Beyond This Place (1959 film)

Beyond This Place
UK release poster
Directed by	Jack Cardiff
Written by	Ken Taylor
Story by	A. J. Cronin
Based on	Beyond This Place by A. J. Cronin
Produced by	Maxwell Setton John R. Sloan
Starring	Van Johnson Vera Miles Emlyn Williams Bernard Lee
Cinematography	Wilkie Cooper
Edited by	Ernest Walter
Music by	Douglas Gamley
Distributed by	Renown Pictures
Release date	18 October 1959 (1959-10-18)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Beyond This Place (released in the United States as Web of Evidence) is a 1959 British crime mystery film directed by Jack Cardiff and starting Van Johnson and Vera Miles. It was written by Ken Taylor based on the 1950 novel of the same title by A. J. Cronin.

Plot

The opening credits roll over images of a father playing with his young son in a wood and sailing a toy yacht on a pond. We then jump to Liverpool during the Blitz in the Second World War. A woman (it is implied she is a prostitute) tells a man she is pregnant, then he goes home to see his wife and children. The police arrive at his door and ask what he knows of the murder of the prostitute.

The story jumps to 1959 and the man's son (Paul) is sailing back into Liverpool "to clear things up". He is shocked when a local shopkeeper tells him that Mr Oswald saved his father's life: "that is why he wasn't hanged... for the murder". He knows nothing of any of this.

He heads to the library and starts reading through old newspapers from 1941. Eventually he finds "Liverpool Girl Murdered: Man Questioned". He then finds an article linked "Man Charged". The librarian has to usher him out as the library closes.

When he eventually gets to the core of the story it appears that the police have covered the truth. But when he goes to see his father in prison at the point of release he is deeply disappointed in his character: he wants whisky and a prostitute as soon as possible. Paul says he is ashamed of him.

But Paul is determined to help him, and the film ends on a hopeful note.

Cast

• Van Johnson as Paul Mathry
• Vera Miles as Lena Anderson
• Emlyn Williams as Enoch Oswald
• Bernard Lee as Patrick Mathry
• Jean Kent as Louise Burt
• Moultrie Kelsall as Chief Inspector Dale
• Leo McKern as McEvoy
• Ralph Truman as Sir Matthew Sprott
• Geoffrey Keen as prison governor
• Jameson Clark as Swann
• Rosalie Crutchley as Ella Mathry
• Oliver Johnston as Prusty
• Joyce Heron as Catherine, Lady Sprott
• Anthony Newlands as Dunn
• Vincent Winter as Paul Mathry (as a child)
• Henry Oscar as Alderman Sharpe
• John Glyn-Jones as magistrate
• Hope Jackman as Mrs. Hanley
• Michael Collins as Detective Sergeant Trevor
• Danny Green as Roach
• Josephine Bell as woman passing by
• Jacky Bell as little boy passing by

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Beyond This Place attempts some fairly strong criticisms of the English legal system, and explores the effect of long-term imprisonmeat upon the individual. But stripped of the particular social and moral climate of Cronin's novel, the film's early promise of a detailed investigation into the shortcomings of legal procedure is unrealised. This failure to establish a specific target, or to take a stand on the many issues raised, is largely due to the rigidly conventional treatment  ... Jack Cardiff's direction is rather lifeless, with some ragged location shooting and typically drooping performances by Van Johnson and Vera Miles."

Variety wrote: "This straightforward plot is given a fair amount of bite by Cardiff's direction. Though the ending rather falls apart unconvincingly, Kenneth Taylor's screenplay moves doggedly and interestingly towards the payoff. Wilkie Cooper's lensing heips to capture the Liverpool atmosphere."

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Rather lackadaisical sentimental mystery."

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Cameraman-turned-director Jack Cardiff was still finding his feet with this, his second film. It's a rather turgid tale about a grown-up wartime evacuee who returns to England to clear his dad of murder. Anglophile Van Johnson is not an ideal lead, though he furrows his brow nicely, but there's a fine British supporting cast. The budget limitations are obvious, despite the presence of US import Vera Miles and a brief location shoot in Liverpool."

External links

• Web of Evidence at Turner Classic Movies
• Web of Evidence at IMDb