Girl in the News (1940)

Director:

Carol Reed

Writers:

Sidney Gilliat (writer)
Roy Vickers (novel)

Release Date:

31 January 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Plot:

Nurse Anne Graham is controversially - but rightly - acquitted of murder after her elderly patient dies in suspicious circumstances...

Plot Keywords:

Acquitted Of Murder | Courtroom | Based On Novel

Cast

Margaret Lockwood	...	Anne Graham
Barry K. Barnes	...	Stephen Farringdon
Emlyn Williams	...	Tracy
Roger Livesey	...	Bill Mather
Margaretta Scott	...	Judith Bentley
Wyndham Goldie	...	Edward Bentley
Basil Radford	...	Doctor Threadgrove
Irene Handl	...	Gertrude Mary Blaker
Mervyn Johns	...	James Fetherwood
Betty Jardine	...	Elsie
Kathleen Harrison	...	Cook
Felix Aylmer	...	Prosecuting Counsel
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
V.R. Bateson	...	Man (uncredited)
Richard Bird	...	Man (uncredited)
Roland Culver	...	Police Inspector (uncredited)
Mark Daly	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Arthur Denton	...	Ticket Collector (uncredited)
Leo Genn	...	Prosecuting Counsel (uncredited)
Bryan Herbert	...	Witness (uncredited)
Michael Hordern	...	Assistant Prosecuting Counsel (uncredited)
Roddy Hughes	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Allan Jeayes	...	Man (uncredited)
James Knight	...	Traffic Policeman (uncredited)
Aubrey Mallalieu	...	Man (uncredited)
Gordon McLeod	...	Chief Inspector (uncredited)
Charles Paton	...	Chemist (uncredited)
Jack Raine	...	Detective Smith (uncredited)
Edward Rigby	...	Hospital Secretary (uncredited)
Jerry Verno	...	Charlie (Prisoner In Police Car) (uncredited)
Ben Williams	...	Man (uncredited)
Pauline Winter	...	Woman (uncredited)

Directed by
Carol Reed

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sidney Gilliat		writer
Roy Vickers		novel

Produced by
Edward Black	....	producer
Maurice Ostrer	....	producer

Original Music by
Louis Levy
Charles Williams		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Otto Kanturek

Film Editing by
R.E. Dearing

Art Direction by
Alex Vetchinsky		(as Vetchinsky)

Sound Department
B.C. Sewell	....	sound supervisor
Sydney Wiles	....	sound recordist (as Sid Wiles)

Music Department
Louis Levy	....	music arranger: Tchaikovsky (uncredited)
Louis Levy	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Michael Gordon	....	cutting

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Productions

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1940) (UK) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1941) (USA) (theatrical)
• Argyle TV Films (195?) (USA) (TV)
• VCI Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Gaumont British Picture Corporation  production facilities

Runtime:

78 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (British Acoustic Film Full Range Recording)

Certification:

Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Gaumont-British Studios, Lime Grove, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Productions

Courting Prejudice

Core to the plot is the extent to which a justifiable acquittal at a trial nevertheless prejudices the accused's future life. Given modern day concerns over sensational press coverage this is an issue as valid today (probably more so) than it was in war-time Britain. But the film does not follow this line, rather it presents us with a good old-fashioned courtroom drama, culminating in a finale of which Perry Mason would have been proud. Quite how the hero lawyer manages this stretches the judicial imagination somewhat, especially with a flawed witness, whose evidence clinches the outcome, not having to testify from the witness box.

Despite these reservations this is an enjoyable enough production which canters along at a good pace without any pretensions to high art. And it was nice to see some early work from two actresses, Irene Handl (particularly malevolent as the first "victim") and Kathleen Harrison, who both went on to greater things in post-war British TV.