Time Without Pity
Year: 1957
Runtime: 88 mins
Language: English
Director: Joseph Losey
A young girl’s scream sets off a tragedy. Alec Graham is condemned for the murder of his girlfriend Jennie after a weekend at his friend Brian Stanford’s parents’ English country house. His father David, a failing writer and alcoholic, flies from Canada to the death‑row cell, determined to clear Alec’s name while battling his demons and the bottle.
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Time Without Pity (1957) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained
Read the complete plot breakdown of Time Without Pity (1957), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.
David Graham, a recovering alcoholic, returns to England with only one day to save his son Alec Graham from hanging for the murder of Jenny Cole. Graham has been a neglectful, absentee father who missed the entire trial while in a sanatorium in Canada. At first, the son refuses to see him, and when they meet, he is without hope and cannot show any affection for his father.
With his sobriety in constant jeopardy, the man believes the son is innocent and begins a frantic last-minute effort to find evidence that will save his son’s life, if not redeem himself as a father. With the help of his son’s steadfast solicitor, he investigates the circumstances surrounding the girl’s murder, visiting first Jenny’s furious sister and then the home of wealthy car magnate Robert Stanford, where the girlfriend was killed. Stanford and his family have provided the only real support that Alec has ever known.
Graham ricochets between potential allies, foes and new leads in order to learn who the real murderer could be, with suspects including Honor Stanford, his wife, Vickie Harker, his even younger secretary, and his adopted son and Alec’s best friend, Brian Stanford, who allows Graham to see what his own misspent life looked like through his son’s eyes.
With the Home Office on standby to receive any evidence proving Alec’s innocence, Graham is driven to extreme measures to try to establish the real killer’s guilt. In a private room, Graham is permitted a final meeting with his son, with Honor there. Alec passionately kisses Honor, adding a new dimension, and the conversation also alludes to Alec’s relationship with Jenny.
Graham visits a pub with Stanford and gathers some more clues before getting very drunk.
At Vickie Harker’s home, he learns that Stanford’s alibi of spending the night there was not true. He confronts Stanford at his racetrack where he is test-driving a Mercedes 300SL. Stanford explains that anyone can be bought and offers Graham shares in his company in exchange for silence. Still lacking evidence, Graham sacrifices his own life to create the appearance of a second act of murder by Stanford, thereby incriminating him for the first killing and saving Alec’s life.
Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 10:43
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