JohnHowardReid
Director: ANTHONY ASQUITH. Screenplay: John Hunter. Based on the stage play by Dorothy Christie, Campbell Christie. Photography: Desmond Dickinson. Film editor: Ralph Kemplen. Art director: Wilfred Shingleton. Make-up: David Aylott. Hair styles: Ida Mills. Miss Leighton's costumes: Rahvis. Wardrobe: Dolly Smith. Camera operator: William Allan. Set continuity: Beryl Booth. Military technical adviser: David Rooke. Court-martial technical adviser: A.G.C. Grant. Production manager and assistant director: Basil Keys. Dubbing editor: Stanley Hawkes. Sound recording: A. G. Ambler, Red Law. Producer: Teddy Baird.A Remus Production for Romulus, released in the U.K. by Independent/British Lion: 10 January 1955; in Australia by 20th Century-Fox: 19 July 1956; in the U.S.A. by Kingsley International: August 1955. Registered: November 1954. "A" certificate. New York opening at the Trans-Lux 52nd Street: 1 August 1955. Sydney opening at The Embassy. 9,532 feet. 106 minutes. U.S. title: Court Martial. (Available on an excellent Network DVD).SYNOPSIS: Major Carrington V.C., is accused of stealing military funds.COMMENT: "Carrington, V.C." holds the interest throughout, though it is not one of Asquith's best films. In fact the direction is quite routine and even at times uninspired. This, along with all the dialogue, the complete lack of on-camera action and the fact that most of the scenes take place in the court, reinforces the impression of a photographed stage play. Still, the characters are engagingly if one-dimensionally drawn, and the players, particularly Allan Cuthbertson, breathe them convincingly into life. The photography has little contrast and is even at times under-lit. And the film was made at a time when a complete absence of background music and an emphasis on sound effects was considered the "in" thing.
writers_reign
As something of a Puffin Asquith completist I naturally made a point of watching this on Talking Pictures yesterday. As a rule I tend to avoid British films that focus on one or more aspects of the military but I was pleasantly surprised at how Puffin put the ensemble cast through its paces. Apart from David Niven and Margaret Leighton, an unlikely married couple, the support was largely Second Eleven, Laurence Naismith, Geoffrey Keen, Noelle Middleton, Victor Maddern and they even wheeled out old Newtie Blick. The old adage that you can't go wrong with a courtroom drama holds up here albeit it's a courts martial rather than a civilian court with Niven in the dock and acting as his own defence lawyer. It all hangs together nicely and makes for solid entertainment.
Martin Bradley
A brilliant courtroom drama that doesn't rely on flashbacks to present its case but sticks solely to the testimonies of the various parties involved. Carrington is a major being court-martialed for stealing money which he claims was his by right. It's superbly written, (by John Hunter), directed, (by Anthony Asquith) and played, (by a superlative cast of British character actors). David Niven, at his very best, is Carrington and Margaret Leighton is terrific as his highly strung and jealous wife. The Irish actress, Noelle Middleton, is also excellent as the captain with more than a soft spot for Niven. This is a gripping and intelligent film that really deserves to be seen.
justincward
The always charming David Niven, ex-Guards (Carrington), and always convincing Allan Cuthbertson, ex RAAF (Hennicker), strike big sparks off each other in this static military courtroom drama, but that's the only proper entertainment 'Carrington, VC' has to offer. The rest of it is a terribly, terribly middle-class (and low-budget) army court procedural with Geoffrey Keen as presiding officer. Geoffrey Keen is typecast as the self-important little man behind a big desk in much British film and TV of the period, and in this he gives his usual lightweight, nasal turn, along with many familiar and clearly aging Brit stalwarts who give the same routine whether in a comedy - or in uniform - or not.The whole point is whether the dashing Carrington's nemesis lies on oath about him 'borrowing' £125 from the barracks safe, ticking many socio-cultural boxes for a 1950's UK audience and weakly echoing 'The Winslow Boy'. **SPOILER**You are rewarded for sticking with the film by having Carrington found guilty, but disappointingly, the dastardly Hennicker's ultimate come-uppance is not in the film. Cuthbertson would have owned that.These days, watching women in unattractive uniforms calling one another 'Vel' for 'Val' gets old very quickly. Though if that does turn you on, the crucial, and almost throwaway telephonists' scene that sets up Carrington's (unseen) appeal will really, um, appeal. It's only Niven's easy charm, and Cuthbertson's fulminating uptightness that gave me any reason to care. The rest is khaki-coloured cardboard, mouldering away in a damp, forgotten cupboard. Skip this and rent 'Tunes of Glory (1960)' instead.
