Review of Circumstantial Evidence (1945) by Ron M — 11 Sep 2006

Circumstantial Evidence.

Starring: Chick Chandler and Shirley Grey.

Director: Charles Lamont.

A reporter (Chandler) sets out to prove that circumstantial evidence is unreliable and shouldn't be used in death penalty cases by framing himself for a faked murder. When the faux victim turns out to actually be dead, the reporter's collegues race against time and the executioner to prove his innocence.

I don't mind a little message-flogging with my crime dramas, so long as the preaching takes place within an entertaining framework. Sadly, there's a little too much preaching and not enough entertaining going on in "Circumstantial Evidence.".

We've got okay acting and an okay journalists-playing-detective story, but entirely too much hamfisted message-delivering for this movie to end up any good. I suppose if you were in the crowd demonstrating against the execution of "Tookie" Williams, you may view this movie as a timeless classic that is still relevant and riviting 70 years after its release. Me, I found it to be a missed opportunity and a bore.