Review of The Paradine Case (1947) by Jim G — 06 Dec 2007

Alfred Hitchcock is a director too well known by his trademarks. His career has been summarised and typified and broken down and examined so often by so many that we have drawn a caricature of his style. We know precisely what we want from a Hitchcock film. We want an innocent accused and on the run, we want a playful camera, a streak of black humour, a gimmicky set-up, a McGuffin, an ice-cold prick-tease. With such a fixed and narrow idea of what makes a Hitchcock film, it's no surprise to see many complain The Paradine Case is a disappointment.

Gregory Peck is Anthony Keane, a brilliant lawyer making a name for himself in England's green and pleasant courtrooms. He's married to a woman who worships him, envied by lawyers everywhere, on his way to the top. Life is good. It gets more complicated when he is hired by Mrs Paradine, a cold but beautiful woman accused of murdering her husband. Keane finds himself falling for her, obsessed with her, his judgment impaired by his infatuation. What we have here is real emotion and its consequences - rare indeed for Hitchcock.

There is more to enjoy if you're a fan of invented subtext and the psychobabble that has Hitchcock lusting after his leading ladies. The Paradine Case comes from a novel by Robert Hichens and was adapted by Hitchcock's wife, Alma Reville. Here we can see Hitchcock as Keane, Paradine as any number of leading ladies, and Reville as Keane's forgiving but wounded wife.

The Paradine Case is a solid effort but it's easy to see why it's not better remembered. There's no crop duster, no challenge, no kicker of an idea, no black humour and only one stand-out shot. Perhaps your opinion of it depends on what expectations you bring to it. It's below-average Hitchcock but an above-average film, and had there been another name attached its reputation would be quite different.