Beyond This Place (1959 film)
Beyond This Place (US: Web of Evidence) is a 1959 British film based on the 1950 novel, of the same name, by A. J. Cronin.[1] It was directed by Jack Cardiff and stars Van Johnson and Vera Miles.[2]
| Beyond This Place | |
|---|---|
 US release poster with overseas market name, Web of Evidence. | |
| Directed by | Jack Cardiff |
| Produced by | Maxwell Setton John R. Sloan |
| Written by | Ken Taylor |
| Based on | Beyond This Place by A. J. Cronin |
| Starring | Van Johnson Vera Miles Emlyn Williams Bernard Lee |
| Music by | Douglas Gamley |
| Cinematography | Wilkie Cooper |
| Edited by | Ernest Walter |
| Distributed by | Renown Pictures Corporation Allied Artists Pictures Corporation |
Release date | 18 October 1959 |
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
The opening credits roll over images of a father playing with his young son in a wood and sailing a toy yacht on a pond. We then jump to Liverpool during the blitz in the Second World War. A woman (it is implied she is a prostitute) tells a man she is pregnant, then he goes home to see his wife and children. The police arrive at his door and ask what he knows of the murder of the prostitute.
The story jumps to 1959 and the man's son (Paul) is sailing back into Liverpool "to clear things up". He is shocked when a local shopkeeper tells him that Mr Oswald saved his father's life: "that is why he wasn't hanged... for the murder". He knows nothing of any of this.
He heads to the library and starts reading through old newspapers from 1941. Eventually he finds "Liverpool Girl Murdered: Man Questioned". He then finds an article linked "Man Charged". The librarian has to usher him out as the library closes.
When he eventually gets to the core of the story it appears that the police have covered the truth. But when he goes to see his father in prison at the point of release he is deeply disappointed in his character: he wants whisky and a prostitute as soon as possible. Paul says he is ashamed of him.[3]
Cast
- Van Johnson as Paul Mathry
- Vera Miles as Lena Anderson
- Emlyn Williams as Enoch Oswald
- Bernard Lee as Patrick Mathry
- Jean Kent as Louise Burt
- Moultrie Kelsall as Chief Inspector Dale
- Leo McKern as McEvoy
- Ralph Truman as Sir Matthew Sprott
- Geoffrey Keen as Prison Governor
- Jameson Clark as Swann
- Rosalie Crutchley as Ella Mathry
- Oliver Johnston as Prusty
- Joyce Heron as Catherine, Lady Sprott
- Anthony Newlands as Dunn
- Vincent Winter as Paul Mathry (as a child)
- Henry Oscar as Alderman Sharpe
- John Glyn-Jones as Magistrate
- Hope Jackman as Mrs. Hanley
- Michael Collins as Detective Sergeant Trevor
- Danny Green as Roach
References
- Goble, Alan (8 September 2011). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110951943 – via Google Books.
- "Beyond This Place (1959)". BFI.
- "Web of Evidence (1959) - Jack Cardiff | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.