Ordeal by Innocence (1984)

One of my all time favorites.

best movie i've ever seen.

A Masterpiece!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Agatha Christie rides again, but, alas, the pleasures of this one are offset by a wildly inappropriate and cursedly intrusive jazz score by Dave Brubeck. Worse still, in order to accommodate Mr. Brubeck, several sequences are lengthened way past their palatable appeal. Some irritating editorial cross-cutting – even when attempting to be inventive – further dampens our enthusiasm, but nevertheless the movie ends up as a fairly suspenseful outing, well acted and atmospherically photographed against some fascinatingly unusual locations. Sutherland is aptly cast as the meddling do- gooder, but Dunaway is wasted in a few brief flashbacks. But the little usherette is delightfully pert. Indeed, most of the players are really excellent. Alas, for some unknown reason, the killer is revealed to the audience well before the actual climax, so that it no longer comes as a surprise. The fakey special effects are also a drawback, but all these points are merely quibbles. It's the outrageously intrusive music score that's the source of most audience irritation.

The film's mystery is not a fault I have with the film nor is the acting nor are the production values or settings. The musical score has to be one of the most out of place scores I have ever seen in ANY film. I just cannot imagine who thought a Dave Brubeck jazz score would complement an Agatha Christie mystery film. It boggles the mind and, more unfortunately, muddles this film pretty good. Ordeal by Innocence is not a great film but does have a solid mystery and good acting. It held my attention when I wasn't irritated beyond belief with that ridiculous music. The music isn't bad by no means just loud and over-intrusive and not for a film of this ilk. It really detracts from your viewing. Anyway, the story about a man trying to clear the name of someone who was tried and executed for a crime this stranger knows for a fact he could not commit is rather interesting. Donald Sutherland does a workmanlike job. True, he is not flashy. The character suspects include a wry and devilish Christopher Plummer, a witty Ian McShane, a drunken(and wasted)Sarah Miles, a gorgeous Diana Quick and Annette Crosbie from One Foot in the Grave fame. No one wants to help the stranger, other people die, and the mystery is not all that hard to figure out by the end but all of it is done with some style and workmanship by director Desmond Davis(he did actually direct the original Clash of the Titans - though I am sure deferred to Ray Harryhausen more often than not!). All makes for a reasonably enjoyable story and then...then...then that music intrudes and even covers up what is said. I marked this film down two stars just because of the music. The director must have been deaf OR forced to use that score! Anyway, Faye Dunaway has a couple flashback scenes as the murdered mother/wife and Cassie Stuart plays the wife of the murdered innocent man. I only mention her because she has a topless scene, is drop-dead gorgeous, and has a smile to kill for. She is the best highlight that this film has to boast and she has two short scenes.

It is difficult to describe this film without profanity. The rights to the book were clearly bought because of the title. I am a purist Agatha Christie fan, so I dislike adaptations which spoil her work. Normally, after the first three or four viewings, they grow on me (It happened with "Appointment with Death", it happened with the remake of "Murder on the Orient Express" and it happened with the remake of "Sparkling Cyanide"). I still hate this film. The cast are talented, but wasted - especially Faye Dunaway, who has about three words. The music is completely out of place. I expected them to start playing "The Merry Old Land of Oz" at the hanging. The story is unraveled ploddingly; a fiasco. I didn't understand it until I read the book. This is a pure waste of film.

I only watched the movie to see Ian McShane. My only negative comment on the movie is that he wasn't in it "enough". Waste of talent. Otherwise, I actually enjoyed the movie, even though it was very predictable. I loved the scenery. I wish I could live at a place like that, but then again, I'd like to live anywhere in England.