A courtroom drama told at breakneck speed, The Trial of Vivienne Ware (1932) stars Joan Bennett as a woman accused of murdering her philandering fiancé. A flurry of whip pans and flashbacks unfolds as Ms. Ware’s lawyer ex-boyfriend rises valiantly to her defense, and accusations and knives fly—all reported breathlessly, in a nod to the film’s radio origins, by ladies’ correspondent ZaSu Pitts.
35mm, b/w, 56 min. Production: Fox Film Corp. Distribution: Fox Film Corp. Director: William K. Howard. Based on the novel by Kenneth M. Ellis. Screenwriter: Philip Klein, Barry Connors. Cinematographer: Ernest Palmer. Editor: Ralph Dietrich. With: Joan Bennett, Donald Cook, Richard Skeets Gallagher, ZaSu Pitts, Lilian Bond.
