CELEBRATING 70 YEARS! : JUDGMENT DEFERRED .. BFD PRODUCTIONS / GROUP 3 .. 1952 .. UK ..

 A.B.F.D Productions

From Group 3

Presents

An Associated British Release

" JUDGMENT DEFERRED "

Starring

Hugh Sinclair   Helen Shingler   Abraham Sofaer    Leslie Dwyer    Harry Locke    Elwyn Brook Jones

                 Wilfrid Walter Marie O'Neill Bransby Williams Bud Flanagan Edmundo Ros & Orchestra

                                                With Joan Collins as Lil Carter

Executive Producer -John Grierson Written by Barbara K Emery From a story by Herbert Ayres

     Director of Photography - Arthur Grant                     Produced & Directed by John Baxter

                             (c) 1952 Group 3 Productions 88 Mins B/W

"Judgment Deferred" was originally made in 1933 under the title "Doss House", by the same director John Baxter. This was Joan's third film following "The Woman's Angle" and she finally gets a speaking role and much more screen time than in the previous two films. Before shooting this movie, Joan tested for the part of Alan Ladd's girlfriend in a film called "The Red Beret". The role eventually went to Susan Stephen whose career fizzled out in the late fifties after she married director Nicolas Roeg. Joan also did a test with heart throb Dirk Bogarde for another film.

The script described Joan's character Lil as,
" A once beautiful girl, fallen on hard times through drink, drugs and deprivation!"
Publicity cited the role as,
" An exciting and emotional role of a one time beautiful girl, a convicts daughter, ruined by the colourful and dangerous crowd in which she has sought pleasure!"
The Evening News ran a review which read,
" Although so young for her emotional role, Joan Collins comes through with flying colours."

Press Release!

    "Brilliant New Screen Discovery!!"

"When two such veterans of the film industry as John Baxter and Bill Watts (Joan's 1st agent), think they have discovered a future star, then it's something to talk about! Joan Collins is the girl!"

Joan plays the role of Lil Carter, with a mix of streetwise, good-time girl and a naive teenager. We first see her decked in furs and all dolled up as she is the criminal mastermind Coxon's girlfriend. But later on, when he no longer wants her, she turns up the worse for wear, minus the furs and caked in dirt, rather than Max Factor! Joan is wonderful in the small but important role of a naive girl, who becomes smitten by a user. It was the first of many roles for Joan, where she plays wayward girls, who always get mixed up with the wrong type of men. She would later become labelled with titles such as "The Coffee Bar Jezebel" and it would be a few years before she finally got to play more mature roles.

Viewed today, "Judgment Deferred" is an unusual film, with interesting characters and certainly worth a viewing.

Sadly 'Judgment Deferred' is not currently on dvd, so one hopes Network or the BFI might release the film in the near future...