TIME WITHOUT PITY is a British drama with some unusually dark and well-drawn characters in the cast. The lead actor is the great Michael Redgrave (DEAD OF NIGHT) who plays a washed-up alcoholic who arrives in England from Canada when he learns that his son has been accused of murder and is due to be hanged shortly.
Redgrave believes that his son is innocent and must work to uncover the real culprit and bring him to justice before his son hangs, but it won't be an easy job, especially when the stress of the situation gets to him and he begins drinking again. As such, TIME WITHOUT PITY is a rather depressing and grimly realistic movie despite the contrivances of the plot; it feels more like THE LOST WEEKEND than a thriller in its depiction of the depths the human spirit will sink to.
The supporting cast is very good including a stand-out turn from a young Leo McKern. Renee Houston, Lois Maxwell, Ann Todd, and Joan Plowright are the females of the cast, while Peter Cushing plays a lawyer just before he made the big time in THE CURSE OF FRANKNSTEIN, and there's a brief role for fellow Hammer actor Richard Wordsworth. I wouldn't call this a perfect film by any means, but the twist ending is particularly good and worth the wait.
Redgrave believes that his son is innocent and must work to uncover the real culprit and bring him to justice before his son hangs, but it won't be an easy job, especially when the stress of the situation gets to him and he begins drinking again. As such, TIME WITHOUT PITY is a rather depressing and grimly realistic movie despite the contrivances of the plot; it feels more like THE LOST WEEKEND than a thriller in its depiction of the depths the human spirit will sink to.
The supporting cast is very good including a stand-out turn from a young Leo McKern. Renee Houston, Lois Maxwell, Ann Todd, and Joan Plowright are the females of the cast, while Peter Cushing plays a lawyer just before he made the big time in THE CURSE OF FRANKNSTEIN, and there's a brief role for fellow Hammer actor Richard Wordsworth. I wouldn't call this a perfect film by any means, but the twist ending is particularly good and worth the wait.