Conduct Unbecoming (1975)

“I find that I cannot put the honor of the regiment above my own.” – 2nd Lt. Arthur Drake

Number of Times Seen – 1 (23 Feb 2020)

Brief Synopsis – Following an attack on the widow of an officer in the Regiment, an unofficial court martial is held against the accused in order to save face for the Regiment.

My Take on it – This is a movie that I came across by accident and was lured to it by the spectacular cast.

Michael York, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Trevor Howard, Stacy Keach, Christopher Plummer, Susannah York and James Faulkner add so much to the way that this story is perceived.

Since there are so many recognizable actors in these roles, it enhances things to the point where we don;t always know who to trust as the mystery unfolds.

The film’s dialogue is amazing and helps give us such a detailed account of everything going on even when the audience must use their imagination in order to grasp everything going on.

The way that they transfer this stage play to the screen works extremely well and allows for the story to be even more poignant due to the way that we get to see added visuals that are not possible within the realm of a stage.

The story is filled with some great twists and turns along the way that help keep the viewer on the edge of their seat due to the fact that things are constantly in motion and whenever we might think that something has clicked into place, they switch things around in some very unexpected ways that add so much to this story and plot.

Bottom Line – Great mystery that works really well. The cast is superb and that adds so much to the suspense because it is filled with so many famous actors playing these roles. The dialogue is amazingly written and it allows for us to get a clear picture of all that is transpiring even when we need to just use imagination for this. This is a great adaptation of a stage play for the screen and the various small changes made during the transfer to the screen help enhance things even more because it adds so much to the visual aspects of things. The twists and turns along the way work quite well in helping keep the viewer on the edge of their seat as things begin to fall in place and then are quickly switched unexpectedly. Recommended.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Veteran actor James Donald was coaxed out of retirement to play the doctor. It was Donald’s penultimate movie, with his final being The Big Sleep (1978). (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)