
Leo G. Carroll as Sir Joseph (Counsel for the Prosecution)
Joan Tetzel as Judy Flaquer
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