Accused of Murder

{{short description|1956 film by Joseph Kane}} {{more citations needed|date=April 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Accused of Murder | image = Accused of murder343.jpg | alt = | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = [[Joseph Kane]] | producer = Joseph Kane | screenplay = Robert Creighton Williams<br/>[[W. R. Burnett]] | based_on = {{based on|the novel ''Vanity Row''|W. R. Burnett}} | starring = [[David Brian]]<br />[[Vera Ralston]]<br/>[[Sidney Blackmer]] | cinematography = [[Bud Thackery]] | music = R. Dale Butts | editing = [[Richard L. Van Enger]] | color_process = [[Trucolor]] | studio = [[Republic Pictures]] | distributor = Republic Pictures | released = {{Film date|1956|12|21|}} | runtime = 74 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = }} '''''Accused of Murder''''' is a 1956 American [[film noir]] [[crime film]] directed by [[Joseph Kane]] and starring [[David Brian]], [[Vera Ralston]] and [[Sidney Blackmer]].

==Plot== Nightclub singer Ilona Vance is accused of murder because she was the last person to see crooked attorney Frank Hobart alive. Lt. Hargis attempts to prove her innocence.

==Cast== * [[David Brian]] as Lt. Roy Hargis * [[Vera Ralston]] as Ilona Vance * [[Sidney Blackmer]] as Frank Hobart * [[Virginia Grey]] as Sandra Lamoreaux * [[Warren Stevens]] as Stant * [[Lee Van Cleef]] as Sgt. Emmett Lackey * [[Barry Kelley]] as Police Captain Smedley * Richard Karlan as Chad Bayliss * [[Frank Puglia]] as Cesar Cipriano * [[Elisha Cook Jr.]] as Whitey Pollock * [[Ian MacDonald (actor)|Ian MacDonald]] as Trumble * [[Greta Thyssen]] as Myra Bayliss

==Production== The film was based on a novel by W.R. Burnett who said, "It was a very unusual book, and nobody was more surprised than I was when Republic bought it." He was hired to write the sript. [[Vera Hruba Ralston]] was cast as the female lead, which Burnett said led to the script being changed so her character was innocent, and "The whole goddamned show went out the window."<ref>McGilligan and Mate p 77</ref>

==See also== *[[List of American films of 1956]]

==Notes== *{{cite book|chapter=W.R. Burnett: The Outsider|title= Backstory: interviews with screenwriters of Hollywood's golden age|year=1986 |first1=Patrick|last1=McGilligan|first2=Ken|last2=Mate|pages=49–84|publisher=University of California press|editor-first=Patrick|editor-last=McGilligan}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDb title|id=0048924|title=Accused of Murder}} * {{TCMDb title| id=66740|title=Accused of Murder}}

[[Category:1956 films]] [[Category:1950s crime thriller films]] [[Category:American crime thriller films]] [[Category:Color film noir]] [[Category:American police detective films]] [[Category:Film noir]] [[Category:Films based on American novels]] [[Category:Films based on crime novels]] [[Category:Films based on works by W. R. Burnett]] [[Category:Republic Pictures films]] [[Category:Trucolor films]] [[Category:Films directed by Joseph Kane]] [[Category:1956 English-language films]] [[Category:1956 American films]] [[Category:English-language crime thriller films]]