The Paradine Case
Alfred Hitchcock’s The Paradine Case
At the outset itself I’d say that ‘The Paradine Case’ is a superb film. For me, atleast. It is Alfred Hitchcock’s 1947 movie that is quite unlike his usual suspense films and is quite shorn of his signature style that every other major film of his imprinted with.
The Paradine Case is a murder mystery alright but Hitchcock doesn’t create a ‘who-dun-it’ kind of thriller. Instead, he focuses on the people involved in investigating the crime either directly or otherwise; apart from the usual – the accused and suspects – ofcourse. An amazing character study, I shall say.
Based in London, the movie opens with the arrest of a very wealthy woman, Mrs Maddalena Paradine (Alida Valli) for the alleged murder of her blind husband. The trial waits. The introductory scenes focus on Mrs Paradine most of the time. The perfectly shaped figure, the exquisitely carved contours of her face, her delicate sharp nose, her full lips always darkened, her translucent complexion. But its her jaw line and eyes that have the ability to override these and define the expression on her face. Which she is very aware of.
So then it is this entity that Hitchcock brings into the lives of barrister Anthony Keane, solicitor Sir Simon Flaquer, judge Lord Thomas Horfield and thereby more importantly to the women in their respective lives. Which then triggers the slow de-layering to reveal each one’s moral fibre. It is this that becomes the primary focus of the story. Drama in the court-room then becomes consequential to the happenings that Hitchcock creates outside.
From the first interaction that Keane (Gregory Peck) has with Mrs Paradine, his client, it becomes pretty apparent that he looks at her with more interest than that called for. An happily married man with his integrity intact, this woman slowly becomes his test that he has to overcome to prove the very qualities he is defined by. His wife Gay Keane (Ann Todd) realizes this predicament of his from the moment he comes home after his first meet with Paradine. Shaken by the fact that her husband is falling for another woman, she doesn’t confront him. Instead she rationales with him, with herself, with her best friend and confidante, Judy, the solicitor’s strong-headed daughter. Very mature take this, and her dialogues her depict her helplessness and positivism that he will overcome this overture very simply. At one point Tony offers to back off from the case for the better when Gay tells him not to. No, she says. She has a stake in it too. Just because her husband has a rendezvous with a woman in jail is no reason for him to let the client languish in prison. Get on, prove her innocence and come back she says. That will say it all.
Yet, Tony gets so infatuated with Mrs Paradine that his mind gets stamped with the idea that she is indeed a noble woman and stubbornly decides to prove her innocence. What evidence he gathers at her estate home, specific to a former servant of the husband and now groom of the estate, Andrei (Louis Jourdan) , he steadfastly holds onto his heart’s judgment thereby deciding to indict him in the murder. Naturally it isnt easy for him as the least expected foil to his plan is Mrs Paradine herself whose character is one who cannot be doggedly sure about. Till the end.
Obviously the mysterious Mrs Paradine has made a mark on the solicitor too. The old pragmatic Simon (Charles Coburn). So much so that he feels strongly that she is the murderer. He tries to shed light for Tony but he is nowhere on that path. Both are hell-bent in different ways. Its his daughter Judy (Joan Tetzel) who clearly understands how a woman can cast her spell and manipulate men to her advantage. Her polite yet unwavering face-offs with her father and Keane are definitive of her strong character.
So when Keane goes into high-pitch mode in the courtroom, it becomes more and more evident of his inability to think the case in terms of the facts at hand yet managing to create reasonings in favour of his client. Judge Lord Thomas (Charles Laughton) has reasons of his own to deride Keane’s defence. Spurned by Gay once, he lets no chance pass to put down Keane.
Inspite of all this, just as the entry of Mrs Paradine into their lives reveals their true nature, it is only natural that all the shenanigans finally vortex down to her. And yet again she takes control. Its only left to the men to decide what they have got themselves into, especially Tony Keane.
All these interactions are shot such a way that it never lets the viewer feel the melodrama rising. The women (theres a short track about the judge’s meek submissive wife and his annoyance at her very presence) here Gay, Judy and Mrs Paradine aren’t meant to simper in a corner but have a way of thinking and stick to it. No matter what it could entail. They are strong and infact see more clearly than the men. They speak their mind and in Gay’s case even guide the man through.
There are some trademark shots. I for one, liked the way Andrei was introduced. He is at the estate door facing Keane and there is no light on his face. His hands and feet are clear but not his face. There are some others too especially in the courtroom. But these don’t define the film per se.
The Paradine Case isn’t vintage Hitchcock its said, but I highly recommend this movie. Great characterisation and dialogues. For once it has the leads’ minds being opened up for some serious scrutiny on screen; not just drawing a full-stop at the crime.
The Paradine Case
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writing credits:
Based on Robert Hichens‘ novel. Adapted by Alma Reville and James Bridie (uncredited)
Screenplay by David O. Selznick and Ben Hecht (uncredited)
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Looks like this is 1 Hitch movie i have missed out. Seems an interesting story. Seen Torn Curtain recently, it was interesting enough, but somehow felt Julie Andrews character was not sketched properly. Considering that most of Hitch’s heroines are the mysterious, cold, dangerous kind, JA’s role seemed typical Hollywood damsel in distress kind.