Die Nacht vor dem Galgen

A robber breaks into a farm house. He is confronted by the owner and ends up killing the elderly couple. George Braden and his wife Ellen (Teresa Wright) are the neighbors. After some questionable responses, George is arrested for the murders. Doug Madison (Macdonald Carey) takes the case despite not believing in George's innocence.

At first, I thought some of this plot goes too far. I don't want to nitpick but I can't believe that they couldn't find the gun. Everybody knows where she threw it. It's not a raging river. Then I relaxed about it and realized that it's more about the acting style. The movie is doing that old melodramatic style. Teresa Wright is a great actress, but she's using her skills to do her utmost overwrought acting. I actually grew to like the plot especially if they could tweak some of it. I can see it be remade into something better.

This is far from the best Don Siegel movie. But, despite flaws in writing and acting, it's gripping and moves along, keeping the viewer on the edge of his or her seat.

Nothing is really credible. Theresa Wright as an itinerant farmer's wife? Actors with pronounced New York accents as menacing rednecks? And something about the script seems truly sub-par. The dialogue is not grammatical and this is not a matter of simulating regional speech or signifying class. The dialogue is just not well written.

The music, too, is strangely self-contradictory. At first it is pure schmalz, and Don Siegel is not the man for romance, even if it's romantic noir. Then a theramon is introduced and it sounds better.

Despite quibbling on my part, it's an engrossing movie. Believable? Not exactly. But, if one cuts it some considerable slack, it works well as a suspenseful kind-of noir.

A lawyer defends a migrant worker falsely accused of two murders.

What is interesting, first of all, is how the defendant is described as a "migrant worker". That is not incorrect, but I think perhaps the connotation in 1953 is different than in 2017, because now the term would almost exclusively be referring to a Latino employee. In fact, the United Nations defines a migrant worker as "a person who is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national." This, more often than not, would be Mexican farmhands in the case of the United States.

Anyway, the film is quite good. I don't know if it was a feature or a B-movie, as it does give the impression of not having big names attached and perhaps a smaller budget. But for entertainment purposes and a but of suspense, it does the job. In retrospect, it also serves as a great example of early work from director Don Siegel.

The great director who would make " invasion of the body snatchers" "the killers" "the beguiled" and even Elvis' best ("flaming star") is already present;his flair for film noir and for disturbing atmosphere is glaring in the scene in which the diver tries to rape T. Wright:the way Siegel films his eyes is absolutely terrifying ;ditto for the scenes when the lawyer looks for the former employee;oddly Siegel does not seem to very interested in T.Wright's character and the last scenes are given over to Dolores Moran and Adele Mara,who are relatively obscured thespians compared to the star of "shadow a doubt" and Wyler's war movies.

However,the movie is absorbing and a must for suspense buffs.

Like this ?try these

"phantom lady" (Robert Siodmak,1944)

"time without pity" (Joseph Losey ,1956)

"they won't forget " (Mervyn LeRoy,1937)

Surprisingly interesting story for a B picture from the early fifties - this could have been made as a major feature if it was given a bigger budget and a director worthy of its plot developments. Sincere performances by Teresa Wright and McDonald Cary are well above the average but director Don Siegel is just not the right man for the job. The story by Doane Hoag has all the right twists and turns and holds the interest but needed more attention to detail and less clichéd handling. The music score was certainly different but seemed to have been lifted from a Si-Fi -'body snatcher' type movie.

If looking for a 50s time passer (with undeveloped possibilities) this is still worth a look. Prolific and inventive Award winning Hungarian cinematographer John Alton shows terrific flair for B/W photography and lighting - lifting this little crime meller to above average standards. The ending is typical of the era - but, still better than many other average B pictures.