The Girl in the News

The plot is thick, and it is difficult to follow all the twists and turns of this intricate concoction of the purposed perfect murder. Margaret Lockwood is perfect as the nurse under suspicion, since more than one patient of hers happens to die of poisoning. Fortunately she has a young alert attorney for her defense who sees through the web of intrigue and finally dispels it. This is typical for Sidney Gilliat's thriller construction with many difficult threads to follow through to an end which no one could have any idea of. The dialog is intensive, intelligent and sharp all through, and inspector Roger Livesey is too straight forward to be able to be fooled or to not commit mistakes. The combination of Gilliat's mastership in script writing with Carol Reed's equally masterful direction makes this film a gem among British thrillers of the 30s. We don't often see Carol Reed conduct a trial and least of all in a murder case, but he handles it expertly only by directing the human hands without any unnecessary dramatic action. This film deserves to be watched more than once, and each time you will find new values in it.

Nurse Margaret Lockwood is acquitted of killing her patient by poison -- we see the woman commit suicide, so that's fine. However, when her next patient dies under almost identical circumstances, can she escape the hangman's noose? Twentieth Century-Fox spared no expense for their British production of this movie. They hired director Carol Reed and a fabulous cast, including Margaret Lockwood, Barry Barnes, Emlyn Williams, Roger Livesy, Basil Radford.... well, the list of performers whose name you'd recognize goes on and on. Sidney Giliat wrote the screenplay. Unfortunately, there are some problems with that script. There is never any doubt as to Miss Lockwood's innocence, and the attempt to do a Hitchcock-style thriller is weakened, both by the lack of Hitchcock's black humor and much of a sense of trying to hide from the police. Most of the actual action takes place while Miss Lockwood is in prison and on trial.

Without comparing it to other works, how does it stand on its own, as a mystery and courtroom drama? Pretty good. There seems a very real chance until the very end that Miss Lockwood will be found guilty, and the way she is acquitted is very clever. All the performers do a fine job and Carol Reed's direction is impeccable. I might have been happier if her guilt had been left in doubt; from my viewpoint, not showing the first patient kill herself might have better served the movie's suspense. However, there is still plenty of excellence to go around.

Most film fans will have seen "The Wicked Lady"(1945) before they see this 1940 film.It was surely in playing roles like nurse Anne Graham which convinced casting directors and producers that Margaret Lockwood would be ideal in her most famous role as Lady Barbara Skelton & Highwaywoman. Another reviewer mentions prejudice and it shows that society still believes "there is no smoke without fire".To get a job (even though you have been aquitted of murder) especially in a caring job like nursing, it is sad that it is necessary to change your name because prejudice lingers on in the mind of society.However in Hollywood U.S.A. and in other rich countries, it cynically seems that if you are rich and famous you can never be found guilty of a serious crime let alone serve time in prison when one can afford high priced lawyers to get yourself aquitted.So often the lower (and impecunious) social orders feel the full weight of the law.But here Anne Graham's lawyer for once is the hero.He bamboozles the villain to give himself away to justice using a neat bluff in court!Nice to see Roger Livesey playing the detective.His most remembered role is the doctor in "A Matter of Life & Death"(1946) and "The Secret Life of Colonel Blimp" both Powell & Preesburger films.

Core to the plot is the extent to which a justifiable acquittal at a trial nevertheless prejudices the accused's future life. Given modern day concerns over sensational press coverage this is an issue as valid today (probably more so) than it was in war-time Britain. But the film does not follow this line, rather it presents us with a good old-fashioned courtroom drama, culminating in a finale of which Perry Mason would have been proud. Quite how the hero lawyer manages this stretches the judicial imagination somewhat, especially with a flawed witness, whose evidence clinches the outcome, not having to testify from the witness box.

Despite these reservations this is an enjoyable enough production which canters along at a good pace without any pretensions to high art. And it was nice to see some early work from two actresses, Irene Handl (particularly malevolent as the first "victim") and Kathleen Harrison, who both went on to greater things in post-war British TV.

Very good script by Gilliat based on a novel. Likable protagonists and support characters, as well as nearly-likable villains in a wonderful cast who work pleasingly together.

I'm glad Barnes, not Redgrave (apparently as originally planned), fell into the role of "Stephen." Barnes is gentlemanly distant and professional, but obviously protective of Lockwood as friend and client. Redgrave might have handled the role in a cheesier, more intimate manner, not appropriate in this quiet script. Livesey provides a friendly but professional touch as Barnes' policeman flat-mate.

Refreshing to see characters interact without sturm und drang for a change, in well-paced unfolding of Barnes' defense of Lockwood.

Enjoyed this movie very much. There aren't many that succeed in first gear - maybe "A Canterbury Tale" is another such, but there aren't many others.