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Courtroom DramasFilms which feature an ending trial, or contain one within, are too numerous to list; plus, I've intentionally left out court-martial trials and other forms of military justice (perhaps I'll explore this topic in a future essay). I've also decided to exclude (e.g. biographical) stories about lawyers and judges, and I've excluded 12 Angry Men (1957) because it's about jury deliberations. Instead, here's a look at some essential classic movies whose plots largely depend on a court case, and/or its outcome, or whose action is dominated by a trial are the focus of today's article: Madame X (1929) - Alexandre Bisson's play was made into two silent films before Ruth Chatterton, directed by Lionel Barrymore, played this notorious-anonymous woman, who is put on trial for murder and defended by her unawares son that she was forced to give up some twenty years earlier. Gladys George, in director Sam Wood's 1937 remake, and Lana Turner in the 1966 version that most frequently airs on the channel, also made the role their own. They Won't Forget (1937) - based on the infamous 1913 Leo Frank trial and his subsequent lynching here in Georgia, and featuring an inspired (even eccentric) performance by Claude Rains as the ambitious district attorney, director Mervyn LeRoy produced this compelling courtroom drama from Ward Greene's novel and a Robert Rossen-Aben Kandel screenplay. A sweater-clad, teenaged Lana Turner made her credited film debut as the murder victim, Mary Clay. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) - frontier justice (an oxymoron?) is the basis for this Lamar Trotti drama starring Henry Fonda; it features an impromptu trial by the posse that's caught up with some men - Dana Andrews, Anthony Quinn - suspected (but innocent) of cattle rustling and murder. Fonda and character actor Harry Davenport provide the only voices of reason, and fail to prevent the inevitable lynching. Twenty five years later, Clint Eastwood played a character that survived a similar incident, leading to his tracking down the men responsible in Hang ‘Em High (1968). A Matter of Life and Death (1946) aka Stairway to Heaven (1946) - this exceptional Michael Powell-Emeric Pressburger fantasy drama sets up a scenario whereby David Niven's British pilot character is given a chance to argue his case for continued life on Earth, with new American love (Kim Hunter), before a judge in Heaven. Raymond Massey plays the American prosecutor, Roger Livesey is Niven's British defense attorney. Adam's Rib (1949) - is an outstanding Ruth Gordon-Garson Kanin written comedy starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as husband and wife lawyers who square off in a "battle of the sexes" court case - he's to prosecute a woman (Judy Holliday) for trying to kill her straying husband (Tom Ewell) and, because of the double standard typical in such situations (like the one hilariously referred to years later in Pietro Germi's Divorce - Italian Style (1961)), she decides to defend her. Naturally, their professional life bleeds into their personal one. Intruder in the Dust (1949) - years before Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird became an instant bestseller and the subsequent release of the 1962 film which features Gregory Peck's Best Actor Oscar performance as Atticus Finch (the American Film Institute voter's number hero), director Clarence Brown produced this William Faulkner novel about racism in the South which contains many of the same elements: a black man (a proud Juano Hernandez) is put on trial for a crime he didn't commit, he's defended by a white man (in this case, David Brian) while the threat of lynching hangs in the air, and a child actor (Claude Jarman Jr. in this one) plays an important role in the story. Witness for the Prosecution (1957) - director Billy Wilder succeeded, where Alfred Hitchcock had failed ten years earlier with The Paradine Case (1947), in using the talents of actor Charles Laughton to create a compelling British courtroom drama with startling revelations and twists which entertains. Both films had exceptionally capable casts (this one features Tyrone Power, accused of murder, with Marlene Dietrich as his wife and only alibi), but Wilder's source material (from Agatha Christie) was better and his efforts weren't hindered by a controlling producer like Hitch's were (by David O. Selznick). Anatomy of a Murder (1959) - Though some may contend that it's dated because the defense attorney (James Stewart) and prosecutor (George C. Scott) must argue over the use of certainly formerly taboo terms relating to an alleged rape that preceded the titled murder, I think you'll find that it still packs a wallop today with its taut trial action and solid acting performances from its entire cast. Inherit the Wind (1960) - another case in the South: this one involves the controversial teaching of evolution in public school (a conflict that, surprisingly, is still active today). In fact, it details the original Scopes Monkey trial in Tennessee; Spencer Tracy plays the Clarence Darrow-based character and Fredric March is in the William Jennings Bryan-like role. Producer-director Stanley Kramer cast Gene Kelly as the reporter who sarcastically covered the events. Dick York plays the accused teacher, and Harry Morgan is the judge. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - naturally (as mentioned above); certainly one of the best screen adaptations of any novel, and on my list as one of the top 10 movies (of any kind) ever. Some other more recent favorites include ...And Justice for All (1979) and The Verdict (1982), which are really more about the lawyers that Al Pacino and Paul Newman play, the screen adaptation of Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent (1990) with Harrison Ford, and Edward Norton's screen debut in Primal Fear (1996). © 2007 Turner Classic Movies - this article originally appeared on TCM's official blog |
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