This play is a product of the depression, much like "Dead End", "The Petrified Forest" and "Tobacco Road". It is not something that could probably be revived today outside of theater companies that specialize in the most rare classics. Yet the themes resonate today: wrongful arrest, organized crime, extreme poverty and especially, mankind's incredible inhumanity. It is an adult themed film that requires attention to details, much like the same year's "Fury", and might stir up animosity towards a society that continues to psychologically slap the poor, the immigrant, and anybody deemed to be an outcast simply trying to find justice.
As a child, Burgess Meredith witnessed his father (John Carradine) sentenced to death, witnessed his father quietly place a curse on the judge for killing an innocent man, and witnessed the lights go off miles away in the death chamber. The sudden discussion of the case in law schools brings Meredith to New York to find some answers, and it leads to not only a confrontation with the criminal mastermind (Eduardo Cianelli) and the aged judge (Edward Ellis) who is now a shell of himself. Meredith must decide how he will deal with what he discovers, falling for the sweet Margo, ironically the sister of a much troubled man who was in the car who opened fire on the payroll manager whom Carradine was accused of killing.
With its poetic, almost Greek tragedy like set-up, "Winterset" isn't a feel good film of any nature. Residents of the slums dancing under the Brooklyn Bridge and ordered away from there by the police, a heavy downpour and segments of almost a dreamlike nature gives this a unique look. Meredith is outstanding in his film debut, and Ellis delivers a quiet, troubled performance that was deserving of Oscar recognition. This may not hold up completely today towards often long, awkward monologues, but any film that gets you thinking about social injustice of any kind can't be forgotten.
As a child, Burgess Meredith witnessed his father (John Carradine) sentenced to death, witnessed his father quietly place a curse on the judge for killing an innocent man, and witnessed the lights go off miles away in the death chamber. The sudden discussion of the case in law schools brings Meredith to New York to find some answers, and it leads to not only a confrontation with the criminal mastermind (Eduardo Cianelli) and the aged judge (Edward Ellis) who is now a shell of himself. Meredith must decide how he will deal with what he discovers, falling for the sweet Margo, ironically the sister of a much troubled man who was in the car who opened fire on the payroll manager whom Carradine was accused of killing.
With its poetic, almost Greek tragedy like set-up, "Winterset" isn't a feel good film of any nature. Residents of the slums dancing under the Brooklyn Bridge and ordered away from there by the police, a heavy downpour and segments of almost a dreamlike nature gives this a unique look. Meredith is outstanding in his film debut, and Ellis delivers a quiet, troubled performance that was deserving of Oscar recognition. This may not hold up completely today towards often long, awkward monologues, but any film that gets you thinking about social injustice of any kind can't be forgotten.