Time Without Pity
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man scheduled to be exe- people were actually strapped into the elec- Time Without Pity cuted the next morning tric chair or the gas chamber gurney and for the murder of the were only minutes from being executed for Starring Michael Redgrave and Peter Cushing young woman, and the a crime they didn’t commit. In some of Directed by Joseph Losey gentleman is the young those last-minute miracles it was a relative Screenplay by Ben Barzman man’s lawyer. or friend that found the crucial evidence. Based on a play by Emlyn Williams Released to theaters in 1957, B&W, The father is an alcohol- Time Without Pity is also true to real life by 88 minutes. Released on VHS in 1995. ic writer who has been in portraying that most of the characters lead a Canadian sanitarium “messy lives.” Emphasizing the wrongness Review by Hans Sherrer during the entire time of of his predicament, the condemned man led his son’s legal ordeal. the most honorable life of all the significant ime Without Pity is one of those low bud- This was possible in the characters in the movie. The ending of the T get British films from the 1950s that are England of the 1940s movie is unexpected and has a unique typically shown late at night on Turner Classic and 50s, since as little as six months could twist. Yet it rings true by not sugar coating Movies or other cable channels. Yet one look pass from the time of a person’s arrest to that someone sitting on death row waiting at the cast and people behind its production their execution. to be executed is deadly serious business, indicates it is anything but a “B” flick. and it is deadly serious for a person trying The father approaches his son’s impending to avert it from happening. The movie opens with a stark scene of a execution with the same level of obsessive- young woman being attacked in a room and ness that one can imagine he approached his The film’s theme of a good and decent man killed by a fortyish man. The movie then cuts drinking – full tilt. He had failed his son at horribly wronged by people blind to the truth, to some time in the future, as a disheveled every other turn in life, and he doesn’t want and its accurate character portrayal of people middle-aged man who looks like he just to do so when there won’t be a chance for willing to sacrifice others to satisfy their blind stepped out of a gin joint is picked up at redemption. It is almost too much for him to ambition may have been a reflection of the London’s airport by a well-dressed gentle- handle when he realizes that if his son is to be real-life experiences of the film’s director, man. The traveler is the father of a young saved it is up to him, and he only has 24 Joseph Losey, and its screenwriter, Ben hours to do so. His son’s lawyer has given up Barzman. Both had successful careers in the hope that solid evidence of his innocence can film industry derailed after being blacklisted 81 Witches cont. from page 21 be found and presented to the authorities in from working in the United States under their The Pardon granted already stands as a time to stop his execution. The clock pitiless- own names during the reign of terror known distinctive memorial to those who lost ly tick-tock-ticks on, one second at a time. as McCarthyism. The film, made in England their lives. But it must surely act forev- in 1957, was the first that gave directorial er as a warning that no-one amongst us The pressure on the father is compounded credit to Losey after his blacklisting in the U.S. can confidently state that they would by him not having anything to go on except never participate in such a process of blind faith that his son is telling the truth Given that the viewer knows from the first persecution. The Kirk was right: there that he didn’t have anything to do with the scene that the condemned man is innocent, were indeed demons loose in their God- young woman’s murder. On the surface the Time Without Pity depends on powerful per- ly state. Sadly, these demons were not case against his son appears damning, but it formances and the tension revolving around supernatural – they were man-made, is purely circumstantial and based on spec- whether his debilitated father can find a way and still dwell amongst us. (p. 48) ulation of what might have happened. The to prove it and stop the execution. Michael victim was his girlfriend, she was found Redgrave is brilliant as the alcoholic father Incorporating a wealth of diverse information dead in an apartment where he was staying, who becomes increasingly desperate to find spanning more than 400 years, 81 Witches of and she was holding a locket with his pic- some way to prove his son’s innocence and Prestonpans serves as a warning that when ture in it. However, there are no witnesses save him from having his life snuffed out. irrationalism controls the legal process of a or physical evidence tying him to the Although it has been almost five decades city, a state or a country – whether in 1590 or woman’s murder. since it was first seen by moviegoers, Time today – no one is safe from being accused of a Without Pity stands up remarkably well as non-existent crime that can result in their mis- Looking at what happened with a fresh pair of solid entertainment. Neither has it lost any of treatment, imprisonment, or even execution. eyes, the father feverishly races around the its relevance as a cautionary tale that no city questioning people who knew his son or matter how guilty someone may appear at It is no minor feat that in a book of only the dead woman, or who might know some first glance, if you look below the surface 58-pages written in lay language Allan mean- crucial but overlooked detail about the night their innocence may be plain as day. ingfully contributes to the dialogue about the she was killed that will unlock the iron door weighty social and legal issues she explores. sealing his son’s fate. Time Without Pity is a classic example that a thoughtful and engrossing movie can be 81 Witches of Prestonpans can be read or Although it may seem preposterous that made on a modest budget if the production printed at no-charge from the Prestoungrange Time Without Pity revolves around a has a first-rate director, a well-written script University Press website, father’s panicked effort to find overlooked and heartfelt acting performances. http://www.prestoungrange.org/core- evidence in 24 hours that will prove his files/archive/university_press/21_witches/bod condemned son is innocent — it isn’t. Time Without Pity was released on VHS in ytext_witch.pdf. There is a link to the book Many condemned people professing their 1995, and is available for purchase on Jus- on JD’s website at, http://justicedenied.org. innocence have been granted a reprieve tice Denied’s website at, only hours prior to their scheduled execu- http://justicedenied.org/movies.htm tion, and later exonerated. Some of those JUSTICE DENIED: THE MAGAZINE FOR THE WRONGLY CONVICTED PAGE 22 ISSUE 33 - SUMMER 2006.