The Man Who Dared (1946)

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Reporter George Macready has got a serious problem with people being convicted on circumstantial evidence, so much so that he frames himself for a murder to prove a point. He takes the precaution of providing Forrest Tucker (Larry) with the evidence that will save him once he has been proved guilty only Tucker is run over and put into a coma at the moment he is required to provide this evidence. It's up to Macready to sort things out by himself. First of all, he has to escape from custody.The cast are good in this film, especially Leslie Brooks as Macready's fiancée. Unfortunately, the film bombards you from the beginning with too much information. The story is not difficult to follow but it is made heavy-going by cramming in so much in such a short space of time. The result is a loss of interest and we end up just waiting for the thing to finish. Come on, get on and resolve the damn thing. It's not bad but George Macready is an idiot and too much happens.

When I discovered this little gem from Columbia Pictures and directed by the no yet great John Sturges, I suddenly realized this scheme was the same as Fritz Lang's "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt": the tale of a man who pretends to be guilty of murder in order to denounce justice system with circumstantial evidence. But later, everything goes wrong for him.The Fritz Lang's movie was shot a decade later and the screenwriters are not the same, unlike the story... Strange, isn't it?At last, only the very end is a bit different.No IMDb user has noticed this, even for the Lang's film...I am astonished. It's staring you in the face, as a flashlight !!!Nevertheless, I admit that the Sturges' movie is a rare gem. No one seems to know it. That's the reason why, I think.

A Columbia Pictures quickie featuring George Macready, Leslie Brooks and Forrest Tucker. Macready is a newspaper editor with a cause. He wants murder convictions based on circumstantial evidence struck down. He decides to prove his point and sets himself up to be arrested on murder charges. He gives the evidence that proves his innocence to fellow newsman Forrest Tucker. Macready goes through with the trial and is convicted on "circumstantial evidence". He is then sent to death row to await his hanging. Once he is convicted Macready asks Tucker to produce the life saving evidence. Needless to say there is a problem. Tucker was hit by a car on his way in and is now in a coma. Macready pulls an escape and goes out in search of anything that might help his cause. After a few close calls all ends with Macready going free. Not a great film but by no means a bad one. It was the first film by future big-time director John Sturges. Was remade as "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" by Fritz Lang. Gord