In , Sean Connery plays Johnson, a normally unflappable British police inspector who is emotionally shaken by a case of child molestation. For reasons he cannot explain, he is driven to kill the suspect while interrogating him and is suspended from the force. The incident leads to a nervous breakdown -- and the implication that Johnson had beaten the molester to death to purge himself of his hidden pederastic tendencies. Based on ' stage play , made little headway at the box office, but United Artists was compelled to release the film to assure Connery's participation in UA's next movie.