Absorbing, extremely well-crafted, but overlong courtroom mystery by Henri-Georges Clouzot. Brigitte Bardot runs the gamut of emotions, and looks (from glamorous to - believe it or not - plain!), in an impressive performance which is probably one of her best, but the film goes on so long (2+ hours) that it cannot sustain the tension level at a high pitch; it ebbs and flows. **1/2 out of 4.