The English in this film are Charles Laughton, Ann Todd, Leo G. For an English based film most of the cast is American. I guess Valli had a touch of the exotic for him as she did for Joseph Cotten in The Third Man. Kind of hard to understand because at home he's got a porcelain goddess in the person of Ann Todd who definitely rates as one of Hitchcock's cool blonds. He plays an English barrister who starts crushing out on his beautiful client who in this case is Alida Valli. This was Gregory Peck's second and last film with Alfred Hitchcock. Overall, a disappointing Hitchcock, considering the cast and how good so many of Hitchcock's other films are, but hardly a film so bad that you prefer to forget it ever existed. The characters are not particularly well drawn, the most interesting are Valli's and especially Laughton's, while if Todd and Barrymore hadn't done as well as they had their characters would have made no impression whatsoever. Everything just felt stilted and overwrought, the courtroom scenes especially could have been so intriguing but the unbelievable dialogue just let things significantly. The script is a mix of overly-melodramatic soap opera and too-wordy courtroom scenes. The story feels much too thin and stretched out, which made the film feel overlong, and the turgid pacing makes it even duller. The story and script are the main culprits. There are other problems with The Paradine Case though too. His British accent doesn't convince at all either. I do like Peck especially in To Kill a Mockingbird, but here in stiff and remote form I don't think I've seen him this uncomfortable before. I personally however found Gregory Peck miscast in the lead role. Ann Todd gives a loyal and deeply felt performance, but like Barrymore is given little to do in a role that is somewhat of a cliché. Caroll and Joan Tretzel are equally fine. Charles Coburn is nicely understated in one of the more fleshed-out roles of the film, Louis Jourdan makes a promising debut while Leo G.
The scene between her and Laughton at the end is indeed chilling. Ethel Barrymore has very little to do and was deserving of a better developed subplot and character, but this is an example of a support performance in this position that makes the most of what they have, Barrymore did very well in that respect. Alida Valli is beautiful and mysterious, very magnetic to watch, if perhaps rather cold for some viewers. Coming off best is Charles Laughton, who literally chews the scenery and it was a shrewd, somewhat malevolent and gleefully hammy performance of a truly beastly character indeed. And a vast majority of the cast are very good. The music is memorable and ominous, but never obvious. Some of the shots are really inspired, the beginning with Alida Valli being arrested was the standout while the shot introducing Louis Jourdan is quite innovative Hitchcock's direction is good and thoughtful enough, if not quite as involved as it usually is, I think how the story is dealt with is part of why and studio interference being another factor. As always with Hitchcock's films The Paradine Case is well made, everything is very slick and evocatively shot. And unfortunately The Paradine Case, while not a disaster in any shape or form, is one of them.
While I don't consider any of Alfred Hitchcock's films truly terrible- then again there may be some bias as he is my favourite director- I do think there are some disappointments in his resume.
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