The Paradine Case

Gregory Peck is "Keane", a happily married London barrister who is called to defend a woman accused of murdering her wealthy, blind husband. Alida Valli (simply Valli in the titles) is the accused, a glamorous woman who simply reeks of gold-digger right from the start and with Leo G. Carroll leading the prosecution and a wonderfully curmudgeonly Charles Laughton as the High Court judge, you sense the writing is already on the wall for the women. Peck struggles in the role, to be honest, he lacks incisiveness - he is just a bit too "nice". When he discovers that it's possible that she had been having an affair with then old man's valet - a dashing Louis Jourdan - he seems torn between a sense of envy (he is clearly smitten) and a desire to secure a fair hearing and at times that drags this into melodrama territory. The courtroom scenes are all to frequently broken up by domestic issues - even Laughton and put-upon wife Ethel Barrymore as well as Peck with loving, and herself slightly envious, "Gay" (Ann Todd). For me, it is trying to accomplish too many things and ends up not really doing anything spectacular with Richard Hichens far more spicy and potent novel.