The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Crime · Drama · 1956
A newspaper publisher, wanting to prove a point about the insufficiency of circumstantial evidence, talks his possible son-in-law Tom into a hoax in an attempt to expose ineptitude of the city's hard-line district attorney. The plan is to have Tom plant clues leading to his arrest for killing a female nightclub dancer. Once Tom is found guilty, he is to reveal the setup and humiliate the DA.
Movie details
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
“Put them all together they spell M-U-R-D-E-R !”
1956 Crime · Drama 1h 20m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
6.9 / 10
6K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
70 %
Tomatometer
TMDB
6.9 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
A newspaper publisher, wanting to prove a point about the insufficiency of circumstantial evidence, talks his possible son-in-law Tom into a hoax in an attempt to expose ineptitude of the city's hard-line district attorney. The plan is to have Tom plant clues leading to his arrest for killing a female nightclub dancer. Once Tom is found guilty, he is to reveal the setup and humiliate the DA.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Beyond a Reasonable Doubt?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Monster
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The story of Steve Harmon, a 17-year-old honor student whose world comes crashing down around him when he is charged with felony murder.
True Believer
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Eddie Dodd is a burnt out former civil rights lawyer who now specializes in defending drug dealers. Roger Baron, newly graduated from law school, has followed Eddie's great cases and now wants to learn at his feet. With Roger's idealistic prodding, Eddie reluctantly takes on a case of a young Korean man who, according to his mother, has been in jail for eight years for a murder he didn't commit.
Panic
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Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he connects with.
American Murderer
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Winged Creatures
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A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.
House by the River
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Wealthy writer Stephen Byrne tries to seduce the family maid, but when she resists, he kills her. Long jealous of his brother John, Stephen does his best to pin the blame for the murder on his sibling. Also affected by Stephen's arrogant dementia is his long-suffering wife Marjorie.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Fritz Lang
Written by
Douglas Morrow
Dana Andrews
Tom Garrett
Joan Fontaine
Susan Spencer
Sidney Blackmer
Austin Spencer
Arthur Franz
Bob Hale
Philip Bourneuf
Roy Thompson
Edward Binns
Lt. Kennedy
Shepperd Strudwick
Jonathan Wilson
Court is in session
Put Beyond a Reasonable Doubt on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.