Serious Charge

The unmarried vicar Reverend Howard Phillips (Anthony Quayle), newly arrived in a parish, accuses a local 19 year old thug and petty criminal (Andrew Ray) of being partially responsible for the recent death of a teenage girl. In retaliation and as an attempt to divert attention, the teenager accuses the vicar of making sexual advances towards him. His invented story is substantiated out of spite by another local woman still furious that the vicar rejected her amorous advances. Unfortunately for the vicar, the woman is a highly respected member of the community, her father being the parish s previous clergyman.