The Family Secret

When the film begins, David Clark (John Derek) drives home. Apparently, he killed his friend and instead of going to the police, he sneaks home and acts as if nothing had happened. Eventually, he tells his father (Lee J. Cobb) what happened...how it was an accident and how he was attacked first...and his father and mother agree to keep this a secret. Soon you learn that the father is an attorney...and that a man was just arrested for the killing! Instead of telling the truth, the parents continue to enable David to be a stinking weasel...and through the course of the film David shows himself to be a characterless jerk. What's next? Will he do the right thing? Watch the film to find out for yourself.

I really liked this film because it was so unusual and much more realistic than most movies of the day. In addition to this nice script, the acting is also very good and it's well worth seeing....especially because it offers some neat twists along the way.

David Clark is in trouble. He had killed his best friend in self-defense. He confesses to his lawyer father Howard Clark (Lee J. Cobb). They are set to come clean to the D. A. but another man gets arrested for murder. It's the dead man's bookie and Howard gets the job to defend him.

I like the starting premise but I don't like David. It's a complicated role and the actor doesn't seem to be up to the task. He has to play both innocent and guilt. Mostly, he's playing snarky and cold which leaves me a bit cold. He should be running around and changing the evidence. The plot needs twists and turns. This could have centered around Lee J. Cobb instead. He's the veteran actor and the more capable one. I would also get rid of the narration. When done well, this premise has generated plenty of good tense shows. There is so much potential but I don't see it being maximized. The final turn is more a morality play than a surprise twist. The opening premise is full noir but the movie turns into a bland 50's morality lesson.

It's an honest well to do family, where the father is a retired lawyer and the only son is studying law with great future prospects. One night however he accidentally happens to cause the death of his best friend in a drunken brawl which totally shatters his self respect. He confides in his father who advises him to immediately make a clean breast of it to the police, but the mother has second thoughts and advises him to wait and sleep on it. Matters get more complicated when a married innocent man without children gets charged with the homicide, and he begs the retired lawyer to defend him at court. The father finds it a clear case for acqittal and accepts the case, but during the trial the charged innocent who has a heart condition has a heartstroke and dies. The case is dismissed, but the perpetrator feels very bad about it and is getting nervous. The film is remarkable for its excellent acting, especially by the father (Lee J. Cobb) playing his part with admirable restraint, and by the son (John Derek) adding another impersonation of a very sensitive and nervous young man, and by his sensible girl (Jody Lawrance) who adds a great deal of cold good sense to the film. It's a great family drama posing many questions of moral resposibility.

If you really want to expose a bad actor's badness then put him or her up against a great actor. Like Ava Gardner opposite Bogie in "Contessa". Or Natalie Trundy juxtaposed with Dean Stockwell in "Careless Years". Or John Derek, in this snorer, next to Juror #3.

Taut Indie Produced by Bogart's Short-Lived "Santana-Studio".

An Intimate Family Conflict Brought On by John Derrick (at 25 playing young) and his Revelation to HIs Family of a "Self-Defense" Killing (a friend) and Subsequent Fleeing the Scene.

The Drama Heats Up When Lee J. Cobb (in a very unusual laid-back mode), the Father, and an Attorney, Advises His Son to Turn Him-Self In, while the Mother (Erin Moore) Thinks He Should Lay-Low and Forget it, even though the Victim is Her Best Friend's Son.

A Fever-Pitch is Reached when an Innocent Man (Whit Bissell) is Arrested and Put on Trial for the Crime.

Then There's a Big Twist.

A Brooding, Simmering Story that is Familiar but Given Enough Gravitas from the Players and some Surprises.

John Derrick Plays the "Playboy" Girl-Magnet with Ease, and Reaches Deep for some Angst, Regret, Conflict, and His "Better Angels".

Overall, Somewhat Compelling "Little" Movie with "Big" Life-Lessons on its Mind.

Directed by the Prolific but Inconsistent Henry Levin.

It Succeeds with some Melodramatic Ways that Makes it a Borderline Film-Noir and...

Worth a Watch.