Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Austin Spencer (Sidney Blackmer), a newspaper publisher, wants to prove the inadequacy of circumstantial evidence. He talks his daughter's fiancee, Tom Garrett, into participating in a hoax. The plan is for Tom to plant clues which will lead to his arrest for the murder of a nightclub dancer. Tom agrees to the plan, not knowing that unforeseen events will put a snag in the scheme. Spencer dies in a car accident before he can testify, and photographic evidence intended to clear Tom is burned to an unrecognizable state. Tom is found guilty and placed on death row in prison.