As such, Tony does whatever he can to clear her of the charges, either in mounting a defense of suicide, assisted or not, or that someone else killed him, the most likely candidate being the Colonel's trusted valet, Andre Latour, with who Tony initially believes Mrs. Paradise was having an affair. His wife finds him there; she offers reconciliation, and hope for the future. The police arrest Maddalena Anna Paradine (Alida Valli) for poisoning her late husband, Col. Paradine. 8 of 9 people found this review helpful. The Paradine Case DVD Qty: Add to Cart. Hitchcock's cameo in The Paradine Case (1947) occurs about 36 minutes into the film, where is seen smoking and carrying a cello at a Cumbrian railway station. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? DVD List Price: $19.95. Hedda Hopper Wrote What About "Paradine Case" ? Her personal solicitor Sir Simon Flaquer refers the case to his colleague Tony Keane. A young gentleman goes to Australia where he reunites with his now married childhood sweetheart, only to find out she has become an alcoholic and harbors dark secrets. In no sense a 'wronged innocent' thriller, The Paradine Case sets out to be a morality tale on the dangers of Strong Emotion. The Paradine Case (1947) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. The Paradine Case. Action. Adapted by Alma Reville. The production credits on the film were as follows: Bosley Crowther, film critic for The New York Times, liked the film, the acting, and Hitchcock's direction, and wrote, "With all the skill in presentation for which both gentlemen are famed, David O. Selznick and Alfred Hitchcock have put upon the screen a slick piece of static entertainment in their garrulous The Paradine Case... Gregory Peck is impressively impassioned as the famous young London barrister who lets his heart, cruelly captured by his client, rule his head. Consciously or subconsciously, Keane sees Latour as a suitable scapegoat on whom he can pin the crime of murder, but this strategy backfires. [3] The producer went through eighteen different title changes for the picture before rechristening it The Paradine Case, just hours before the premiere. It's never cut and dried what she's up to and though the seductive effect of a woman under suspicion on a man with influence is and was nothing new, the plot progresses on its own distinctive path, as she is a distinctive character. She goes so far as to say that she poisoned her husband in order to be with Latour. There is a deliberateness of pace, artful pauses and other carefully calculated melodramatic hinges upon which he swings the story and players. The Digital Bits is the Internet’s leading source for DVD, Blu-ray Disc, and 4K Ultra HD industry news, reviews, analysis, and expertise. She hires married Anthony Keane as her lawyer and when he begins to fall in love with her, she encourages him. Maltin, Leonard. In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber. Keane's kind-hearted wife, Gay (Ann Todd), sees his obsession, and although he offers to relinquish the case, presses him to continue. Several survivors of a torpedoed merchant ship in World War II find themselves in the same lifeboat with one of the crew members of the U-boat that sank their ship. The Paradine Case is a 1947 American film noir courtroom drama film, set in England, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by David O. Selznick. The Paradine Case - Rent Movies and TV Shows on DVD and Blu-ray. The Paradine Case ended up being an unhappy production for both of them, not apparently through any actions of each other; Selznick desperately wanted a hit and ended up rewriting parts of the script after watching each days' film footage and in some cases directed Hitchcock to re-shoot scenes in a less Hitchcockian manner. Following a short investigation, the London Police charge Maddalena Paradine with the poisoning murder of her older, blind husband, retired Colonel Richard Paradine, who was dependent on her and others to manage in his life due to his physical disability. A young man accused of sabotage goes on the lam to prove his innocence. A priest, who comes under suspicion for murder, cannot clear his name without breaking the seal of the confessional. It tells of an English barrister who falls in love with a woman who is accused of murder, and how it affects his relationship with his wife. The second unit footage of the station was filmed at Braithwaite Station in the Lake District, which was … In spending time with Mrs. Paradise in prison, Tony is immediately attracted to her, that attraction which morphs into obsession. Although Keane has been happily married for 11 years, he instantly becomes deeply infatuated with this exotic, mysterious, and fascinating client. The story itself has much prospective tension, especially putting Mrs. Paradine at the hub of the drama. Select from premium The Paradine Case of the highest quality. The film stars Gregory Peck, Alida Valli, Charles Laughton, Charles Coburn, Ethel Barrymore and Louis Jourdan.. When Hitchcock insisted on receiving his contractual $1000/day fee, Selznick took over post-production, supervising the editing and the scoring of the film. Description. The issue is that, unlike Hitchcock's British films, this American Hitchcock film set in Britain dulls the blade of the dramatic elements and turns. [5], In 1946, it was announced that Alfred Hitchcock would direct the film, and that Laurence Olivier would star as the barrister,[5] but Olivier eventually turned the project down, as he was preparing for his production of Hamlet. Fast, free delivery. Based on a novel by Robert Hichens, The Paradine Case concerns Anna Paradine (Alida Valli), on trial for the murder of her wealthy husband. 