History Film / BeyondAReasonableDoubt

* EveryCarIsAPinto: Which is a bad thing for both Austin and Tom--bad for Austin because he dies in a fireball after his car is hit by a truck, and bad for Tom because Austin had all the exculpatory photos and documents in his car, where they are burned to a crisp.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
* GoldDigger:
** Dolly is a pretty grubby one, describing Tom as "the best score I've made in a long time."

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Tom says he "had to" marry Patty, implying it's because she [[TheBabyTrap claimed to be pregnant]], something a film wouldn't openly say then. Susan also makes a just barely veiled request for sex.
--> '''Susan''': But I feel like dancing now.\\
'''Tom''': All right. Where?\\
'''Susan''': I've never seen your apartment.

* INeverSaidItWasPoison: Tom and Susan are deliriously happy over Tom's exculpation and imminent pardon, when Tom makes the mistake of wondering who really killed "Emma". Susan picks up on this immediately, noting that this detail, that Patty's real name was Emma Blucher, was never revealed. Tom then admits that Emma Blucher was his wife, and he really did kill her, in order to free himself to marry Susan.

* GoldDigger: Dolly is a pretty grubby one, describing Tom as "the best score I've made in a long time."

* IdiotBall: Or maybe PlotHole...but since Tom turned out to be guilty after all, why in the name of all that's holy did he agree to this scheme in the first place? Why deliberately implicate yourself in a murder that you actually committed and have gotten away with? Apparently he thought nobody in their right mind would suspect he ''did'' do it after getting exonerated, but that backfired horribly.

Andrews is Tom Garrett, a former newspaperman turned author engaged to Susan Spencer (Fontaine), the daughter of his old boss, newspaper publisher Austin Spencer. Austin Spencer is an anti-death penalty activist who at the beginning of the movie has taken Tom to see an execution. Austin springs an idea on Tom: expose the death penalty for an injustice by planting circumstantial evidence suggesting someone is guilty, then reveal the truth after the innocent man is convicted and sentenced to death. The front-page articles about the murder of a local stripper named Patty Gray provide the opportunity Tom and Austin are looking for, and Tom volunteers to set himself up. Tom is convicted as planned, but that's all right, as Austin is ready to clear his name... until ThePlotReaper intervenes, and Tom is facing the death penalty for real.

Andrews is Tom Garrett, a former newspaperman turned author engaged to Susan Spencer (Fontaine), the daughter of his old boss, newspaper publisher Austin Spencer. Austin Spencer is an anti-death penalty activist who at the beginning of the movie has taken Tom to see an execution. Austin springs an idea on Tom: expose the death penalty for an injustice by planting circumstantial evidence suggesting someone is guilty, then reveal the truth after the innocent man is convicted and sentenced to death. The front-page articles about the murder of a local stripper named Patty Gray provide the opportunity Tom and Austin are looking for, and Tom volunteers to set himself up. Tom is convicted as planned, but that's OK, as Austin is ready to clear his name...until ThePlotReaper intervenes, and Tom is facing the death penalty for real.

''Beyond a Reasonable Doubt'' is a 1956 film directed by Creator/FritzLang, starring Dana Andrews and Creator/JoanFontaine.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Tom says he "had to" marry Patty, implying it's because she [[TheBabyTrap claimed to be pregnant]]), something a film wouldn't openly say then. Susan also makes a just barely veiled request for sex.

* HeroInsurance: Well, fine, Tom might have gotten off for the murder, but surely after a long and drawn-out process, not via an instant pardon.
* IdiotBall: Or maybe PlotHole...but since Tom turned out to be guilty after all, why in the name of all that's holy did he agree to this scheme in the first place? Why deliberately implicate yourself in a murder that you actually committed and have gotten away with? Apparently thinking that nobody in their right mind would suspect he ''did'' do it after getting exonerated, but that backfired horribly.

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: [[spoiler:Susan outs Tom's guilt to the prosecutor at the very end. Tom walks to his death knowing that Susan betrayed him]].

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Susan makes a just barely veiled request for sex.

* IdiotBall: Or maybe PlotHole...but since Tom turned out to be guilty after all, why in the name of all that's holy did he agree to this scheme in the first place? Why deliberately implicate yourself in a murder that you actually committed and have gotten away with?

* OfCorsetsSexy: Lots of {{Fanservice}} with Dolly and the other strippers at the burlesque club in their corsets.

* WrongfulAccusationInsurance: After the exculpatory letter is discovered, charges are dropped and the governor agrees to issue a pardon to let Tom out. Apparently the state has no interest in prosecuting any of the crimes Tom committed as part of his harebrained scheme, like obstruction of justice, falsifying evidence, or interfering with a police investigation.

** Not exactly. There still would be a possibility someone tracks and exposes Tom in the future. Some detectives are very persistent, and a marriage usually leaves a trail of various filled papers behind. But being tried and acquitted for Patty's murder, he cannot be retried no matter what (double jeopardy).

