"Arrest and Trial" A Flame in the Dark (TV Episode 1963) Poster

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3/10
Get ON with it already!!!!
berry127329 April 2021
A young boy "confesses" to accidentally shooting his mother.

An hour and a half was WAY too one for this plot line. The same conversations are made over and over.

Most of the characters are one note... Broderick Crawford especially... all he does is bark his lines in ever scene.

Bobby's character is a mixed bag... a lot of his scenes and dialogue should be a much older boy. Especially when he is talking to and about Cindy.

Perhaps if this had been a half hour show, all the padding would have to be cut away and we would have ended up with a more interesting show.
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3/10
Not all can be a gem.
mark.waltz2 April 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Dull and overwrought with a ton of outlandish overacting with the performances of Oscar winner Broderick Crawford (playing a less colorful variation of his characters in "All the King's Men" and "Born Yesterday") and young Barry Gordon ("The Spirit is Willing"), contemplating with bizarre dialog over the possibility that he shot and killed his own mother. Detective Ben Gazzara questions Gordon which leads to a very theatrical monologue By Gordon that seems to go on and on...and on.

Another man has been accused of the murder which took place right in front of Crawford at a moment of celebration, and Crawford wants no part of Chuck Connors' legal assistance. Going from being direct and tough on justice to busy body do-gooders, Gazzara and Connors through the writing do detrimental damage to their characters. Crawford could grate on the nerves with his blaring blowhard personality, but that was in films where he was going to be taken down, and that's not the case here, so his bellowing becomes annoying. Veteran character actress Connie Gilchrist gets the best moments as the housekeeper. A misfire that left me with a headache.
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