When you hear the name Ginger Rogers, what comes to your mind? This classic movie star is best remembered for the nine musicals she made with her dancing partner Fred Astaire, starting in 1933. However, by the late 1930s, they had made eight musical comedies together, and Rogers was tired of being primarily associated with her hoofer co-star. Determined to prove her worth as a dramatic actress, she branched out on her own in non-musical films after their eighth pairing.
Ginger proved she could be a serious actress once and for all when she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as the title role in “Kitty Foyle” (1940). However, that was just one of the dynamic performances she gave in the 1940s and 50s. Ten years later, she made a second film with her “Kitty Foyle” co-star Dennis Morgan. This movie is called “Perfect Strangers” (1950).
A Legal Love Story
Terry Scott (Rogers) is summoned for jury duty in Los Angeles. Although she initially tries to get out of it, she reasons away her own excuses when she learns that she received a perfect score on the qualifying test. She is assigned to a murder case in which the defendant, Ernest Kraig (Ford Rainey), was accused of pushing his wife off a cliff because he was in love with his secretary, Eileen Marcher (Frances Charles). Because the media has heavily swayed public opinion about the case, the judge decides to keep the jury locked up in a hotel. They can’t see or hear any news, talk to their friends and family, or even communicate with the outside world except through notes they are allowed to send to loved ones. For days on end, their only companions are each other, the twelve jurors, with whom they aren’t even allowed to discuss the case outside of court.
The jurors include eight men and four women. The ones which play an important role in our story are Terry Scott, David Campbell (Morgan), Lena Fassler (Thelma Ritter), Bob Fisher (Anthony Ross), and Isobel Bradford (Margalo Gillmore). Terry is a working girl who is separated from her husband. David is a married man with two daughters. Lena is a stay-at-home mother of five with another baby on the way. Bob is a shameless flirt, who is persistent in his advances toward Terry. Isobel is a middle-aged woman who is bitter because her husband left her years ago. The jurors are kept under the watchful eye of bailiff Gabor Simkiewicz (Harry Bellaver).
Sacred Duties
“Perfect Strangers” deals with a difficult topic, a man and woman falling in love with each other although they are married to other people. We find ourselves rooting for Terry and David’s romance, yet we must remember, as they do, that they are both married. It’s easy to forget about their respective spouses, since neither Terry’s husband nor David’s wife is seen onscreen. However, they are frequently discussed in the dialogue. While Terry has been separated for two years, David is happily married with two young children.
Modern society encourages placing passion above values and duty. Current entertainment particularly pushes the romantic notion of following your heart, no matter where it leads. This movie includes powerful reminders about the importance of putting morality, duty, and values above personal desires and pleasure. This includes not just the forbidden romance but the theme of serving on a jury, as well. Understandably, not all the jurors want to fulfill this duty, since it is a major time commitment and a disturbance of their daily routines. It becomes especially serious when the jury is confined, since they aren’t allowed to see or even talk to anyone except each other. Even the reluctant jurors know that they are performing a solemn duty with a grave responsibility. Their decision will mean the difference between life and death for the defendant. Is he a philandering wife-murderer, or is he the innocent victim of circumstances?
It’s fascinating to see this depiction of the legal system in California in 1950. I’m sure some inaccuracies were included for the sake of good filmmaking, but the overall process seems very realistic. From the random selection of jurors to the competency test, it’s very refreshing to see tasks being performed by real people which would now be executed by computers. Another interesting scene is when some of the jurors visit a cheap diner near the courthouse. Terry methodically wipes off the silverware, uses a napkin as a placemat, and warns David that one never can be sure about the quality and cleanliness of such establishments. It’s a very relatable, human bit of business. It’s amazing how small details like that can make fictional characters come to life as real people.
In Pursuit of Truth
This film shows how much sway the media, which was primarily newspapers and radio at that time, have on public opinion. Long before the Kraig case goes before the court, it has been tried and decided by the press. For the sake of sensational headlines, papers have been dramatically painting the story of a love nest, a torrid affair, and a gruesome murder for days—if not weeks—when the film begins. Most of the copy came from conjecture or pure fiction concocted by enterprising reporters, but it has been effective.In an early scene in the film, the twelve jurors are chosen from a random group of citizens who have been called. One of the first potential jurors declares that he knows Mr. Kraig is guilty, having been totally convinced by the media propaganda about the story. David Campbell says that he thinks Kraig is guilty, but his willingness to change his mind based on the evidence gets him accepted onto the jury. Although they don’t express it during initial questioning, several other jurors go into the case with the conviction that the defendant is a murderer. Terry remonstrates them for ignoring the American principle of believing a man is innocent until proven guilty by due process of law, not media propaganda.
“Perfect Strangers” is a very thought-provoking yet entertaining film. The story is very interesting and complex, alternating smoothly yet swiftly between the legal process of the Kraig murder case and the relationships between the jurors. The budding romance between Terry and David mirrors the forbidden love between Ernest and Eileen. Just as headlines convict the defendant of committing murder because of extramarital passion, some of the other jurors judge Terry and David’s innocent but impossible attraction. Dynamic acting and an intense story make this is a powerful tribute to the importance of duty and judging others fairly.
