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      Town Without Pity

      Released Oct 10, 1961 1h 45m Drama List
      60% 5 Reviews Tomatometer 73% 250+ Ratings Audience Score Army attorney Maj. Steve Garrett (Kirk Douglas) must defend four American soldiers -- part of the forces occupying a small town in Germany -- who drunkenly raped a 19-year-old girl (Christine Kaufmann). The girl's enraged father demands the soldiers receive the death penalty. Determined to defend the men's lives, Garrett demolishes the girl on the witness stand. When she faints before completing testimony, the defendants are spared, but tragedy follows. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

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      Steve D There is a lot of victim blaming here and I don't think it is just from the characters. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 07/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Under-appreciated drama of a military defense attorney (Kirk Douglas) trying to save four men from the death penalty for a rape they committed. He faces a moral and ethical dilemma when he learns of her prior promiscuous behavior. Knowing that the town will turn against her if he reveals she's perjured herself he tries to convince the victim's obstinate father from having her return to the stand, which would save the rapists from the death sentence. Douglas and Christine Kaufmann (the victim) are super as are direction & cinematography (although, the print aired on TCM is substandard). The score by Dimitri Tiomkin has excellent moments, but at times feels too ostentatious. Script was mostly adapted from a book by an un-credited Dalton Trumbo. Highly recommended. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Between a 6/10 and 7/10, A picture that raises important moral and judicial questions must do so in terms of rounded, dimensional characters if it is to register with impact. Town without Pity fails in this regard save for Douglas' electrifying performance. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member The courtroom drama is strong, but the jazzy soundtrack is all wrong for this film. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member The Ugly Hate the Beautiful and the Poor Hate the Rich--Gripping, powerful, shocking for its time!! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review flixster f A bit numb courtroom drama. It wasn't tense, emotional, thrilling or gripping enough. It rather seemed to focus more on the state of the town's mindset. And it wasn't an appealing approach. Strong dialogues and aggressive performances might have helped. Otherwise, except for the Berta Kulig's testimony sequence, there isn't much in terms of entertainment. On the whole, numb as it is, it's still a watchable piece. More or less. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Further Reading: Remember the Song, Remember Town Without Pity?

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      Town Without Pity

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      Critics Reviews

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      Michael W. Phillips, Jr. Goatdog's Movies If it had more going for it than [Kirk] Douglas's electrifying performance ... I'd recommend it Rated: 2.5/5 Dec 31, 2009 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews A grim courtroom drama about a shocking gang rape. Rated: C+ Feb 5, 2007 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Jul 5, 2005 Full Review Pablo Villaça Cinema em Cena Moralmente complexo, o filme analisa a estigmatizao das vtimas de estupro e conta com uma atuao brilhante de Douglas como um homem torturado por seus deveres. Rated: 4/5 Feb 27, 2004 Full Review Christopher Null Filmcritic.com Rated: 3/5 Apr 1, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Army attorney Maj. Steve Garrett (Kirk Douglas) must defend four American soldiers -- part of the forces occupying a small town in Germany -- who drunkenly raped a 19-year-old girl (Christine Kaufmann). The girl's enraged father demands the soldiers receive the death penalty. Determined to defend the men's lives, Garrett demolishes the girl on the witness stand. When she faints before completing testimony, the defendants are spared, but tragedy follows.
      Director
      Gottfried Reinhardt
      Distributor
      United Artists
      Production Co
      The Mirisch Corporation [us], Gloria Film
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Oct 10, 1961, Original
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Jan 8, 2016
      Runtime
      1h 45m