Twilight of Honor, released in the UK as The Charge is Murder, is a 1963 American neo noir crime film directed by Boris Sagal and starring Richard Chamberlain, Nick Adams, Claude Rains, and featuring Joey Heatherton and Linda Evans in their film debuts.

Like the 1959 courtroom drama Anatomy of a Murder, it continued a recent trend of descriptions of things previously never mentioned in American cinema, such as vivid accounts of sexual assault, adultery, and prostitution.

David Mitchell (Richard Chamberlain), a widowed lawyer in a small city in New Mexico, is appointed by Judge Tucker to defend Ben Brown (Nick Adams) who has been charged with murder.

They are interrupted by Susan (Joan Blackman), Harper's daughter, who has romantic feelings for David and who has arrived back in town from Chicago.

She also claims that her husband is a compulsive liar and that Mitchell didn't run into her by chance; Bixby wanted her to talk to him, to make it appear the trial will be fair.

Mitchell and Harper research New Mexico law, and find a precedent which states that a murder that occurs during the adultery of a man's spouse is deemed justifiable homicide.

Mitchell and Bixby argue over the fairness of the case, and when picking the jury, Judge Tucker refuses to disqualify Clinton's friends and club members.

At lunch, David finds that a local paper is being sold outside the court in view of the jurors and that the front page story features Ben's confession.

She offers to plea for mercy for Ben if David drops his adultery defense out of respect for Clinton's daughter, who idolized her father.

She says the accusations against her late husband are false, and although Mitchell could prove her wrong, he feels pity and refuses to cross-examine her.

She was arrested for prostitution, and after getting her out of jail, they began hitchhiking cross country where they met Mr. Clinton, who picked them up after seeing Laura-Mae.

Ben also tearfully admits he still loves his wife, and bears no ill will, even though she turned him in and applied for the reward money.

Bixby begins his cross examination, asserting that Ben pimped his wife to Clinton, beating him to death when he refused.

After dismissing Elliot, Bixby refuses to compromise, and as court resumes, Harper arrives and is wheeled into the courtroom by Mitchell.

Mitchell declares his intentions for Susan, and the film ends with them sharing a kiss in front of the courthouse, then walking home.

"[3] Film rights to the book were bought by the team of George Seaton and William Pearlberg who had a unit at MGM.

[5] In March 1963 the lead went to Richard Chamberlain, who was under contract to MGM and had become internationally famous playing Dr Kildare on television.