This nasty little FilmNoir was the last film Fritz Lang made in Hollywood. Lang, tired of the studios, left afterwards for his homeland of Germany, having fled ThoseWackyNazis over 20 years before. See the terrible Creator/KevinSpacey movie ''Film/TheLifeOfDavidGale'' for another film with a similar premise. Creator/PeterHyams made a remake in 2009.

''Beyond a Reasonable Doubt'' is a 1956 film directed by Creator/FritzLang, starring Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine.

* HeroInsurance: Well, fine, Tom might have gotten off for the murder, but surely after a long and drawn-out process, not via an instant pardon. And he definitely would have been facing charges and a long prison sentence for obstruction of justice and falsifying evidence and such.

'''''Beyond a Reasonable Doubt''''' is a 1956 film directed by Creator/FritzLang, starring Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine.

* ZipMeUp: One of the other strippers tries this with Tom, much to Dolly's irritation.

'''''Beyond a Reasonable Doubt''''' is a 1956 film directed by Creator/FritzLang, starring Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine. Andrews is Tom Garrett, a former newspaperman turned author engaged to Susan Spencer (Fontaine), the daughter of his old boss, newspaper publisher Austin Spencer. Austin Spencer is an anti-death penalty activist who at the beginning of the movie has taken Tom to see an execution. Austin springs an idea on Tom: expose the death penalty for an injustice by planting circumstantial evidence suggesting someone is guilty, then reveal the truth after the innocent man is convicted and sentenced to death. The front-page articles about the murder of a local stripper named Patty Gray provide the opportunity Tom and Austin are looking for, and Tom volunteers to set himself up. Tom is convicted as planned, but that's OK, as Austin is ready to clear his name...until ThePlotReaper intervenes, and Tom is facing the death penalty for real.

This nasty little film noir was the last film Fritz Lang made in Hollywood. Lang, tired of the studios, left afterwards for his homeland of Germany, having fled ThoseWackyNazis over 20 years before. See the terrible Creator/KevinSpacey movie ''Film/TheLifeOfDavidGale'' for another film with a similar premise. Creator/PeterHyams made a remake in 2009.

''Beyond a Reasonable Doubt'' is a 1956 film directed by Creator/FritzLang, starring Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine. Andrews is Tom Garrett, a former newspaperman turned author engaged to Susan Spencer (Fontaine), the daughter of his old boss, newspaper publisher Austin Spencer. Austin Spencer is an anti-death penalty activist who at the beginning of the movie has taken Tom to see an execution. Austin springs an idea on Tom: expose the death penalty for an injustice by planting circumstantial evidence suggesting someone is guilty, then reveal the truth after the innocent man is convicted and sentenced to death. The front-page articles about the murder of a local stripper named Patty Gray provide the opportunity Tom and Austin are looking for, and Tom volunteers to set himself up. Tom is convicted as planned, but that's OK, as Austin is ready to clear his name...until ThePlotReaper intervenes, and Tom is facing the death penalty for real.

This nasty little film noir was the last film Fritz Lang made in Hollywood. Lang, tired of the studios, left afterwards for his homeland of Germany. See the terrible Creator/KevinSpacey movie ''Film/TheLifeOfDavidGale'' for another film with a similar premise. Creator/PeterHyams made a remake in 2009.

* OfCorsetsSexy: Lots of {{Fanservice}} with Dolly and the other strippers at the burlesque club in their corsets.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Well, fine, Tom might have gotten off for the murder, but surely after a long and drawn-out process, not via an instant pardon. And he definitely would have been facing charges and a long prison sentence for obstruction of justice and falsifying evidence and such.

This nasty little film noir was the last film Fritz Lang made in Hollywood. Lang, tired of the studios, left afterwards for his homeland of Germany. See the terrible Creator/KevinSpacey movie ''Film/TheLifeOfDavidGale'' for another film with a similar premise.

''Beyond a Reasonable Doubt'' is a 1956 film directed by Fritz Lang, starring Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine. Andrews is Tom Garrett, a former newspaperman turned author engaged to Susan Spencer (Fontaine), the daughter of his old boss, newspaper publisher Austin Spencer. Austin Spencer is an anti-death penalty activist who at the beginning of the movie has taken Tom to see an execution. Austin springs an idea on Tom: expose the death penalty for an injustice by planting circumstantial evidence suggesting someone is guilty, then reveal the truth after the innocent man is convicted and sentenced to death. The front-page articles about the murder of a local stripper named Patty Gray provide the opportunity Tom and Austin are looking for, and Tom volunteers to set himself up. Tom is convicted as planned, but that's OK, as Austin is ready to clear his name...until ThePlotReaper intervenes, and Tom is facing the death penalty for real.