Well, if you're looking for films to depress you, TALL HEADLINES could be a good choice. It's not as depressing as REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, but at the same time it doesn't have that film's visual artistry and magnificence. Instead it's a turgid little potboiler about an ordinary suburban family who are reeling from the death of one of their sons, who was hanged for murder.
The only kind of people who could get a kick out of this film would be the same people who thrive on so-called 'misery lit', but at least the latter genre has the benefit of being real life. This is just horrible. Michael Denison can do nothing with the central role of the young man who fears he's retracing his brother's footsteps, and the rest of the car are little better.
Flora Robson (THE BEAST IN THE CELLAR) plays the emotionally fragile mother and Andre Morell (THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES) the gruff father. The film's one shining light is Mai Zetterling (THE WITCHES) as the lovely girlfriend, but even her character arc is less than enlivening. Dennis Price plays in support, and there are cameos from Joan Hickson and Sid James. What a relief for Terence Young to later direct the lively breathlessness of the likes of FROM Russia WITH LOVE in comparison to this wrist-slashing tedium.