1-month free trial! The Paradine Case. 1948 'Saturday Evening Post' Chesterfield Cigarette Ad with Alfred Hitchcock's "The Paradine Case" film cast of actors and actresses featuring Gregory Peck, Charles Coburn, Ann Todd, Ethel Barrymore, Louis Jourdan and Alida Valli. Hitchcock's camera has a way of acting like an adept trial lawyer, whirring calmly along with customary material and swiftly punctuating with fluent theatrics, and also unsurprisingly, the movie's furnishings have a lush David O. Selznick guise. A happily married London barrister falls in love with the accused poisoner he is defending. This was the last film under Hitch’s seven-year contract with David O. Selznick, and I’ll bet he was glad to be shut of the bastard. Other actors who were considered for the film include: Maurice Evans, Joseph Cotten, Alan Marshal, James Mason for Anthony Keane; Hedy Lamarr for Mrs. Paradine; Claude Rains for Lord Thomas Horfield; and Robert Newton for Mrs. Paradine's lover. "[13], Variety wrote, "high dramatics...Hitchcock's penchant for suspense and unusual atmosphere development get full play. The film stars Gregory Peck, Ann Todd, Alida Valli, Charles Laughton, Charles Coburn, Ethel Barrymore, and Louis Jourdan. A new draft of the script was submitted, but not for some years, in 1942, and this script was approved. And Ann Todd, the pliant British actress, is attractively anguished as his wife. Light red cloth boards stamped in black. [4], The completed film cost an estimated $4,258,000 to make, almost as expensive as Gone with the Wind. [5][7] (Garbo had also turned down I Remember Mama at about the same time, and is reputed to have said "No murderesses, no mamas". Writing - David O. Selznick (screenplay), This page was last edited on 11 April 2021, at 07:59. It tells of an English barristerwho falls in love with a woma… He stays overnight at Sir Simon's office, feeling that his career is in ruins. Plot concerns murder of a blind man by his wife so she can marry her lover. [6], The Paradine Case was the last film made under Hitchcock's seven-year contract with Selznick, and it has been suggested that Hitchcock was tired of the association by that time. They also objected to the judge being portrayed as a sadist who enjoyed sending people to their deaths. Unusually, the set had ceilings to allow for low camera angles. In Cornwall, 1819, a young woman discovers she's living near a gang of criminals who arrange shipwrecks for profit. Italian import Alida Valli makes the confined Mrs. Paradine a composite of inscrutability, ambiguity and sensuality, and Louis Jourdan is pretty intense as the harassed valet.It isn't a momentous Hitchcock effort by a long shot, save to the degree that it infers the cave dweller beneath everyone's practiced etiquette and concrete integrity and barristers' wigs. However, despite Hitchcock's simplistic mastery of when and how to move the camera, each scene is a dialogue piece that I, to my own surprise, found would be much more impactful in other, perhaps grittier and more contemporary hands.Slowly, overemotionally, but gracefully enough, this picture files the potentially much more intriguing story of the eponymous widow's swaying lure over many who are impinged on by her trial, in addition to a predetermined eye-opener to the nature of the character herself. Her personal solicitor Sir Simon Flaquer refers the case to his colleague Tony Keane. [3] The film stars Gregory Peck, Ann Todd, Alida Valli, Charles Laughton, Charles Coburn, Ethel Barrymore, and Louis Jourdan. Rent The Paradine Case (1947) starring Gregory Peck and Alida Valli on DVD and Blu-ray. Starring: Gregory Peck, Ann Todd, Charles Laughton, Charles Coburn, Ethel Barrymore, Louis Jourdan and Alida Valli The beautiful Mrs. Paradine is accused of poisoning her older, blind husband. It is not clear whether she is a grateful and devoted wife who has been falsely charged or a calculating and ruthless femme fatale. [14] Time Out says "Bleak in its message (those who love passionately inevitably destroy the object of their desire), the movie only half works. Gregory Peck said of the director, "He seemed really bored with the whole thing..."