Città sotto inchiesta

Having been stuck in the house on a cold winter afternoon I switched on Channel 4 to view their afternoon film Town on Trial and am I glad I did This is a hidden gem of a movie. It will keep you guessing right up to the end who the murderer is. Try and spot Dandy Nichols in a bit part(this is what I love about these old fifties films,spotting actors who go on to greater things) If you can get a copy to rent you will not be disappointed. I give it nine out of ten

The calm of prosperous Oakley Park is shattered when a local woman is found murdered. A Scotland Yard detective is called in to solve the case. He unmasks the murderer but not before another woman is killed.

This picture contains some of the stock characters we see in many thrillers; the woman killed just because she is sexually attractive, the detective who gets results by breaking the rules and a community of outwardly respectable people who all have their dirty little secrets. These elements could have resulted in a predictable formulaic thriller but "Town on Trial" is lifted onto a higher class by the writing, direction and acting.

The acting is consistently good from the bit part players up to the stars. The two outstanding performances are given by Alec McCowen as a suspect and John Mills as the detective.

I would recommend this film to any viewer.

With its small town setting, use of a local 'roadhouse' and the casting of Charles Coburn and Barbara Bates it's fairly obvious the British-made crime melodrama "Town on Trial" had its eye on the American market, (even the title sounds more American than British). John Mills is the policeman investigating the murder of local good-time girl Molly, (Magda Miller), and the movie is told in flashback. All we know is that the killer is one of a group of men seen watching Molly bounce around on the tennis court in the opening sequence and director John Guillermin does a fine job of keeping us guessing as to which one it might be. All the performances, particularly Mills and Coburn, are excellent and as murder mysteries go this one is surprisingly intelligent and consistently enjoyable. One of Guillermin's better efforts.

Mills investigates the murder of a glamorous young girl at a sports club where there seem to be three principal suspects Coburn, the local doctor, lothario Farr and troubled young man McCowen.

Actually rather enjoyable whodunnit with Mills in fine form as the tough detective. The notion of a town on trial is a bit of a stretch and when the reveal comes it's a bit disappointing, but solid stuff nonetheless

When "Town on Trial" begins, you hear the voice of the murderer before he commits the crime! You see him looking at pretty Molly at the country club...and you hear him saying how she has it coming because she's one of THOSE sort of girls! Well, Molly certainly was pretty and liked to show off her figure...and the sicko thought this meant he was entitled to kill her!!

Police Superintendent Halloran (John Mills) is assigned to the case. And, unfortunately, it's not a quick and easy case to solve...and some of it is because the rich folks he questions sometimes have a strong sense of entitlement. In fact, the more he investigates, the more these folks put pressure on his superiors to take him off the case! What's to come of this?

This is a very good film. Sure, the story is good but the reason I liked it was the very fine acting of Mills. He was a heck of a good actor and made even average material well above average. Well worth your time.