The Silence of Dean Maitland (1934)

Sub-Genres - Crime Drama  |   Run Time - 95 min.  |   Countries - Australia  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

The Australian film industry was all but destroyed by the influx of Hollywood product in the 1920s, but a few worthwhile products did manage to surface from "Down Under" throughout the 1930s. The Silence of Dean Maitland stars John Longden as a clergyman of less than rock-solid values. He impregnates a young lady, and when the girl's father finds out, the clergyman kills the old man. Then he contrives to frame another man for the crime, and stands by in enigmatic silence during the innocent man's trial. The Silence of Dean Maitland was strong stuff for any country's movie industry in 1934. It was so strong in Australia that it caused a major scandal, bringing the wrath of the pulpit down on those heathen filmmakers; this may be why so many subsequent Australian films of the 1930s were antiseptic documentaries.

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Keywords

priest, frame-up, father, girl, murder, pregnancy