Richard Carlson did not make too many films, but instead all his films are outstanding although generally odd. Here he is the lawyer who is cocksure of being able to get any client out of any trouble, but here he gets a hard nut to crack. The film begins straight with the murder, a beautiful woman shoots down a man as he is serving himself a drink in a fashionable home, he is shot dead with two bullets, and there can be no question about it. She has to stand trial for murder, but Richard Carlson is certain to get her acquitted by his own roundabout means, using her client's limitless millions for manipulation. But the actual story of the film is about the jurors.
Richard Carlson finds three of them suitable for manipulation, an actress dreaming about a come-back, a poor family man short of money (Ricardo Montalban) and a refugee couple from Czechoslovakia who have been obliged to leave their son back behind the iron curtain, never giving up on trying to get him out.
The real drama of the jury occupies only the last 20 minutes of the film, unlike "Twelve Angry Men" two years later, where this session takes the whole film. Here instead you have the entire background of the three vulnerable jurors, who reach their final decision after arduous conscience ordeals.
We never learn all the facts. We never learn why the millionaires shot her old man, nothing is told of her background, the lawyer and the actress use their conjecture which we don't know if it's true, so the motivation issue is extremely vague here, while the interesting thing is the cases of the three jurors.
Thomas Carr's direction is excellent enough, and this should be his best film. He almost only made westerns and TV-series during his long life and career, so this one is standing out indeed - almost good for ten points.
