This is an immensely enjoyable suspense film -- one that creates layers upon layers of mystery. I was kept guessing all the way to the final moments. A knockout!
Sydney Greenstreet plays a highly talented criminal investigator and prosecuting attorney. Unfortunately, he helps to convict a man who is later executed, and then found to have been innocent. As a result, Greenstreet is forced to "retire". Following this, he closely follows a murder case where a young man is killed in his own bed -- inside a locked room, no less.
George Coulouris is the new investigator in charge of the case. Of course, he had been instrumental in strong-arming Greenstreet into premature "retirement".
The plot then follows how Greenstreet out-thinks and out-maneuvers Coulouris at every turn. He is assisted in this through his amiable and witty companionship with Peter Lorre -- a hard-drinking artist. This makes for a crackerjack suspense thriller; one that is bound to entertain, startle, and totally engage the viewer. I completely enjoyed the heck out of it.
The supporting cast is also absolutely first rate. You will see many film veterans of the wonderful Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies -- including the murder victim himself. And I must add that Lorre and Greenstreet have never been better. Lorre's performance as a slightly soused artist who draws intricate crime scenes, is both subtle and outrageously nuanced. Greenstreet, as usual, commands the screen. He is brilliant, humorous, and thoroughly charismatic. Even the landlady of the murder victim is sensational. You just can't go wrong with this cast.
Don Siegel's direction, from early in his career, is assured, stylish, and sparkling. He is totally in control. The sets, production design, and editing are all excellent. And the lighting and photography, with powerful noir overtones, are moody, rich, and add immeasurably to the suspense and gothic atmosphere of the film.
This is a first class piece of filmmaking, all round. I honestly did not predict the ending; the surprise was a real stunner. And the explanation of the "locked room" mystery took my breath away.
I highly recommend this exciting firecracker of a film. I'm willing to bet that you will be tantalized and thrilled in equal measure.

This is THE VERDICT that doesn't star Paul Newman and James Mason. This is THE VERDICT that sets its tale in a foggy and gaslit Victorian London, in the year 1890. The atmosphere is appropriately noirish and even gothic, a stylish backdrop to complement the theatrical antics of Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre, as odd a couple as you'll ever set eyes on.

Greenstreet was an expansive man, in girth and in acting prowess. Shame it is that he waited until he was 61 before making his cinematic debut. As it were, he was featured in quite a few memorable roles, none more incandescent than his casting of the eloquent "Kasper Gutman" in THE MALTESE FALCON. Still, his performance in 1946's THE VERDICT as Scotland Yard's cocksure Superintendent Grodman can't be dismissed.

Except that the film opens with the puncturing of Superintendent Grodman's ego and credibility, as evidence surfaces which exonerates a man he'd just swung on the gallows. Grodman retires in abject shame, forfeiting his position to a loathed rival, the insufferable Inspector John R. Buckley who doesn't shy from crowing about his superior detecting skills. He lectures Grodman: "There's always a clue..."

The narrative picks up some time later as the ex-Superintendent Grodman and his good friend, the macabre artist Victor Emmric (Lorre), get embroiled in a locked room murder mystery. Superintendent Buckley lands the investigation but when called upon to deliver on his sleuthing chops, he doesn't quite. There are a number of sketchy suspects to choose from, not the least of which is that same Victor Emmric, a practically decadent character who persists in lobbing amusing asides and lurking in shadows. And since Peter Lorre also plays him with his trademark twitchiness, no wonder your suspicious eyes first flicker over to him.

Don Siegel directs his first feature film, and he does it with confidence and vigor and enviable craftsmanship, demonstrating promise and potential. Ernest Haller's cinematography lends oodles of texture and mood. I don't know that the mystery itself is so engrossing or elegant, although there is a delectable swerve at the end. Mostly, the draw to this film is whenever the majestic Greenstreet and the droll (and just a bit effete) Lorre share the camera. THE VERDICT is their ninth and final movie together, and they've got their patter and their synchronicity perfected, this pair exhibiting a respective flair for dialogue. Not to mention it's always intriguing to gaze at the contrast of their physiques. See them in this one and soak in, too, the evocative Victorian setting and a well-acted tale ultimately fueled by hubris, by fatal oneupmanship.

A most excellent story with the great Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre in a Scotland-Yard murder mystery involving doubts about the jury system, police investigations, and vigilantism!

5-stars all the way!

Well done with. A fabulous cast

This is one, as All the Lorre/Greenstreet movies, that Every Noir lover HAS To Have in their collection!!

Nope, not Paul Newman in this movie.... but if you like film noir, watch Mr. Greenstreet redeem himself and serve justice on a hidden malefactor.

GREAT CAST!! Wonderful movie. A great who-done-it and wonderful ending. I simply love this movie

many of the same cast as in Casablanca