[8], The film was in production from December 19, 1946 to May 7, 1947,[9] with retakes done in November of that year. In London, England, Maddalena Anna Paradine (Valli) is a young woman who is accused of poisoning her older, wealthy blind husband. [5][6] According to his biographer Donald Spoto "...Hitchcock's disgust with the content and method that were forced upon him conspired to produce an uneasy atmosphere from which Hitchcock could scarcely wait to extricate himself." "[15], Leonard Maltin said "talk, talk, talk in complicated, stagy courtroom drama;"[16]. No late fees. With all the proficiency in production for which both Hollywood veterans were recognized, David O. Selznick and Alfred Hitchcock seemed to go halves in creative effort on a polished piece of stagnant entertainment in their ceremonial Paradine Case. Mrs. Paradine is coldly furious that Keane has destroyed Latour, who was, in fact, her lover. Author: Robert Hichens Title: The Paradine Case Publication: London: Ernest Benn Limited, 1933. Dub it a mystery melodrama, even if that doesn't completely sum it up any more than it did Rebecca, a preceding, much superior production by the two. Highly successful London barrister Anthony Keane takes on the case of Italian Maddalena Paradine who is accused of poisoning her blind military hero husband. It was based upon the 1933 novel by Robert Smythe Hichens, and noted as Alfred Hitchcock's final film for producer David Selznick. From Wings to Parasite, here's a look back at all of the Best Picture Oscar winners in the history of the ceremony. The Paradine Case DVD. The Paradine Case Gregory Peck (Actor), Ann Todd (Actor), Alfred Hitchcock (Director) Was this review helpful to you? A man on the run from a murder charge enlists a beautiful stranger who must put herself at risk for his cause. Alida Valli, an import from Italy, makes the caged Mrs. Paradine a compound of mystery, fascination and voluptuousness with a pair of bedroom eyes, and Louis Jourdan, a new boy from Paris, is electric as the badgered valet. There's also disquieting suggestion of Mrs. Paradine's clutch on her husband's valet, a man upon whom keen suspicion is aimed before and during the trial, though mainly it follows the zeal she rouses in the stiff-postured man appointed as her defending counsel and of the torment this causes his wife.Gregory Peck is fervent as the prominent young London barrister who lets his heart, callously ensnared by his client, control his head, while Ann Todd would be much more persuasively grief-stricken as his wife were it not for Franz Waxman's gushy score being poured on her every word like syrup. [5], 1947 American courtroom drama film, set in England directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Title: You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. The Paradine Case is a 1947 American courtroom drama film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by David O. Selznick. She is up front about being a woman with a past, she only becoming wealthy and thus glamorous because of the marriage. Find the perfect The Paradine Case stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. (1947). London: Ernest Benn Limited, 1933. Founded in 1997, it’s THE place for cinephiles to … In 1980, a flood reportedly destroyed the uncut original version of the film, making a restoration of that version unlikely. Lacks dust jacket. [7] Hitchcock was interested in Ronald Colman for the part as well as Garbo (who had not yet turned down the project) or Ingrid Bergman for Mrs. Paradine. "Paradine," "Rope"---Why Did Hitchcock Film Them As He Did? Garbo did consider doing the film, but ultimately turned it down, as she decided to retire from acting. Synopsis by dvdtalk.com: - Distinguished, never-loses-a-case trial lawyer Anthony Keane (Gregory Peck) takes on the murder defense of Mrs. Maddalena Anna Paradine (Alida Valli, billed as just Valli), accused of poisoning her husband, a respected hero blinded in the war. Hitchcock described The Paradine Case as "...a love story embedded in the emotional quicksand of a murder trial". Thriller, Certificate: Passed Boards worn at extremities with brief exposure; spine toned; general spotting. After the film's premieres, Selznick pulled the film from distribution and re-cut it for general release, bringing it down to 114 minutes, which is currently the length of the film on DVD release. View production, box office, & company info. The Paradine Case (1947) Hitchcock's film noirish, stagy courtroom drama was a very dialogue-rich and slow-moving tale. The intricate, triangular plot is finally overburdened by the courtroom setting. Based on a novel by Robert Hichens, The Paradine Case concerns Anna Paradine (Alida Valli), on trial for the murder of her wealthy husband. Time Out says. Although some external shots show the Lake District in Cumbria, the rest of the footage was shot entirely on three sets at Selznick's Culver City, California lot, a first in Selznick's career as an independent producer. The Paradine Case (1947) The amazing about this movie is not that it is relatively minor Hitchcock, but that it’s any good at all. The screenplay was written by Selznick and an uncredited Ben Hecht, from an adaptation by