The Paradine Case (1947)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Film Review

With The Paradine Case Alfred Hitchcock ended his seven year long association with producer David O. Selznick and, in doing so, completed the first stage of his highly productive Hollywood career.  By the time he came to make this film, Hitchcock had grown tired of Selznick's controlling influence and was eager to embark on a career as an independent filmmaker, hoping to find far greater artistic freedom than he had enjoyed so far.   The Paradine Case is interesting in that it shows quite clearly the conflict between Hitchcock's desire to push the boundaries of filmmaking technique and Selznick's requirement for another box office hit.  As it turned out, the film fell short on both fronts: it was not as innovative as it could have been and it barely recovered its enormous production cost.

Whilst it is often compared unfavourably with Hitchcock's other great films of this era, The Paradine Case has a great deal to commend it - a fine cast, some impressive production values and a respectable screenplay. The only real defect is some slightly schmaltzy dialogue, which at one point comes close to choking Ann Todd in what vaguely resembles a ghastly parody of Brief Encounter.  Gregory Peck's performance is far more convincing than the one the actor gave in his previous Hitchcock film Spellbound (1945) and vividly shows the anguish of a man who cannot prevent his emotional feelings for an attractive woman from overriding his reason and professional judgement. 

The passion and humanity of Peck's portrayal is effectively contrasted with the cold unresponsiveness of the woman his character has to save from the gallows, the aloof Mrs Paradine, skilfully played by Alida Valli.   Just what kind of woman is the enigmatic Mrs Paradine: the hapless innocent who is prepared to sacrifice herself to protect a secret lover or a dangerous woman of immense cunning?  We never know - until the surprising, and highly poignant, denouement.  Interestingly, Greta Garbo and Laurence Olivier were originally considered for the parts that ultimately went to Valli and Peck. 

The film also features a fresh-faced young French actor Louis Jourdan, hoping to make a big break in Hollywood having achieved some measure of celebrity in his own country.  Although he did get to star in a number of notable American films, notably Gigi (1958), Jourdan never achieved the stardom he sought and today he is little more than a footnote in French cinema; he is perhaps better remembered for his leading vampiric role in the 1977 BBC television production of Count Dracula.

The Paradine Case is pretty much a conventional courtroom drama but Hitchcock manages to find plenty of opportunity for experimentation with camerawork.  The film is perhaps most memorable for its compelling trial scenes, which were shot using four cameras simultaneously in an extended take - rather like how television dramas would be recorded up until the mid-1980s.  Whilst multi-camera shooting has its limitations, Hitchcock uses the technique successfully to create an almost unbearable sense of confinement and tension, which serves the drama perfectly as it heads towards its nail-biting climax.  The director would perfect the art of the long take with his subsequent two films, Rope (1948) and Under Capricorn (1949) - but that, as they say, is another story...

Film Synopsis

Maddalena Paradine is surprised when, one evening, the police call at her London home and charge her with the murder of her recently deceased husband, Colonel Paradine.  She engages Anthony Keane, a brilliant young lawyer, to defend her in her coming trial.  As soon as she sees the beautiful and mysterious woman, Keane is convinced of her innocence and resolves to clear her name in a court of law.  If Mrs Paradine did not kill her husband, the only other suspect is André Latour, the Colonel's handsome young valet.  Yet, for some reason, Mrs Paradine is doggedly reticent about Latour, and seems strangely unwilling to say anything that may incriminate him.  Meanwhile, Keane's wife, Gay, becomes aware of her husband's growing fascination for Mrs Paradine and realises that if he loses the case she may end up losing him forever...