Craig (Raymond Burr) dictates his story into a tape recorder ; the movie is a long flashback ,told by a man who knows he's going to die ;more ,that he wants to die ,for he lost all that mattered to him :his best friend Joe ,his war buddy, his work ( now he's lost his honor) ,and his love for Joe 's wife Myra (Angela Lansbury ).
The only implausibility is the reason for Myra's acquittal : how could a jury clear a woman whose lawyer is her lover? But the rest is excellent indeed ,with energetic performances by the two principals: Lansbury,a femme fatale ,who loves nobody but herself and dough -it's not sure that she would have married the painter - but she first appears as a victim ,although her motives are not clear and Joe does not look like a violent man (the scene of the crime is ingenious ,showing the raging sky full of lightnings and a black cat out of an ajar door ).Craig is a naive man who still believes in honor , the military values he shared with his pal.He believes in justice too ,so everything he lives for is devastated .
The screenplay is gripping and will keep you glued to your chair till the very last pictures ,which pack a real wallop.
The only implausibility is the reason for Myra's acquittal : how could a jury clear a woman whose lawyer is her lover? But the rest is excellent indeed ,with energetic performances by the two principals: Lansbury,a femme fatale ,who loves nobody but herself and dough -it's not sure that she would have married the painter - but she first appears as a victim ,although her motives are not clear and Joe does not look like a violent man (the scene of the crime is ingenious ,showing the raging sky full of lightnings and a black cat out of an ajar door ).Craig is a naive man who still believes in honor , the military values he shared with his pal.He believes in justice too ,so everything he lives for is devastated .
The screenplay is gripping and will keep you glued to your chair till the very last pictures ,which pack a real wallop.