Escape [1948] [DVD]

A dark story of injustice, charting the hopelessness of a fugitive not from justice but from the law, which has failed in giving justice. Rex Harrison is a former war hero who defends a defenseless girl in a park and accidentally gets into more trouble than he bargained for, with fatal consequences, for a villain who deserved it, and for himself, who has to survive it. It's a great story by John Galsworthy with many instructive insights on the way. It's kind of an exploration of the problems of injustice. Anyway, risking his life and prolonged sentence by escaping, he does win something on the way, which he wouldn't if he hadn't risked everything for freedom.

Joseph Mankiewicz' direction displays all the literary deserts of the story and communicates it well with clarity and detached poignancy. It's a small film but the greater for its spartan concentration, containing much more than what any film can show.