Like most courtroom dramas, especially British ones, it's not very cinematic. Director Anthony Asquith makes a stab at noir in the opening shots only to retreat to standard, stagy interior shooting for most of the rest. Even the flashbacks that take place in the German countryside feel like they're shot indoors. So with lack of directorial or cinematographic interest one falls back on the writing and acting, the former of which is typically Brit literate but dull while the later is, uncharacteristically for an English film, over the top and/or wooden. Bogarde is especially hammy which is highly unusual for him so one begins to suspect Asquith's hand in his performance. DeHavilland is simply boring. As is Paul Massie. About the only actor who shines is Wilfrid Hyde White as the nasty plaintiffs attorney. Give it a C.
PS...Hiccup and you miss Robert Shaw in a very early role as a sleazy tabloid newshound.
PS...Hiccup and you miss Robert Shaw in a very early role as a sleazy tabloid newshound.