Judgment Deferred

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Judgment Deferred
"Judgment Deferred".jpg
Australian daybill poster
Directed by John Baxter
Screenplay by Barbara K. Emary
Walter Meade
Geoffrey Orme
Produced byJohn Baxter
Barbara K. Emary
Starring Joan Collins
Hugh Sinclair
Helen Shingler
Abraham Sofaer
Cinematography Arthur Grant
Edited byVi Burdon
Music by Kennedy Russell
Production
company
Distributed by Associated British Film Distributors (UK)
Release date
  • February 1952 (1952-02)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£50,000 [1]

Judgment Deferred is a 1952 British second feature [2] drama film directed by John Baxter and starring Joan Collins, Hugh Sinclair, Helen Shingler and Abraham Sofaer. [3] It was written by Barbara K. Emary, Walter Meade and Geoffrey Orme. The film is a remake of the director's earlier film, Doss House (1933).

Contents

Plot

With the assistance of a journalist a group of refugees and down and outs try and unmask the criminal who has framed one of their number as a drug dealer.

Cast

Production

The film was shot at Southall Studios with sets designed by the art director Don Russell. It was the first production from Group 3 Films, a company formed to encourage new young British film-makers (which later produced The Brave Don't Cry , Conflict of Wings , The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp and several other low-budget features). [4] [5] [6]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Judgment Deferred revives many elements of an earlier John Baxter film, The Common Touch ; as a piece of story-telling it is confused and unexciting, frequently sidetracked into episodes of naive sentimentality and crude comedy. The script, in fact, is a concoction of contrived melodrama and irrelevant detail, and the characterisation is lifeless. All this, combined with the artificial sets and lighting, reminds one of the lower grade British picture of the 30's; the increased smoothness is hardly a satisfactory disguise." [7]

The Radio Times described the film as "a muddled, maudlin melodrama that feels like substandard Frank Capra done by amateur theatricals." [5]

TV Guide found the film "captivating mainly because of the novelty of the story and the many strange characters that are introduced." [8]

Sky Movies wrote "this one occasionally creaks under the strain of its longish running time but offers some striking tableaux, especially within the weird 'court' held by a crowd of criminals, eccentrics and jobless that in some ways recalls the 'jury' that proved the nemesis of Peter Lorre in Fritz Lang's classic thriller 'M'." [4]

References

  1. ↑ Group Three - a lesson in state intervention? Popple, Simon. Film History; New York Vol. 8, Iss. 2, (Jan 1, 1996): 131.
  2. ↑ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 167. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  3. ↑ "BFI | Film & TV Database | JUDGEMENT DEFERRED (1951)". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. 16 April 2009. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Judgment Deferred - Sky Movies HD". Skymovies.sky.com. 23 May 2002. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Judgement Deferred | Film review and movie reviews". Radio Times. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Grierson, John (27 September 1951). "Three's Company Adds Up". Kine Weekly.
  7. ↑ "Judgment Deferred". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 19 (216): 46. 1 January 1952. ProQuest   1305818057.
  8. ↑ "Judgment Deferred Trailer, Reviews and Schedule for Judgment Deferred | TVGuide.com". Movies.tvguide.com. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
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