The Accused is a 1949 American melodrama film starring Loretta Young and Robert Cummings. It was directed by William Dieterle, produced by Hal Wallis, and written by Ketti Frings, based on Be Still, My Love, a 1947 novel written by June Truesdell. Wendell Corey appears in principal support.

Plot

Wilma Tuttle (Young) is a college professor who unintentionally arouses the sexual interest of her student Bill Perry (Douglas Dick). When Perry tries to rape Tuttle, she accidentally beats him to death with an auto part. She covers up her crime by making it seem as though Perry was killed while diving into the sea from a precipitous cliff. As she follows the police investigation into Perry's death, Wilma realizes that she'll never be able to escape her conscience, especially when she falls in love with Warren Ford (Cummings), the dead boy's guardian.