The Unguarded Hour

The Unguarded Hour is a 1936 American drama film directed by Sam Wood and starring Loretta Young and Franchot Tone. In England, a prominent young prosecutor in a murder trial is unaware that his wife is involved.

For the silent film, see The Unguarded Hour (1925 film).
The Unguarded Hour
Directed bySam Wood
Produced byLawrence Weingarten
Sam Wood
Written byHoward Emmett Rogers
Leon Gordon
Horace Jackson (uncredited contributor)
Based on
The Unguarded Hour
by
StarringLoretta Young
Franchot Tone
Music byWilliam Axt
CinematographyJames Van Trees
Edited byFrank E. Hull
Production
company
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • April 10, 1936 (1936-04-10)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

It is based on Bernard Merivale's 1935 play The Unguarded Hour, an adaptation of an earlier Hungarian work by Ladislas Fodor.[1][2] Some changes were made from the play in order to heighten the drama, including having the heroine as the elusive witness in connection with the trial.[3] The film's set designs were overseen by Cedric Gibbons, assisted by Edwin B. Willis and Joseph Wright. Dolly Tree designed the costumes.

Plot

Barrister Sir Alan Dearden is tipped to be Britain's next and youngest ever Attorney General. Shortly before he leaves for holiday on the Continent, his wife Helen is approached by a man claiming to have love letters written by her husband to his own estranged wife. Although these pre-date their marriage, Helen worries that scandal would ruin her husband's career and reluctantly agrees to pay the blackmail demand of £2,000. The following day she draws the money out of the bank and meets the blackmailer in Dover, eventually leaving the money on the White Cliffs. While she is recovering the love letters she sees a middle-aged man warning his wife not to go to near the edge.

She is enjoying her holiday with her husband, when he is urgently called back to London to take over a murder case at the Old Bailey involving a man named Metford accused of pushing his wife over a cliff. A shocked Helen realises that she is the key witness in the case, but elects to remain silent. During cross-examination, Dearden hounds Metford over his claims that there was a female witness who saw him warning his wife to take care, but points out a nationwide hunt has not produced this missing woman. Helen does what she can to persuade her husband that Metford is innocent and that people often make poor witnesses when they are telling the truth, but he is unmoved.

Then, during the trial, Dearden is himself approached by his former flame - encouraged by her estranged husband - who demands blackmail money from him. When shortly afterwards she is found murdered, Scotland Yard investigate and find the finger of suspicion is pointed at Dearden. While he has a genuine excuse of her spent the "unguarded hour" in question, like Metford his story sounds unbelievable.

In a sensational development, Lady Helen is subpoenaed by the defence in order to clear the accused, which she does. She then manages to entrap the original blackmailer into revealing that he was the man who killed his wife.

Cast

Radio adaptation

The Unguarded Hour was presented on Theatre Guild on the Air December 28, 1952. The one-hour adaptation starred Michael Redgrave and Nina Foch.[4]

References
  1. Nugent, Frank S. (April 4, 1936). "The Unguarded Hour (1936)". New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  2. "The Unguarded Hour". Altoona Tribune. May 22, 1936. p. 12. Retrieved June 6, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Kabatchnik p.431
  4. Kirby, Walter (December 28, 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 36. Retrieved June 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.

Bibliography
  • Kabatchnik, Amnon. Blood on the Stage, 1925-1950: Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery and Detection. Scarecrow Press, 2010.
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