Serious Charge

Intriguing British drama about a priest, underplayed brilliantly by Anthony Quale, who also is a bit of a local football hero, tries to bring redemption to the local teddy boys, this being 1959, and appears to avoid women like the plague, the implication being, is he gay or not? It all comes to a head when the main thug, played by Andrew Ray, gets a girl pregnant, and after a tragic accident, is confronted by Quale who is then falsely accused of 'interferring' with Ray, a quaint 1950's way of saying he molested him. Sarah Churchill, who is perhaps a bit old for her role, she was in her mid 40's at the time, holds the key to his innocence in the matter and eventually it all plays out but we are left wondering still, was he supposed to be gay or not? I don't think we were meant to really know as it was 1959 and mainstream films only ever dropped hints back then. At one point, Percy Herbert, playing Andrew Ray's violent father says, ' We haven't got one of them in the parish have we?'. Apparently back then, it was alright to beat the hell out of your son with a strap, backed up by the local copper, but not to be gay, clearly a despicable state of being then. Nevertheless, very interesting to compare how things have changed, and I do remember when people thought like this, but best of all, a wonderful performance by Anthony Quale who hold the film together with some otherwise dodgy performances, like Cliff Richard's first acting role.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this film. Superb performance from Anthony Quayle, as you would expect, and from the woman playing Hester. The plot is ahead of it's time and not what you'd expect from 1959. The story is a good one, well told, well paced, with excellent performances. The film has aged well, perhaps with the exception of the portrayal of the youngsters which seemed dated and cliched.

However I did smile that the vicar played top level football on a Saturday (the equivalent of today's Premier League) without training during the week, totally unnecessary to the plot and completely unbelievable! Cliff Richard's performance of Living Doll adds curiousity value. Another lost gem from Talking Pictures TV.

SERIOUS CHARGE is a social drama with a 'wrongfully accused' theme. It stars Anthony Quayle who gives an excellent performance as a crusading vicar trying to knock some sense into the local juvenile delinquents. Unfortunately he makes an enemy of a couple of people in the vicinity and when a false charge is lodged against him, the whole community immediately believes his guilt.

This is one of those films that feels ahead of its time despite being rather dated in look and feel. It's a rather genteel production at times, particularly in the depiction of the fun-loving delinquents, who do 'dangerous' things like breaking into a swimming pool at night for a swim. The one tension-filled moment with them is the stand-off with Quayle in the church. The film is also of interest for featuring a youthful Cliff Richard in his movie debut and yes, he gets to contribute a handful of songs on the soundtrack.

For the most part this is slow paced and engrossing. Quayle was always an underrated actor and doesn't put a foot wrong. I liked the way his sexuality is kept hidden from view so you never really know if he's homosexual or not, not that it really matters. Sarah Churchill is fine as the spurned and vengeful woman. There's a minor but strong role for Percy Herbert as the violent father of one of the thugs. The ending is rather predictable but the film as a whole hangs together quite nicely; it's a solid story, well told.

Vicar Anthony Quayle has a small parish, and a self-appointed charge to help out youngsters. He runs a youth center, and is always ready to speak to the authorities to keep a lad from going to a borstal. Sarah Churchill has her eye on him, and he turns her down as well as he can. When Leigh Madison comes to him in despair at being in a family way, she lets slip that the boy responsible is Andrew Ray. Then she kills herself, and Quayle calls in Ray, and tells him he should let her family know he was responsible. His reaction is to start smashing things, ripping his clothes, and when Miss Churchill comes in, claiming Quayle was "interfering" with him. Now the whole parish is up in arms, and charges are preferred against him.

It's an interesting story, but as an American with what went on in the Catholic Church in the 1990s, and even the Boy Scouts, it's hard to take this particular story seriously, despite Quayle's fine performance: particularly when his mother, Irene Browne, takes a hand in setting things aright. Still, it's a good story from a novel by Philip King, with some good acting jobs and an "introducing" credit for Cliff Richard.

I have only just seen this film on an obscure satellite channel. Way ahead of its time. It would not be out of place if it were remade today (without the awful version of "Livin' Doll"!) Does anyone know who played the youths in the film (apart from Cliff Richard and Andrew Ray) One looked like Nanette Newman and another like Bryan Forbes but they are not mentioned on this site. If it is them perhaps this film is where they met and fell in love.

One thing that struck me as I watched the film is that 46 years on nothing has changed, at least not for the better. A sad indictment on our society.