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Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Name: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Genre: Crime, Drama
Released: 1956-09-13
Cast: Dana Andrews, Joan Fontaine, Sidney Blackmer, Arthur Franz, Philip Bourneuf

1956 | 80 min | Crime, Drama

Weeknight Watchearly rating

Why it’s a Weeknight Watch

With middling reviews (68% on Rotten Tomatoes) and soft box office, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it: Made for crime-drama fans.
The mood: Dark and gritty.
The pace: Takes its time with its characters, at 1 hr 20 min.
What might put you off: Made in 1956: an older pace and style.

A newspaper publisher, wanting to prove a point about the insufficiency of circumstantial evidence, talks his possible son-in-law Tom into a hoax in an attempt to expose ineptitude of the city's hard-line district attorney. The plan is to have Tom plant clues leading to his arrest for killing a female nightclub dancer. Once Tom is found guilty, he is to reveal the setup and humiliate the DA.

How it earned its rating

CriticsBelow par
68% on Rotten Tomatoes, 35 on Metacritic
AudiencesSolid
6.8 out of 10
AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
Reach & staying powerBelow par
Streaming release that reached a small audience so far
Buzz & cultural impactBelow par
About 31K people sought it out in the past year

Trailer

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Cast & crew

Directed by Fritz Lang

Dana AndrewsTom Garrett
Joan FontaineSusan Spencer
Sidney BlackmerAustin Spencer
Arthur FranzBob Hale
Philip BourneufRoy Thompson
Edward BinnsLt. Kennedy
Shepperd StrudwickJonathan Wilson
Robin RaymondTerry Larue
Barbara NicholsDolly Moore
William F. LeicesterCharlie Miller