Libel (film)
| Libel | |
|---|---|
1959 Theatrical Poster
|
|
| Directed by | Anthony Asquith |
| Produced by | Anatole de Grunwald |
| Written by | Edward Wooll (play) Anatole de Grunwald Karl Tunberg |
| Based on |
Libel! by Edward Wooll |
| Starring |
Dirk Bogarde Olivia de Havilland Paul Massie Robert Morley Wilfrid Hyde-White |
| Music by | Benjamin Frankel |
| Cinematography | Robert Krasker |
| Edited by | Frank Clarke |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
100 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $615,000 |
| Box office | $1,170,000 |
Libel is a 1959 British drama film. It stars Olivia de Havilland, Dirk Bogarde, Paul Massie, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Robert Morley. The film's screenplay was written by Anatole de Grunwald and Karl Tunberg from a 1935 play of the same name by Edward Wooll.
The film's location shots included Longleat House, Wiltshire, and London.
While traveling in London, Jeffrey Buckenham (Massie), a Canadian Second World War veteran, sees Baronet Sir Mark Sebastian Loddon (Bogarde) on television, leading a tour of his grand family home. Buckenham was held in a German POW camp with Loddon, and while watching him, becomes convinced that he is in fact another former POW, Frank Wellney, an actor (also played by Bogarde) who shared their hut and bore an uncanny resemblance to Loddon. Buckenham writes a letter to a newspaper, publishing his suspicion that Wellney has usurped the young baronet's place.
Loddon sues Buckenham and the newspaper for libel, but his mind is still battered by some terrible incident that occurred during his escape fifteen years before, and he has little memory of that time.
During the trial, Buckenham and Loddon tell their versions of what happened during the war. Buckenham liked Loddon very much and despised Wellney. The three broke out together and headed west in search of the advancing Allied forces. One dark and misty night, having gone without food for days, Buckenham left the others alone to try to steal some from a nearby farm. As he was returning, he heard two shots. He saw one man in Battle Dress lying on the ground, apparently dead, and the other, in civilian clothes, running away. Buckenham was unable to get closer because German soldiers appeared, but Loddon was the one wearing Battle Dress.
Loddon is missing part of a finger on his right hand, just like Wellney, but Loddon claims he was shot in the finger during the escape. Loddon is also missing a childhood scar on his leg. Then there is the fact that Wellney's hair was prematurely white, as is Loddon's now. Buckenham recounts how Wellney was always asking Loddon about his personal life; Loddon even joked that Wellney could pass for him. As the evidence mounts, even Loddon's loyal wife (de Havilland) begins to doubt him.
...
Wikipedia