{"id":73566,"date":"2021-07-04T09:54:09","date_gmt":"2021-07-04T16:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=73566"},"modified":"2021-07-04T13:36:16","modified_gmt":"2021-07-04T20:36:16","slug":"beyond-a-reasonable-doubt-1956","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=73566","title":{"rendered":"Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Nothing about this case will be dead until Garrett&#8217;s executed.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Poster-206x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"206\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-73567\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Poster-206x300.png 206w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Poster-703x1024.png 703w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Poster-88x128.png 88w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Poster-185x270.png 185w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Poster.png 765w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 206px) 100vw, 206px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA novelist (Dana Andrews) engaged to the daughter (Joan Fontaine) of a publisher opposed to capital punishment (Sidney Blackmer) agrees to be part of a scheme proving that even innocent men can be convicted of crimes they didn&#8217;t commit &#8212; but things quickly go awry in unexpected ways.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Corruption<\/li>\n<li>Courtroom Drama<\/li>\n<li>Dana Andrews Films<\/li>\n<li>Falsely Accused<\/li>\n<li>Fritz Lang Films<\/li>\n<li>Joan Fontaine Films<\/li>\n<li>Writers <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThis final Hollywood film by Fritz Lang is, sadly, a disappointment. Familiar Langian themes &#8212; i.e., respectable, career-obsessed men whose involvement with &#8220;loose&#8221; women precipitates their downfall and causes them to lose the true love of their lives &#8212; are present, but play out in a pedantic and uninvolving fashion. Andrews is literally walking through his role (apparently alcoholism was causing him troubles), and his character&#8217;s choice to put his life at risk for the sake of proving a point seems stupid beyond belief. The three strippers (Barbara Nichols, Robin Raymond, and Joyce Taylor) at the heart of the seedy underground are one-dimensional cliches:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Strippers.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Strippers-1024x515.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"322\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-73576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Strippers-1024x515.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Strippers-300x151.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Strippers-128x64.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Strippers-768x386.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Strippers-1536x773.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Strippers-537x270.png 537w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Strippers.png 1823w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Fontaine and Andrews&#8217; romance is paper-thin: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Romance.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Romance-1024x503.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"314\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-73577\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Romance-1024x503.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Romance-300x147.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Romance-128x63.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Romance-768x377.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Romance-1536x754.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Romance-550x270.png 550w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Romance.png 1827w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and Fontaine is so clearly still adored by a former suitor (Arthur Franz) that we know things aren&#8217;t quite done between them. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Suitor.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Suitor-1024x509.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"318\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-73578\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Suitor-1024x509.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Suitor-300x149.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Suitor-128x64.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Suitor-768x382.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Suitor-1536x763.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Suitor-543x270.png 543w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Suitor.png 1833w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The first plot twist (involving Blackmer) is predictable, while the second twist doesn&#8217;t ring true for a second. Feel free to skip this one. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Some atmospheric cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Cinematography-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Cinematography-1-1024x513.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"321\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-73571\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Cinematography-1-1024x513.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Cinematography-1-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Cinematography-1-128x64.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Cinematography-1-768x385.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Cinematography-1-1536x769.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Cinematography-1-539x270.png 539w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Beyond-a-Reasonable-Doubt-Cinematography-1.png 1823w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, unless you&#8217;re a diehard Lang completist. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0049006\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvguide.com\/movies\/beyond-a-reasonable-doubt\/review\/2000274492\/\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/1532\/beyond-a-reasonable-doubt#articles-reviews\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Nothing about this case will be dead until Garrett&#8217;s executed.&#8221; Synopsis: A novelist (Dana Andrews) engaged to the daughter (Joan Fontaine) of a publisher opposed to capital punishment (Sidney Blackmer) agrees to be part of a scheme proving that even innocent men can be convicted of crimes they didn&#8217;t commit &#8212; but things quickly go awry in unexpected ways. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Corruption Courtroom Drama Dana Andrews Films Falsely Accused Fritz Lang Films Joan Fontaine Films Writers Review:&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=73566\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=73566"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73588,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73566\/revisions\/73588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=73566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=73566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=73566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}