Serious Charge

Serious Charge (1959)

Never Has the Screen Been So Bold!

Howard Phillips, a vicar who's new in the town of Bellington, wants to reach out to youth. The previous vicar's daughter, Hester Peters, who fears being a spinster, wants to be his wife. He tells her he's not interested. When he confronts a tough kid about something the youth has done, the lad sets out to frame the vicar. Hester, who's walked in on the confrontation, backs the youth's story. The town sides with her and the lad, turning against Phillips. He has a crisis of faith. What options does he have; can no one help him, his reputation, or his calling?

Date of release
1959-04-30
TMDB
6.2 / 10 (10)
Runtime
1h 36m
Genres
Drama
Director
Terence Young

Casting

Interesting facts

Serious Charge is a 1959 British film, directed by Terence Young and starring Anthony Quayle, Sarah Churchill, Andrew Ray and Irene Browne. It was produced and co-written by Mickey Delamar and Guy Elmes, and adapted from the 1956 stage play of the same name by Philip King. The film is notable for the screen acting debut of Cliff Richard in a minor role.

Production

It was the film debut of Cliff Richard, at that time a teenage pop idol. Richard sings three songs written by Lionel Bart, although none is heard in its entirety: "No Turning Back", "Mad About You", and "Living Doll" (the latter a different version from the No. 1 hit in the British singles chart).

The scene at the lido was captured in three distinct versions. Harrison Marks model Jean Sporle appeared topless for the French market. In the second, she sported a bikini, catering to UK tastes. The third had her donning a petticoat for the US market.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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