The Winslow Boy (1949)

In 1912, a scandal erupted in Britain about a Navel College cadet expelled for stealing postage. The boy's father, a well-connected upper-class British banker, fought to clear his son's name and, in the process, ruined his own social standing, as the case became a cause célèbre. Terence Rattigan wrote a play about the incident and turned it into a screenplay for director Anthony Asquith. The movie, The Winslow Boy, changes the family's name but is heavily fact-based. It makes for a gripping character drama that centers on the fraying bond between the father (Cedric Hardwicke) and the son (Neil North) and a growing attraction between the boy's older sister (Margaret Leighton), whose engagement has been called off due to the scandal, and an egotistical, high-profile attorney (Robert Donat) who is helping the family's case. It's a surprisingly effective film, with an unusual story about class, family, politics, and the conflicting demands of loyalty that each one commands. Well received in Great Britain but little noticed elsewhere, the film was remade splendidly in 1999 by David Mamet. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide