the audience applauded

Just so...so bad

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

This 1959 film for MGM is a British production with an American star. In its pairing of Hollywood legend Olivia de Havilland, in one of only half-a-dozen roles she played in the 1950s, and Rank's leading man Dirk Bogarde, 'Libel' might seem to promise the same twin-star power of Bogarde's later pairing with Judy Garland in 1963's 'I Could Go On Singing'. Or, at least, that's what I was hoping for.Adapted from a courtroom drama, and a fairly convoluted one at that, the film is somewhat bogged down by its lengthy central courtroom scenes and obligatory flashbacks. Nevertheless, there is much of merit to enjoy in the production, especially for fans of British film actors of the 1950s and 1960s.Paul Massie (who played Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for Hammer) gives an energetic performance as a Canadian airman who suspects a fellow prisoner-of-war of being an impostor. He carries the first part of the film with strong support from a young Millicent Martin (of 'That Was The Week That Was' fame) as a girl whom he befriends because she owns a television he wants to use to watch Dirk Bogarde. Well, after all, who wouldn't want to watch Dirk Bogarde on TV? Bogarde "greyed up" in other films, notably 1961's 'Victim', and here he does so in order to appear with dark hair as his younger self in flashback, but his measured performance as an older man is nonetheless a drag on the action until Massie arrives at his stately home to challenge his identity. And so it's off to court we go. Is Bogarde really Sir Mark Loddon the 7th Baronet, or is he in fact an actor by the name of Frank Welney?Those with sufficient experience of how to plot a courtroom drama will be able to follow every step and predict the vast majority of them. Olivia de Havilland wrestles with a difficult part and loses by two falls and a submission. I'm sure I spotted at least one moment where she was channelling a schlock Joan Crawford, while at other times she joins Bogarde in a performance so measured it's boring.At least there's plenty of Dirk on the screen, but in truth even his best efforts can't make the character of Sir Mark Loddon all that convincing. All the same, fans of Bogarde - myself included - will enjoy watching him try. Probably his finest moments, however, are in flashback as frustrated thespian Frank Welney, where Dirk gives us just a whismy of luvviness by way of contrast with upper-crust Sir Mark. In the first flashback scene, he's also particularly well served by some ambitious trompe-l'oeil special effects - judicious use of the pause button is recommended to help you work out how it's done.The film features several judicious supporting turns from Robert Morley, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Richard Wattis as counsel for the prosecution, defence counsel and judge respectively. There is also a pair of marvellous cameos for star-spotters, which I won't spoil other than to tell you which characters to look out for. See if you can name two very different actors both making early film appearances playing nosy newspaper photographers.I was able to see this film on a DVD imported from Spain. It boasts a crisp but unrestored 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen black-and-white print and good clear audio, with the exception of a few momentary dropouts at certain scene breaks, one of which did interrupt a good line of dialogue from Paul Massie. Massie unfortunately drifts into the background in the second half of the film as the Dirk flashbacks get going in earnest.There just aren't enough truly first-rate courtroom drama movies, and so the second-rate ones are always worth a look for aficionados. I'm certainly glad to have seen 'Libel', and as a Bogarde fan I'll probably keep it in my collection now that I have a copy, but it could be quite a while before I decide to dust it off for a second viewing.

In Libel, Olivia de Havilland and Dirk Bogarde are paired as a married couple whose perfect yet vulnerable world is on display for all to see. The lavishly mounted production was filmed at MGM's studio in Britain.The use of close-ups by director Anthony Asquith to give us clues about the emotional states of the characters during trial testimony is very well done-- especially with de Havilland who does not have much dialogue in these scenes before she is finally put on the stand. She conveys as much with her eyes as a silent film actress would: the surprise, anguish, horror, confusion and conviction of her character. When Number 15 enters the courtroom, Asquith is using a moving camera to get the reaction shots of the key players. He keeps us close, up on the characters' faces, as they react...and that is the emotional turning point of the whole film.Dirk Bogarde performs multiple roles in Libel. The trick photography is very good, especially a scene in flashback, when he is in the hut during the war. As one of his characters walks past the other, the shadow that is cast over the face of the other Bogarde is perfectly timed and indicates the double was exactly the right height. Therefore, it did seem like there were two actors instead of one doing two characters.Of course, an astute viewer knows the medallion would be the item that saves Mark (Bogarde's good guy character) in the end. But having it come after de Havilland denounces him in court and rails against him at home carries a great deal more impact.This is a deliciously plotted thriller, even if a bit contrived in some places. Though it could easily have veered from a psychological study into horror claptrap, the fairly restrained performances of the actors keep it in check.

In London, veteran pilot Paul Massie (as Jeffrey "Jeff" Buckenham) sees a former World War II buddy on television. The show's reporter is interviewing handsome British aristocrat Dirk Bogarde (as Mark Sebastian Loddon) and his American wife Olivia de Havilland (as Margaret "Maggie" Loddon) about Mr. Bogarde's notable family estate. Bogarde has trouble remembering events from prior to his years as a prisoner of war in Germany. The experience made his memory unreliable and his hair turn grey, according to Bogarde. After watching the broadcast, Mr. Massie declares Bogarde an impostor..."Libel" ends up being a little confusing, even though the identity problems in the plot are cleared up satisfactorily. For most of the running tome, the story favors one conclusion, making it seem less like a mystery; Bogarde does an excellent job, considering. Distracting, but important in the script, is his "grey" hair color. He looks more like a younger, blond man while his co-star's dated hairstyle makes Ms. De Havilland look like the older woman. Their age difference, five years, wasn't that big. As dueling lawyers, Robert Morley and Wilfrid Hyde-White ensure the courtroom scenes play engagingly.******* Libel (10/23/59) Anthony Asquith ~ Dirk Bogarde, Olivia de Havilland, Paul Massie, Robert Morley

This movie employs good actors, particularly some of the great English character actors of the time. However, the premise of the plot- one person changing identities with another, ruined the movie for me. What I don't understand, and wish some other movie buff could explain, how do writers get paid for stories when they show an complete lack of basic understanding of the military. Even way back in WWII, English soldiers were fingerprinted, and most soldiers wore their dog tags religiously, particularly those who served in combat. I would imagine a baron would be particularly concerned that his remains arrive back in the family plot. These two facts of military life were never explained. The final insult to our intelligence came when a uniform of a near comatose patient is presented in the court room. Since the war ended in 1945, and the setting of the movie was contempory (1959), 14 years had elapsed. What happened to the soldier's identification tags? What efforts had been made to notify the patient's family? In real life, the question of responsibility would have generated a search to determine whether the patient was a British soldier. The two main characters were captured at the evacuation at Dunkirk, often referred as the Miracle of Dunkirk because 400,000 soldiers did excape. The number of majors captured at Dunkirk would have been relatively small, and if a hospital was stuck with a patient for long term care, it stands to reason a serious effort would be made to determine who their patient was.