Madeleine (1950)
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David Lean's Madeleine was inspired by a true story that rocked the English legal system to its foundations in the mid-19th century. Told in flashback, the film explains why aristocratic young Scotswoman Madeleine Smith (Ann Todd, then the wife of director Lean) is on trial for murder. The audience is apprised of Madeleine's illicit romance with deceptively charming Frenchman Emile L'Angelier (Ivan Desny), her futile attempts to break off the relationship, her "proper" betrothal to Englishman William Minnoch (Norman Wooland), and the murder by poison of the now-inconvenient L'Angelier. The jury's verdict was as controversial in 1950 as it had been a century earlier. David Lean and scenarists Stanley Haynes and Nicholas Phipps refuse to take sides, permitting the viewers to draw their own conclusions about the notorious Madeleine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Complete Cast:
- Ann Todd - Madeleine Smith
- Ivan Desny - Emile l'Angelier
- Barbara Everest - Mrs. Smith
- Patricia Raine - Bessie Smith
- Edward Chapman - Dr. Thompson
- Eugene Deckers - Thuau
- Henry Edwards - Clerk of the Court
- Andre Morell - Defending Counsel
- James McKechnie - Commentator
- Moyra Fraser - Dancer
- Douglas Barr - William, the Boot Boy
- Kynaston Reeves - Dr. Penny
- Cameron Hall - Dr. Yeoman
- Norman Wooland - William Minnoch
- Leslie Banks - James Smith
- Susan Stranks - Janet Smith
- Elizabeth Sellars - Christina
- Jean Cadell - Mrs. Jenkins
- Ivor Barnard - Mr. Murdoch
- Barry Jones - Prosecuting Counsel
- Eva Bartok
- Irene Browne - Miss Grant
- Anthony Newley
- Amy Veness - Miss Aiken
- John Laurie - Scots Divine
- Director(s):
- David Lean
- Writer(s):
- Stanley Haynes, Nicholas Phipps
- Producer(s):
- Stanley Haynes
- Closed Captioning:
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- Subtitles:
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