Most TV medical dramas at one stage or another do the story about the family who won't let their child do a blood transfusion due to religious reasons. This gives it the feature film treatment, which makes you think "is there enough story there for a feature?" and you'd be right... for the most part. Because this was actually quite well done, and I liked it more than I would.
The opening 30 minutes has the accident, the transfusion refused, and the kid's dead and the parents worry. And you think "where's it going to go from here?" What happens is the doctor (Patrick McGoohan) is so annoyed that he arranges for a private prosecution of the dad (Michael Craig) for manslaughter and it goes to trial.
This was made by the team of Basil Dearden and Michael Relph, known for their socially conscious films like Victim. Victim was better drama because it was a mystery, you didn't know everything - and also there were stronger emotional stakes. I mean, there are big stakes here, the kid is dead, but after 30 minutes the kid is dead, there's nothing for the second two acts.
I think McGoohan needed to be in love with Janet Munro, who plays Craig's wife. He could've gone out with Munro, who left him for Craig and converted, so there is an emotional element. I also felt there needed to be a second kid, one who was alive (could be unborn if need be) so they are fighting over who raises the second child - to keep the stakes alive. I guess you have the stakes of Munro/Craig marriage but... they're just going to be sad all the time, you don't really care.
Excellent performances from Craig and McGoohan; Munro is good too though she doesn't have that much to play other than "sad" and "overruled by her husband". The film would've been better had she been given something more to do. Great work from the guy who plays Craig's defence barrister -a live wire. Good too is the bloke who plays the prosecuting lawyer.
I went in with low expectations of this and they were exceeded. But you can see why it wasn't popular and helped end Allied Film Makers.
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