Some time ago, Alec Graham was sentenced to die following the death of his girlfriend. Amazingly enough, Alec's father, David (Michael Redgrave),never learns about this until it seems too late as he's been in in-patient treatment for his alcoholism. He manages to make it to Britain the day before the boy's to be executed. Considering that David is a drunk and was never there for Alec, there's no surprise when the young man wants nothing to do with him nor his promises to help him. During the duration of the film, David reinvestigates the case. Could he possibly help? And, can David stay sober long enough to be of some use?

There is a big problem with the film...it seems pretty obvious who is the real killer and it should be to everyone. This guy is super-angry and very explosive all the time, you wonder why he wasn't considered a prime suspect or, perhaps, he knows more than he's telling. It defies common sense...which makes for a more mediocre film. Too bad...it could have easily been better...though the ending was pretty good.

Exiled from the USA because of the blacklist Joseph Losey did some of his best work in the United Kingdom and he has a really good thriller here. Not much of a mystery other than the question is why couldn't the police see who it was in the first place.

Young Alec McCowen is now on death row after his girlfriend was found strangled to death in her family's home where he had been spending the weekend. Like father like son, Michael Redgrave an alcoholic writer who has been living in Canada comes back to the UK to visit with his son now on death row. He's been convicted of her death and was too drunk at the time to offer any meaningful evidence in his defense.

It was at Leo McKern's home where the deed was done. He's a foulmouthed ill tempered automobile manufacturer who terrorizes his family like wife Ann Todd and son Paul Daneman who is McCowen's best friend. He's also a bit unbalanced and everyone around him is afraid.

The real suspense is in Redgrave battling his own demons and not returning to the bottle. The pressure to do so is great, but Redgrave summons up enough strength to resist. It's a masterful very subtly cerebral type performance. He and McKern take the acting honors.

For fans of Redgrave and McKern this is a must.

TIME WITHOUT PITY is a British drama with some unusually dark and well-drawn characters in the cast. The lead actor is the great Michael Redgrave (DEAD OF NIGHT) who plays a washed-up alcoholic who arrives in England from Canada when he learns that his son has been accused of murder and is due to be hanged shortly.

Redgrave believes that his son is innocent and must work to uncover the real culprit and bring him to justice before his son hangs, but it won't be an easy job, especially when the stress of the situation gets to him and he begins drinking again. As such, TIME WITHOUT PITY is a rather depressing and grimly realistic movie despite the contrivances of the plot; it feels more like THE LOST WEEKEND than a thriller in its depiction of the depths the human spirit will sink to.

The supporting cast is very good including a stand-out turn from a young Leo McKern. Renee Houston, Lois Maxwell, Ann Todd, and Joan Plowright are the females of the cast, while Peter Cushing plays a lawyer just before he made the big time in THE CURSE OF FRANKNSTEIN, and there's a brief role for fellow Hammer actor Richard Wordsworth. I wouldn't call this a perfect film by any means, but the twist ending is particularly good and worth the wait.