Cross-Examination
Cast & Crew
Richard Thorpe
H. B. Warner
Sally Blane
Natalie Moorhead
Edmund Breese
Donald Dillaway
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
When wealthy patriarch Emory Wells is found slain in his home and the family diamonds are discovered missing, Emory's son David is accused of his murder and the theft. At the trial, various members of the household provide testimony as to their whereabouts when Emory was shot: Martha Gregory, the housekeeper; Raymond Boggs, the butler; Warren Slade, Emory's attorney; Inez Wells, Emory's new young wife; Etta Billing, the downstairs maid; Lieutenant Elkins of the Homicide Squad; Ralph Varney, whose estranged wife is David's girl friend; Mrs. Grace Varney; and finally, David. David had left home months earlier after a dispute with his father, but returned that night to ask his father for some money. He intended to use the money to pay for Grace's divorce so they could be married. Believing his son to be greedy, Emory refused to give him either the money, or the family diamonds, which were rightfully his. When David refuses to say where he went after he left the Wells's home, Mary Stevens volunteers the information and is sworn in. Mary reveals herself as David's true mother, who had been a maid in the home of Emory's aunt. Emory's family threatened to disinherit Emory if he married Mary, so she gave up her son so he could be reared with all the "advantages" of wealth. David found her three months earlier and rented an apartment for her, where he met Grace, who felt trapped in an unhappy marriage. Mary affirms that Emory was alive after David left him, because she talked with him. David is found not guilty, but the strain proves too much for Mary. On her deathbed, Mary confesses to murdering Emory, and stealing the diamonds after he refused to help David. The mystery solved, David and Grace are free to pursue their marriage plans.
Director
Richard Thorpe
Cast
H. B. Warner
Sally Blane
Natalie Moorhead
Edmund Breese
Donald Dillaway
William V. Mong
Sarah Padden
Niles Welch
Wilfred Lucas
Nita Cavalier
Margaret Fealy
Alexander Pollard
B. Wayne Lamont
Frank Clark
John Webb Dillon
Lee Phelps
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
