Eight O'Clock Walk

Moviecut—Eight O'Clock Walk

I'm in agreement with most other people here that this is an excellent British post-war melodrama (based on a true story). I just wanted to add that the title "Eight O'Clock Walk" refers to the time (8.00 am) when executions used to be carried out in England. It basically alludes to a condemned man's walk to the gallows (or the electric chair).

EIGHT O'CLOCK WALK is another British drama that offers an acting showcase for a quietly understated Richard Attenborough, playing another of his ordinary men. This time he becomes embroiled in a Hitchcockian 'wronged man' style drama when he's falsely accused of child murder and forced to clear his name in the courts - or face the death sentence. The story that follows is quite familiar - seemingly every British male actor was accused of some heinous crime or other during the 1950s - and slows down when it becomes a court procedural, but fans of the era or stars involved will enjoy it regardless.

Dirty old men with sweeties stuffed into their coat pockets to secure the trust of young children seem to have been a regular feature of London life back in the law-abiding fifties. We already know from the start that nice young Richard Attenborough isn't the guilty party, but with the recent hanging of Derek Bentley still fresh in people's minds it was a hot enough topic for the title to overtly (if archaically) refer to the fate that awaits the hero if he isn't exonerated before the conclusion. As in 'The Angry Silence' the beleaguered Attenborough has to face the music with a sad-eyed, short-lived young actress from abroad by his side. Six years later it was Pier Angeli, on this occasion it's the waif-like Cathy O'Donnell.

This is something of a mish-mosh all round, not least with a title that leads a potential audience to believe it is about a condemned man waiting to take the eight o'clock walk to the gallows and whilst it is true that the protagonist is accused of and stands trial for murder he is in fact acquitted. Director Lance Comfort made a handful of interesting films like Hatter's Castle, Bedelia and such but laid a colossal egg when entrusted with Portrait of Clare and was somewhat persona non grata ever afterward, mostly making do with TV fodder and the odd title like this one. For some reason Dickie Attenborough had a penchant for importing US actresses to appear opposite him; in The Angry Silence it was Pier Angeli and here it is Cathy O'Donnell. In fact the cast is one of the most interesting aspects of this with appearances by Kynaston Reeves, Victor Maddern etc plus in-vogue Derek Farr improbably unmasking the real killer a la Perry Mason. Worth a look as a curio.

Watching this film from the 1954, was an unexpected enjoyable movie,Richard Attenborough is very good in this film, while not a film to mark out on his long film career, it certain should not be forgotten. Cathy O'Donnell has an accent which is not Canadian. The Film is like a moment of the 1950's caught on film. The film deals with whole criminal investigation of the UK criminal justice system from the discovery of victim to investigation, collecting witness statements, including forensic investigation, jury selection, arrangement, and the actual trial, the film has a good story line than most crime dramas on TV's.

Highly watchable courtroom drama set in London during Coronation year. In fact the trial that takes up the bulk of the film's running time begins on 8 June 1953 (shown in a close-up of the Court listings), a week after the Queen was crowned. Occasional glimpses of ornamental arches celebrating the event can be seen in the background of the film's many location shots. The film also gives an insight into post-war Britain - a land where young married couples (Attenborough and O'Donnell) live in cramped lodgings whilst waiting to qualify for their own house; where children play truant on derelict bombsites; and where the legal system looks down on - or at best, patronises - the lower orders. The plot veers to the melodramatic in the closing minutes, but entertainingly so. However, the detailed portrayal of court procedure is fascinating to watch. It probably hasn't changed that much, either....

At the time that this film was made there was a fierce debate about capital punishment.In the early fifties Timothy Evans was wrongly hung for murders committed by Christie.Then Derek Bentley was hung for a murder he did not commit,merely present when the actual murderer fired the weapon.The actual murderer went to jail as he was too young to hang.So this film sets up a perfect set of circumstances where an innocent man could be convicted of murder.It is only because of the theatrical contrivances that in fact Attenborough goes free.The trial in the film is fairly brief in that it appears to last a couple of days.frighteningly that is the way it was.At times it was all about "pour encourage les autres" rather than justice being seen to be done.A thoughtful film with sincere performances.