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The Long Dark Hall

1951, Movie, NR, 80 mins

The Long Dark Hall: Review

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A minor-league courtroom drama from a script written by Nunnally Johnson while he was at Universal. It was later sold to A&P heir Huntington Hartford, who eventually had it produced in England. Harrison is a married man with a couple of children. He has a wonderful relationship with his wife, Palmer, but can't resist a bit of dalliance on the side. When his mistress is murdered, all the circumstantial evidence points to him. We know from the start that he's innocent, since they have chosen to make this an "open mystery" (in which the audience knows the culprit's identity). Harrison is put on trial, and most of the film takes place in the courtroom as the web of evidence is carefully wrapped around the suspect. His lawyer is played by the film's producer and codirector, Bushell, who should have stayed behind the camera. Dawson, the real killer, thinking that Harrison is about to be hanged, sends a letter to the police confessing that he did it. But the mail is not delivered on time because of a Parliamentary decision and the letter barely gets to the police before the hangman gets to Harrison. A few sparkling moments between the (at the time) real-life husband-and-wife team of Palmer and Harrison are all that distinguish this from a thousand other courtroom dramas. There is also excellent work by Huntley, who played comedy (MAKE MINE MINK) as well as he played drama (THE LAST HOLIDAY). leave a comment
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