Count the Hours! *** (1953, Teresa Wright, Macdonald Carey, Dolores Moran, Jack Elam) – Classic Movie Review 5,250

Director Don Siegel’s 1953 crime film noir Count the Hours! stars Macdonald Carey as a lawyer who defends a migrant worker falsely accused of two murders.

Macdonald Carey stars as a lawyer who battles to release migrant worker ranch hand George Braden (John Craven) from Death Row in director Don Siegel’s neat little 1953 suspense thriller support feature Count the Hours, running just 76 minutes, so you don’t have to count the hours.

Teresa Wright also stars as the man’s wife Ellen, who was also accused of killing the couple’s employers, but she turned out to be pregnant and Braden (Craven) took the rap when he was falsely accused of the two murders.

Luckily in this kind of film, enthusiastic acting and satisfying complexity of the plot count more than credibility in the screenplay by Doane R Hoag and Karen DeWolf, based on Hoag’s story.

Made by Benedict Bogeaus Production for release by RKO Pictures, it is perhaps not vintage Siegel, maybe, but he makes the most of this exploration of the criminal mind by stoking up the pace and the emotional heat. Visually, John Alton’s noir cinematography is outstanding,

Also in the cast are Dolores Moran, Adele Mara, Edgar Barrier, John Craven, Jack Elam, Ralph Sanford, Gene Roth, I Stanford Jolley, John Harmon, Dolores Fuller and Ralph Dumke.

Count the Hours! is directed by Don Siegel, runs 76 minutes, is made by Benedict Bogeaus Production, is distributed by RKO Pictures, is written by Doane R Hoag and Karen DeWolf, based on a story by Doane R Hoag, is shot by John Alton, is produced by Benedict Bogeaus, is scored by Louis Forbes.

Release date April 1, 1953 (US).

The cast

The cast are Macdonald Carey as Doug Madison, Teresa Wright as Ellen Braden, John Craven as George Braden, Jack Elam as Max Verne, Edgar Barrier as D.A. Jim Gillespie, Dolores Moran as Paula Mitchener, Adele Mara as Gracie Sager, Ralph Sanford as Alvin Taylor, Dolores Fuller as reporter, Gene Roth, I Stanford Jolley, John Harmon, and Ralph Dumke.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5,250

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