Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Directed by Fritz Lang, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt follows reporter Tom Garrett (Dana Andrews) as he and his publisher (Sidney Blackmer’s Austin Spencer) concoct a scheme to frame (and then clear) Tom for murder to prove the fallibility of circumstantial evidence and its propensity for leading innocent men to the electric chair. It’s a fairly ludicrous premise that is, for the most part, employed to watchable (if decidedly erratic) effect by Lang, as the filmmaker, working from Douglas Morrow’s screenplay, delivers a deliberately-paced drama that benefits substantially from its raft of unexpected twists and a typically solid leading-man turn by Andrews. There’s little doubt, however, that much of Beyond a Reasonable Doubt has been hard-wired with the feel of a fairly by-the-numbers procedural, with the script’s penchant for copious instances of padded-out, needless exposition resulting in a rather uneven midsection (ie the whole thing is perhaps just a little too talky for its own good). The inclusion of a couple of surprising (to say the least) twists within the third act ensures that Beyond a Reasonable Doubt concludes on a positive (and impressively downbeat) note, to be sure, which cements its place as a decent bit of noir filmmaking that boasts a mostly captivating performance by star Andrews.

**1/2 out of ****