I watch a lot of 40's and 50's films these days and I caught this on TPTV, a great channel for older movies and TV shows..... I thought this might be the typical fayre of these British films with a 'high profile' American actor, this was not the case.
There's some great humour regarding the language differences and the very different way of life of the English countryside..... the court scenes also highlight this chasm between America and Britain at this time. Indeed, it still happens today but not to such an extent. I recall myself when in the USA, struggling to get a cup of coffee because the staff couldn't understand my London accent or another guy asking me what I thought of the hire car I was driving, it was the newest model and thinking I was a local he asked me what was new about this model, to which I replied that "I didn't know because it was a hire car"..... he looked at me for a moment and then asked " How much higher is it..?" ..... to which I burst out laughing and he left quite indignantly, thinking I was laughing at him ...!
This film highlights these differences in a humorous and also frustrating way, for all involved....
The American star is also not typical in that he doesn't start solving clues or bulldozing through people to find the truth.... He's just an ordinary guy who adapts and because of that, he is able to gain people's trust and confidence.... That I think is highlighted in the final scene from the court proceedings and the manner in which he teased out the vital testimony of the 'star' witness .... and most importantly in the final scenes after the court case is over...
It's a good story and kept me interested and enjoying throughout..... Robert Montgomery was also the director and I think that this as well as his role as the star made this film all the better..... a very different film than most of the time and because of that well worth watching....
