Based on a 25-year-old play by Edward Wooll, Libel has been turned into a stylish and holding film. The idea is simple enough. Is Sir Mark Loddon (Dirk Bogarde), owner of one of the stately homes of England, really Loddon or an unscrupulous imposter, as alleged by a wartime comrade?

The case is sparked off when a young Canadian airman sees a TV program introducing Loddon. He is convinced that he is really Frank Welney, a small part actor. The three were in prison camp together and he is confident that Loddon was killed during a prison break. He exposes the alleged phoney in a newspaper and Loddon is persuaded by his wife to sue.

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Bogarde carries much of the onus since he plays both Loddon (during the war and at the time of the trial) and Welney. He does a standout job, suggesting the difference in the two characters remarkably well with the aid of only a slight difference in hair style.

Paul Massie gives a likeable, though somewhat even-key, performance as the young man whose suspicions trigger the drama. Olivia de Havilland, as Bogarde’s wife, has two or three very good scenes which she handles well.

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Because much of the off-court scenes were actually shot at Woburn Abbey, stately home of the Duke of Bedford, the production is given much budget-value.

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