6.2
John Harris finds himself ostracized and placed on trial for allowing his daughter Ruth to die. His religious beliefs forbade him to give consent for a blood transfusion that would have saved her life. Doctor Brown is determined to seek justice for what he sees as the needless death of a young girl.
Michael Craig
John Harris
Patrick McGoohan
Dr Brown
Janet Munro
Pat Harris
Paul Rogers
Hart Jacobs
Malcolm Keen
Mr Harris Sr
Megs Jenkins
Mrs Gordon
Michael Bryant
John's Counsel
Leslie Sands
Clyde
Norman Wooland
Counsel for the Crown
John Barrie
Mr Gordon
Walter Hudd
Judge
Michael Aldridge
Harvard
Basil Dignam
Mapleton
Frank Finlay
Teddy's Father
Maureen Pryor
Teddy's Mother
Kenneth J. Warren
Sergeant Finley
Ellen McIntosh
Duty Sister
John Welsh
Marshall
Maurice Colbourne
Vicar
Freddy Ramsey
Teddy
Lynn Taylor
Ruth
Brian Wilde
Newspaper Photographer
Charles Simon
Custody Sergeant
Frank Gatliff
Barrister
Victor Harrington
Court Clerk
Alastair Hunter
Jury Foreman
Philip Ray
Curate
Director
Basil Dearden
Writer
Janet Green
Writer
James McCormick
June 22, 2022
7
Michael Craig turns in a strong, emotional, performance in this thought provoking drama. He takes his young daughter and her friend from next door on a trip to the seaside. They get into some difficulties and though he ("Harris") manages to rescue both children, it is soon clear that his hospitalised daughter "Ruth" will need a blood transfusion if she is to survive. The doctor "Brown" (Patrick McGoohan) assumes that consent will be readily forthcoming from the father and his wife "Pat" (Janet Munro) but when he discovers that they have religious convictions that will not permit this intervention, a tragedy looms large - and is promptly delivered upon the family. The doctor seeks a prosecution as he felt the father was criminally negligent in the care of his child, and what now ensues is a delicately balanced analysis - played out in a courtroom - of the relative merits of his case and that of the doctor, and of the position the "law" might reasonably take. What would you do, if it were your child? That's the obvious question and Munro is excellent as the emotional and conflicted mother and wife, with Messrs. Craig and McGoohan performing sensitively too, polarising family and community attitudes and posing questions about the value of life, choice and religious freedoms in a fashion that does give us a conclusion, but one tinged with guilt and regret. It is still a subject dealt with in courts around the world 50 years later, and does make you think.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00