The Gorgon Case

Engineer Zaremba (Roman Wilhelmi) spends the evening with his children and Rita Gorgonowa (Ewa Dałkowska) – a woman who serves in the household as a lover, caregiver, and mother to the youngest daughter. In the morning, the family discovers the tragic murder of their seventeen-year-old daughter. The investigation quickly points to Gorgonowa, with whom the eldest daughter had a tense relationship. The inquiry is led by the stern prosecutor Krynicki (Mariusz Dmochowski) and assistant Respond (Jan Englert), while the cautious examining judge (Andrzej Łapicki) oversees the trial. Her defense is taken up by the renowned lawyer Axer (Aleksander Bardini). Initially sentenced to death, after giving birth to another daughter, the woman faces court again, accompanied by a site inspection and the expert opinion of a specialist (Wojciech Pszoniak) during the subsequent trial. The court upholds the verdict, commuted to eight years in prison. The Gorgonowa case resonated widely throughout interwar Poland. Society’s hostility toward the Dalmatian-born concubine stemmed from bourgeois morality, prejudices against women, and xenophobia.