The Accused (1949)

The Accused At Noir City, D.C.

The annual Noir City D.C. film festival held at the beautiful AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring has as its theme this year "They Tried To Warn Us", featuring 1940s and 1950s noir movies with contemporary themes. I eagerly attend the Noir Festival every year and saw today "The Accused", a 1949 movie starring Loretta Young and directed by William Dieterle. Eddie Muller, known as the "Czar of Noir" and the founder of the Film Noir Foundation introduced the film.

The contemporary theme of "The Accused" is the "me too" movement or, broadly, feminism. The film was based upon a novel written by a woman, June Truesdell's "Be Still my Love" with a screenplay by a woman. Loretta Young plays Wilma Tuttle, a gifted and ambitious psychology professor, who becomes unwittingly entangled with one of her students. On a deserted cliff over the ocean, the student tries to rape Wilma Tuttle. She kills him accidentally and in self-defense and then covers up the killing to make it look like an accident.

Tuttle's feelings about her actions and efforts to avoid detection are at the center of the film. The prim, unattached Tuttle is approached by two men, a defense attorney who was the guardian of the man she killed and a detective investigating the death. The detective quickly and subtly sees that Tuttle is the prime suspect. Tuttle's feelings and the ongoing investigation are intertwined in the film with a degree of suspense and uncertainty remaining at the conclusion.

The film shows a woman main character and also is based on a book and screenplay by women. It begins with a theme of male sexual abuse and rape. Thus, the film has ample material to be included in a Noir Festival on the theme "They Tried to Warn Us". Portions of the film, however, are less likely to endear themselves to a feminist audience as Wilma Tuttle becomes increasingly concerned about her appearance and sexual appeal as the relationship between her and the young defense attorney develops. Several characters offer observations on how an intellectual, career-oriented woman changed her focus in life upon receiving male attention. Some of the scenes and comments provoked laughter from the audience at the film

This film rewards watching based on Lorretta Young's performance and the twisting story line. It is also valuable as a reminder of how social mores change. I enjoyed getting to know this film and found it an excellent, provocative choice for a Film Noir festival on the theme "They Tried to Warn Us".

Robin Friedman