Quand le doute vous hante

In "False Faces", a tough District Attorney is shaken when there is a murder and it looks as if his son and daughter might be mixed up in it. But since he generally prides himself on his toughness and emotional detachment, this causes problems. Should he prosecute as vigorously as normal or perhaps give his son and daughter the benefit of the doubt?

This film is a relatively cheap film...a decent B-movie but not one filled with stars or flashy sets or direction. Instead, it's simple, straight forward and modestly entertaining.

Rex Williams quarrels with his girl friend, night club singer Veda Ann Borg in her apartment. Band leader William Henry is present when she orders them both out. They leave, and proceed to go on a toot. The police pick them up,. When it turns out Williams' father is District Attorney Stanley Ridges, they are both let go. The next morning Miss Born is found dead and Ridges begins an investigation that he hopes will clear his son.

Ridges, as usual, gives a fine performance; he's a worried man and the audience can see why. George Sherman directs deliberately and efficiently, with a good cast that includes Joseph Crehan, Chester Clute, and Etta MacDaniel from a script by Curt Siodmak.

Despite his very American accent, Ridges was an Englishman who honed his acting in musical comedies with Beatrice Lillie. He became a Broadway matinee idol and appeared in a few silent movies. By the time his movie career got going, his hair was greying and he played mostly character roles. He died in 1951 at the age of 60.