Don Siegel made his directing debut with The Verdict, a film noir mystery, written by Peter Milne, and loosely based on Israel Zangwill’s 1892 novel The Big Bow Mystery.
It stars Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre in one of their 9 pairings, as well as Joan Lorring and George Coulouris.
Set in 1890, at London’s Newgate Prison, a man convicted of murder is executed. Scotland Yard Superintendent George Grodman (Greenstreet) had built the case against him based on circumstantial evidence. The defendant had claimed that at the time of the murder he was with Reverend Hoffman, who then departed for Wales, but this alibi witness could not be found.
However, Hoffman returns to London just after the man he would have cleared is executed, and Grodman is fired over miscarriage of justice.
Arthur Kendall, the victim’s nephew, is a friend and neighbor of Grodman, as are artist Victor Emmric (Peter Lorre) and Kendall’s political opponent Clive Russell. When the three visit Grodman, he tells them he plans to write a memoir of his career, and accepts Emmric’s offer to draw the illustrations of bodies.
Grodman hands Emmric his memoir, and asks him to ensure it is published once the police are through with it. With this, he succeeded in making Superintendent Buckley humiliated.
During his apprenticeship at Warner, Siegel set up the montage department under the leadership of special effects chief Byron Haskin. Stylistically, The Verdict is exceptional among Siegel’s films for its absence of overlapping or dissolving images; he deliberately avoided the use of montage.
Cast
Sydney Greenstreet as Superintendent George Grodman
Peter Lorre as Victor Emmric
Joan Lorring as Lottie Rawson
George Coulouris as Superintendent John R. Buckley
Rosalind Ivan as Mrs. Vicky Benson
Paul Cavanagh as Clive Russell
Arthur Shields as Reverend Holbrook
Morton Lowry as Arthur Kendall
Holmes Herbert as Sir William Dawson
