Conduct Unbecoming (1975 film)

Conduct Unbecoming is a 1975 British period legal drama film directed by Michael Anderson and adapted by Robert Enders from Barry England's play of the same name. It features an ensemble cast, starring Michael York, Richard Attenborough, Trevor Howard, Stacy Keach, Christopher Plummer and Susannah York. Set in a British Indian Army barracks in the late 19th-century, the film centers on an impromptu court-martial following the assault of an officer's widow.

Conduct Unbecoming was released by British Lion Films on 5 October 1975, to generally positive reviews. The American National Board of Review ranked the film in its Top Ten Films of 1975.

Plot
In 1880, two young British officers arrive to join a regiment in India. 2nd Lieutenant Arthur Drake (Michael York), from a middle-class background, is eager to fit in. 2nd Lieutenant Edward Millington (James Faulkner), the son of a general, is keen to get out as soon as possible and deliberately antagonizes his fellow officers. The two newcomers learn the rules (and traditions) of the regiment from Lieutenant Richard Fothergill (Michael Culver). Drake participates in a regimental mess game where officers chase a wooden pig on wheels, pulled by him, attempting to pierce its anus with their swords.

Fothergill warns the young officers about Mrs. Marjorie Scarlett (Susannah York) – attractive, flirtatious widow of Captain Scarlett – who is a constant, somewhat menacing presence in the regiment. Her husband, whose bloody uniform hangs prominently in a glass case as a testament to his brutal death at the hand of "barbarians", was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his valor. Majors Alastair Wimbourne (Christopher Plummer) and Lionel Roach (Richard Attenborough) had viewed the savaged body of the fallen hero.

At a mess dance one night, Millington gets drunk and tries to seduce Mrs. Scarlett in the garden. She repels him, but moments later runs back into the mess wounded and in shock, claiming the culprit was Millington. An informal court martial – a private hearing designed to avoid public scandal for the regiment – is presided over by Captain Stuart Harper (Stacy Keach), with Drake ordered to be Millington's defending officer.

Drake is pressured by his superior officer to plead guilty for Millington and close the case quickly, but he challenges the orders in order to give the defendant a fair trial. Drake learns from Mrs. Scarlett's Indian servant that Mrs. Bandanai (Persis Khambatta), the widow of an Indian soldier who died with Scarlett, had suffered a similar attack with a sword six months prior – long before he and Millington joined the regiment. When pressed, Mrs. Bandanai says it was Captain Scarlett who assaulted her.

When shown her dress from the night of the assault, with blood and a cut that could have been made with a sword point, Mrs. Scarlett acts out for the "court" the attack she endured, which mimics the regimental game of officers chasing then stabbing a wooden pig on wheels. She admits it was not Millington who attacked her, but will not say who did.

Millington, now indisputably proved innocent, is welcomed back by his brother officers; but Drake, disgusted by the truth he's uncovered, resigns. Wimbourne knows who the culprit is and, hiding Drake in the shadows so he may witness what is to take place, confronts the guilty man privately in the final scene.

Production
Barry England's play premiered in 1969 and had a short run on Broadway the following year.

The film was greenlit by Michael Deeley who had recently become managing director of British Lion Films, and was part financed through a US tax deal. Deeley said there had been a number of screenplays written, including one by Terence Rattigan which Deeley says cost £250,000. He said all of them "failed to crack the adaptation" but there was "a very simple solution, which was to go back to the stage play and strip out as much extraneous dialogue as possible. Robert Enders delivered a perfect screenplay by these means."

Deeley hired Michael Anderson to direct, in part because he was efficient, and the film was shot at Shepperton Studios over four weeks starting mid November 1974. This meant the filmmakers have five weeks before the studio shut down over Christmas. Deeley says "the picture ran like clockwork". The veteran Elizabeth Haffenden designed the costumes in her final film production.

Reception
Deeley says the film was "well made, at the right price and completely fulfilling British Lion's objective – to make money".

Film critic John Simon wrote – "Conduct Unbecoming can be viewed with modest pleasure if only for its performances and the cinematography of Bob Huke".

The American National Board of Review ranked the film in its Top Ten Films of 1975.