The Paradine Case (1947)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Robert Hichens (novel)
Alma Reville (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

26 August 1949 (Sweden)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Plot:

The beautiful Mrs. Paradine is accused of poisoning her older, blind husband. She hires married Anthony...

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Barrister | Widow | Accused Of Murder | Solicitor

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Gregory Peck	...	Anthony Keane, Counsel for the Defence
Ann Todd	...	Gay Keane
Charles Laughton	...	Judge Lord Thomas Horfield
Charles Coburn	...	Sir Simon Flaquer
Ethel Barrymore	...	Lady Sophie Horfield
Louis Jourdan	...	Andre Latour, Paradine's Valet
Alida Valli	...	Mrs. Maddalena Anna Paradine (as Valli)
Leo G. Carroll	...	Sir Joseph, Counsel for the Prosecution
Joan Tetzel	...	Judy Flaquer
Isobel Elsom	...	Innkeeper
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Patrick Aherne	...	Sgt. Leggett (uncredited)
Gilbert Allen	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Leonard Carey	...	Courtroom Stenographer (uncredited)
Elspeth Dudgeon	...	Second Matron (uncredited)
James Fairfax	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
John Goldsworthy	...	Lakin (uncredited)
Lumsden Hare	...	Courtroom Attendant (uncredited)
Alec Harford	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Man carrying cello case (uncredited)
Colin Hunter	...	Baker (uncredited)
Boyd Irwin	...	Courtroom Observer (uncredited)
Colin Keith-Johnston	...	Clerk of the Court (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Lester Matthews	...	Insp. Ambrose (uncredited)
Phyllis Morris	...	Mrs. Carr, the Housekeeper (uncredited)
Edgar Norton	...	Courtroom Attendant (uncredited)
John Williams	...	Barrister Collins (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Robert Hichens		(novel)
Alma Reville		(adaptation)
David O. Selznick		(screenplay) and
Ben Hecht		(screenplay) uncredited
James Bridie		adaptation (uncredited)

Produced by
David O. Selznick	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Franz Waxman
Paul Dessau		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Lee Garmes

Production Design by
J. McMillan Johnson

Art Direction by
Thomas N. Morahan		(as Thomas Morahan)

Set Decoration by
Emile Kuri
Joseph B. Platt		(interiors)

Costume Design by
Travis Banton		(gowns)
Charles Arrico		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Fred Ahern	....	unit manager
Argyle Nelson	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lowell J. Farrell	....	assistant director
Joel Freeman	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
James G. Stewart	....	sound director
Richard Van Hessen	....	sound recordist
Edward Ullman	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Clarence Slifer	....	special effects

Editorial Department
John Faure	....	associate supervising film editor
Hal C. Kern	....	supervising editor

Other crew
Lydia Schiller	....	scenario assistant
David O. Selznick	....	presenter

Production Companies

• Vanguard Films (for)

Distributors

• Selznick Releasing Organization (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• Selznick Releasing Organization (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• ABC Video (1975) (USA) (all media)
• CBS/Fox (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Key Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Athos Films (196?) (France) (theatrical)
• S.R.O. (1948) (France) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1973) (USA) (TV)
• Fox Video (video)

Other Companies

• Vanguard Films  copyright (as Vanguard Films, Inc.)

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's The Paradine Case (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

125 min | 119 min (re-release) | 132 min (original release) | 94 min (edited television version) | 115 min (re-release)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:U | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Germany:16 | USA:Approved (PCA #12320) | Sweden:15 | Argentina:13 | Spain:13

Company:

Vanguard Films

Trivia:

In Hitchcock's rough cut and 131 minutes version, Ethel Barrymore can be seen as a half crazed wife of Lord Horfield played by Charles Laughton. But David O. Selznick removed these scenes in the final editing and the final runtime was only 114 minutes.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Latour is seen in close-up in the court, there is a man on either side of him. In the long shots, there is nobody near him.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lakin: Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes, mum.
Mrs. Maddalena Anna Paradine: Thank you, Lakin.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "American Masters: Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood" (1998)

A technically sound, but ultimately unsatisfying courtroommelodrama

This is a disappointing effort from the team of Hitchcock and Selznick. Probably its greatest shortcoming was its inability to ingeniously circumvent the Production Code (as accomplished in "Notorious") to present its adult themes. As a result, even though it is obvious that the case itself is not the subject of the film so much as a backdrop for an awkward arrangement of love triangles and its effect on one "involved" attorney, the courtroom scenes are the most compellingly watchable of the film. In contrast, the final scene of the film does not carry the weight that it should and feels like a cheat rather than the resolution it pretends to be.

Some fault may be given to the just-OK performances from usually dependable actors such as Peck and Ann Todd. The stand-out performances here are from supporting characters such as Charles Coburn, Louis Jordan, Joan Tetzel, Charles Laughton and Ethel Barrymore, but they are either given very little to do or, in Barrymore's case, feel like they were interesting characters in sub-plots that were incompletely edited out of the film (usually a sign of a poor adaptation).

In the final analysis, this is a film that will probably only appeal to devotees of Hitchcock and/or Laughton.