Alma Reville and James Bridie of the 1933 novel of the same title by Robert Smythe Hichens. The only way that she can regain her husband's love and devotion is if he is able to obtain a "not guilty" verdict for Mrs. Paradine. British barrister Anthony Keane (played by the aggressively American Gregory Peck) takes on the case-and in the process, falls in love with Anna, despite being married himself. Paradine. A couple who have been married for three years are shocked to learn that their marriage is not legally valid. Keane comes increasingly under her spell, threatening both his marriage and his career. The screenplay was written by Selznick and an uncredited Ben Hecht, from an adaptation by Alma Reville and James Bridie of the 1933 novel of the same title by Robert Smythe Hichens. The Paradine Case (1947) Plot Synopsis. Attempting to summarize, he improvises a brief and faltering speech, admitting how poorly he has handled the case, but cannot continue speaking, and has to leave the court. It makes a pale wink at the covetousness she provokes in the officiating judge, a typically sharp-tongued Charles Laughton whose urbane hostility has altogether sent his wife over the edge, another powerful narrative element that seems to have been glossed over. Film, Drama. Huggo. Use the HTML below. Description: Very Good. Meanwhile, Keane himself starts to focus his legal efforts on Colonel Paradine's mysterious servant, André Latour (Louis Jourdan). Ethel Barrymore was nominated for a 1947 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress as Lady Sophie Horfield. [10], The Paradine Case had its world premiere in Los Angeles on December 29, 1947, opening simultaneously in two theaters across the street from each other in Westwood, California. [5] This set-up, including elaborately choreographed crane shots, allowed Hitchcock to shoot long 10-minute takes, something he would push to the limit on his next two films, Rope (1948) and Under Capricorn (1949). Overview - There have been many courtroom dramas over the years, but none quite like The Paradine Case. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. After Keane has pressured Latour in court, triggering an angry outburst, word comes that Latour has killed himself. In the process, Tony may be blinded to the evidence as it presents itself. Almost every Hitchcock film has a cameo appearance by Alfred Hitchcock. Who can see what is going on is ... ‘Hollywood’ Fact Check: What Really Happened at the Oscars in 1948? Check out our editors' picks for the movies and shows we're excited about this month, like Mortal Kombat, "Them," and Stowaway. A psychiatrist protects the identity of an amnesia patient accused of murder while attempting to recover his memory. In this film, he can be seen leaving the Cumberland train station, carrying a cello, at about 38 minutes into the film. Nevertheless, her husband, a blind man, is dead and she's on trial for his murder. [3], The Paradine Case was not a box office success: worldwide receipts barely covered half of the cost of production.[6]. Octavo. The Paradine Case is a 1933 novel by the British writer Robert Hichens about a married London barrister who falls in love with a woman accused of murder.. Keane is overwhelmed, physically, intellectually, and emotionally. First Edition. After a hazy buildup of evidence and of passion in the lawyer's heart, the story finally goes into a static but enthralling courtroom and thankfully remains there for most of the second hour. Written by In spending time with Mrs. Paradise in prison, Tony is immediately attracted to her, that attraction which morphs into obsession. Synopsis by dvdtalk.com: - Distinguished, never-loses-a-case trial lawyer Anthony Keane (Gregory Peck) takes on the murder defense of Mrs. Maddalena Anna Paradine (Alida Valli, billed as just Valli), accused of poisoning her husband, a respected hero blinded in the war. Mrs. Paradine's solicitor, Sir Simon Flaquer (Charles Coburn), hires Anthony Keane (Gregory Peck), a brilliant and successful barrister, to defend her in court. Certificate: Passed You Save: $3.00 (15%) Share. It's all of these things rolled together in one intermittently interesting movie, effortlessly told via Hitchcock's sophisticated camera.If you recall the lingering distress which Rebecca, the apparition femme fatale of that film, set off all the other characters, albeit she herself was dead, that's the kind of shadowy trouble that the poised Mrs. Paradine affects all the characters in this narrative, except she's quite alive. Price: $16.95. The Paradine Case (1947) Hitchcock's rough-cut of The Paradine Case, with which producer David Selznick tinkered extensively in post-production, was lost in a flood in the 1980s. [5][11][12] On its initial release, the film was 132 minutes long, due to Selznick's editing of Hitchcock's rough cut, which ran almost three hours. Alfred Hitchcock despite the mixed reviews the movie received, Most critics noted the strong performances of Todd! 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