The Accused (1949)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

"The Accused" is a pretty good movie with some good acting turns by some reliable Hollywood stars. It is not a film noir but primarily a love story with some melodramatic moments. It is also too long and could have used a heavier hand in the cutting room.Having said all that, I was tempted to stop the DVD player as I didn't think it was my cup of tea (the action is minimal) but the story became more absorbing as it unfolded. Right off the bat, in the opening scene, we find out that Loretta Young kills one of her students while fighting off an attempted rape. The rest of the picture involves a cat-and-mouse game between her and Police Lieutenant Wendell Corey, with lawyer Bob Cummings trying to pick sides.The picture moves along spasmodically (as I said, it's too long) to its eventual denouement but spiked with some genuinely interesting plot turns.I must say I always felt Wendell Corey was a bit of a stiff but here he shows some depth, and Bob Cummings is the opposite of his usual feckless, irresolute self. But the film is Miss Young's and her legion of fans will not be disappointed - plus, she's beautiful as always. I have to think this was released as an 'A' picture, as they hired Victor Young to write the music - it doesn't get any better than that.This movie really is worth watching but don't go out of your way - unless you're a Loretta Young fan.

Loretta Young plays a psychology professor who has quite a few neuroses (this is quite the cliché--for once, I'd like to see a movie with a well-balanced psychologist!). One of her students is a cocky young war vet who thinks he's quite the ladies' man. When a seemingly innocent offer to drive her home becomes an attempt by him to force himself on her sexually, she reacts by striking him repeatedly and killing him. In her vulnerable state, she panics and makes the body appear as if he died by accident. Still in a bit of an emotional fog, she stumbles home. Only later when she is thinking clearly does she realize that she should have gone to the police and reported the attempted rape--but by now it was too late.A problem occurs with the film at this point. Young's character is so flaky that she gets sick and is a delirious state for days. In fact, throughout the film this supposedly capable professor seems on the verge of screaming or crying. When she recovers from her breakdown, the body has been found. Soon, it's ruled an accidental death but a determined homicide detective refuses to give up the case.Now had Ms. Young's character not behaved so strangely throughout the film (remember, she is a trained psychologist and professor), THE ACCUSED would have worked a lot better. Think about it--a film from 1949 that was willing to actually tackle the topic of rape and killing the attacker. But due to the odd characterization, much of the importance and impact is lost. Overall, it's interesting and worth seeing--but also quite flawed.

At the time of release, THE ACCUSED was probably considered a daring story for Hollywood to tackle--a teacher about to be assaulted by a student kills him rather than being subjected to rape. The prim schoolteacher is played by LORETTA YOUNG with all her virginal modesty bolstered by wearing her hair in a bun with Peter Pan collars adorning her neckline.Rather than confess to her crime, she tries to conceal it from the prying eyes of detective WENDELL COREY and lawyer friend ROBERT CUMMINGS. Both of these actors have given stronger performances in other films but apparently neither one had their interest in these roles heightened by a lackluster script.Slowly, the film tries to build suspense until a final courtroom scene, but by that time the tale has lost a lot of its credibility and the characters are so poorly etched that you won't care that much about the outcome.Young is as pretty as ever but her role has no depth and what should have been a taut exercise in suspense has been turned into a mushy romantic drama rather than a gripping film noir.

The twist on what we now call sexual harassment lingers as the most interesting aspect of The Accused, an innocuous suspense story with some effective moments. Another lingering aftertaste is the midcentury stereotype of the female academic that's foisted on star Loretta Young -- and the viewer.Psychology professor Young (!), guarded and old-maidish (she's even saddled with the glamourproof name Wilma Tuttle), becomes the object of the unhealthy attentions of one of her students (Douglas Dick). On the pretext of diving for abalone shells off Malibu, he spirits her off to a secluded lover's lane one night and forces himself on her. She bashes in his skull and fakes his death to look accidental.Then she begins to attract more attention -- from Robert Cummings, a lawyer friend of the dead boy's family (he falls for her), and Wendell Corey, a dogged homicide cop. In the acting department, there's no contest; Cummings stays his usual namby-pamby self, while Corey delivers a strong, unsentimental performance, among his best.Much of William Dieterle's direction shows a practiced hand. Especially well handled are the opening sequence of Young fleeing the crime scene, a boxing match where she suffers a flashback, and the ghoulish reconstructions of the murder by forensic pathologist Sam Jaffe.But a glaring structural flaw keeps The Accused lukewarm. We know from the outset that Young acted in self-defense, which pretty well leeches all the suspense out of Corey's implacable pursuit; the tightening case against her packs no impact because it's safe to assume she won't be spending any time with those harpies from Caged. Consequently the film focuses more on her emergence from a cocoon of droopy skirts, a bun in her hair, sleeping pills and swooning spells into a seductive butterfly flitting into Cummings' net.Dick, as the young narcissist, calls to mind such amoral charmers as Robert Walker in Strangers On A Train and John Dall in Rope (a film in which Dick also appeared). It's he -- not young nor Cummings -- who supplies what faint erotic spark this movie, about a sexually-based murder, dares to kindle.