Circumstantial Evidence ** (1952, Rona Anderson, Patrick Holt, John Arnatt) – Classic Movie Review 13,056

The moderate 1954 British crime thriller film Circumstantial Evidence [Evidence for Hire] stars Rona Anderson, Patrick Holt, and John Arnatt.

Director Dan Birt’s moderate 1954 British crime thriller film Circumstantial Evidence [Evidence for Hire] stars Rona Anderson, Patrick Holt, and John Arnatt.

Rona Anderson stars as Linda Harrison, who is blackmailed by the husband Steve Harrison (John Arnatt) she is just about to divorce for desertion to marry young doctor Michael Carteret (Patrick Holt). Steve has stolen Carteret’s love letters to Linda.

[Spoiler alert] After the two men have a scrap, Arnatt is found dead. Anderson wants to try to prove that Holt is innocent of murder, and has to do so even to his Judge father, Sir Edward Carteret (Frederick Leister).

The decent cast and short running time of 62 minutes help to bail out a very, very average, though still quite watchable mystery crime thriller.

The cast are Rona Anderson as Linda Harrison, Patrick Holt as Michael Carteret, John Arnatt as Steve Harrison, John Warwick as Pete Hanken, Frederick Leister as Sir Edward Carteret, Ronald Adam as Sir William Harrison, June Ashley as Rita Hanken, Peter Swanwick as Charlie Pott, Lisa Lee as Gladys Vavasour, Ballard Berkeley as Inspector Hall, Ian Fleming as Commander Hewitt, Ben Williams as Brand, and Leonard White as Det Sgt Davey.

It is shot at Shepperton Studios, where Norman G Arnold designed the sets.

Release date: November 17, 1952 (UK).

Allan MacKinnnon’s screenplay is based on his story The Judge Sees the Light.

Circumstantial Evidence [Evidence for Hire] is directed by Dan Birt, runs 62 minutes, is made by ACT Films, is released by Monarch Film Corporation, is written by Allan MacKinnnon, is shot in black and white by Brendan J Stafford, is produced by Philip Brandon, and is designed by Norman G Arnold.

Rona Anderson was born on 3 August 1926 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is known for Sleeping Car to Trieste (1948), Floodtide (1949), Torment (1950), Scrooge (1951), Circumstantial Evidence (1952), Soho Incident (1956), Man with a Gun (1958), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and The Labours of Erica (1989). She was married to Gordon Jackson. She died on 23 July 2013 in Hampstead, London.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,056

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com