The lovely and talented Loretta Young was still basking in the afterglow of her Academy Award for Best Actress for The Farmer’s Daughter as the 1940s were coming to a close. Just last year we took a look at her charming turn in the western tale Rachel and the Stranger which fell during this period. Her next project after this would further draw upon her prowess as a bankable leading lady in the hard-hitting 1949 film noir The Accused. While dated in many respects today, this rather taboo tale took on the subject of sexual assault through veiled terms and put forth a feminist argument dressed up in noir trappings. The story was adapted by Ketti Frings from the 1947 novel Be Still, My Love written by June Truesdell, which is the rare example of multiple female creatives getting to bring their point of view to a feature film of this sort. The narrative can be quite frustrating in many respects, but it does a nice job of handling this material sensibly for the time and in an entertaining manner.
Young stars as Wilma Tuttle, a college professor who we first see in the aftermath of an unknown violent altercation on a seaside cliff, trying to hitchhike home without drawing much attention to herself. We flashback to a simpler time a few days prior as she teaches her class while batting away inappropriate comments from student Bill Perry (Douglas Dick). We will soon know Bill as a monster who attacks Wilma during a moment they are alone together in his car – a poor bit of decision making on her part, but we are not victim blaming. When the teacher fights back by striking him with a heavy auto part, she kills him, panics, and tries to dispose of the body off of the cliff by making it look like a diving accident. It is at this point that you might yell at the screen that she should have just gone to the police and told them what happened, but the story does a fairly good job of representing her fears and explaining why she does some of the things she does. You might want to scream again when her paranoia and conscience gets the best of her and she begins to act erratically, but it makes for a tension-filled time.
Loretta Young delivers a stellar performance for a character who often seems to be written just to make poor decisions. She is even able to convey the unease she feels when an investigation is launched and she becomes the subject of desire for two of the least convenient men; Warren Ford (Robert Cummings, Dial M For Murder) is the guardian and attorney for the deceased young man who does not seem to care about loyalties when Wilma is involved; and Lt. Dorgan (Wendell Corey, The Furies) is the kind detective who suspects she committed the crime and very reluctantly carries out his investigation into her. Neither romance is particularly electric, especially with some casual sexism thrown around by certain parties, but that is not really the point. This is about Wilma and how women are treated when they find themselves in trouble for a crime they never wanted to commit. The film provides an ambiguous ending, but the journey throughout is pointed enough to clearly rebuke some less evolved thinking. Young’s character could have been a stronger representation for women and made this a more effective tale, but as a narrative it offers a pleasing amount of thrills and dramatic turns to keep you invested from the beginning until the end.
Video Quality
The Accused makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Kino Classics with a brand new 1080p master from what appears to be an older master that has not had a lot of cleanup. The gorgeous black-and-white photography shot by Milton Krasner fairs well in high definition with natural grain intact. There is a pleasing amount of detail present with nice textures on the clothing and within the production design. The new transfer shows off a great amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition. Black levels could stand to be deeper as there are some instances of black crush, but no compression artifacts from what we could tell. The contrast is mostly well defined, but the track experiences a minor amount of flicker at times and a pretty steady stream of minor damage to the print throughout. There are also stray, faint vertical lines that make quick appearances without ruining the overall aesthetic of the film. Kino Classics has given this film a pretty solid presentation, but some additional cleanup on the damage would have done wonders for the film.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a solid enough DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that serves this movie well considering its age. Dialogue and background noises are represented in pleasing harmony with all competing elements. This track does present with a minor amount of age related wear and tear including some faint hissing that likely dates back to the source elements. The music from Victor Young never overpowers the dialogue or other important information. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. The good folks at Kino Classics have done their best to prove the most stable track possible for this one.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Film Historian Eddy Von Mueller delivers a commentary track in which he discusses the era in which this film was made, the place of this work within the genre, the backgrounds of the creatives, the psychology of the film, some of the filmmaking techniques and more that helps strengthen your appreciation for the film.
- Trailers: The two-and-a-half-minute trailer for The Accused is provided here. There are also trailers provided for Night Has A Thousand Eyes, The Web, The Female Animal, I’ll Be Seeing You and Portrait Of Jennie.
Final Thoughts
The Accused is not without its issues, especially from a modern evaluation, but for the time it serves as a pretty sturdy and enthralling depiction of sexual assault and the ways in which it ruins lives. Loretta Young delivers a fantastic performance with a dependable ensemble that does well with the characters they are given. Kino Classics has released a Blu-Ray with a serviceable A/V presentation and a very informative commentary track. If you are a fan of the genre or the talent involved, it is worth checking out. Recommended
The Accused is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
