Trial by film

Bill Knight column for 9-23, 24 or 25, 2019

Enjoyable movies like “Erin Brockovich” and “The Lincoln Lawyer” recall Hollywood’s long-time love for courtrooms, and this week (the 50^th anniversary of the Chicago Seven trial stemming from conspiracy charges against activists tied to 1968’s Democratic National Convention) is a fine time to revisit such pictures online, cable, streaming, etc.

Trial films – “Legal Eagles,” “My Cousin Vinny” and “The Rainmaker” or “The Firm, “Liar, Liar” and “Suspect” – are in several genres, but most are dramas exploiting the system’s adversarial nature, serious outcomes, the potential for surprises, and the influences of attorneys, witnesses, juries and the public.

“Courtroom scenes have been the suspenseful saving grace of more films than can be counted,” critic Leslie Halliwell once wrote. “They also figure in some of the best films ever made.”

Whether settings are on TV’s “Boston Legal,” “L.A. Law” or “Perry Mason,” or in movies (“The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell,” “Town without Pity” or “Twelve Angry Men”), movies and courts have a natural tie.

“Which are more long-winded – lawyers or actors?” asked Los Angeles Times reviewer Philip K. Scheuer. “For Spencer Tracy, a lawyer in ‘Inherit the Wind’ and a judge in ‘Judgment at Nuremberg,’ the ideal of every thespian must have been reached: an opportunity to be both.”

Hoping readers don’t shout, “I object,” I offer a dozen gems:

“Adam’s Rib” (1949). In one of their best team-ups, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play husband-and-wife lawyers on opposing sides of a case in this screwball comedy. David Wayne and Judy Holliday are featured.

“Anatomy of A Murder” (1959). Jimmy Stewart defends a soldier (Ben Gazzara) accused of killing the man who assaulted his wife (Lee Remick). A wily prosecutor (George C. Scott) and a drunken colleague (Arthur O’Connell) are as difficult as the proceedings. Otto Preminger directed.

“… And Justice for All” (1979). Al Pacino occasionally goes overboard in this satirical drama, but the climax is a doozy. Norman Jewison directed the inspiring. saddening film, which becomes a bittersweet indictment of the legal system. Lee Strasberg, Jack Warden and Craig T. Nelson co-star.

“The Caine Mutiny” (1954). Humphrey Bogart was nominated for an Oscar in this Stanley Kramer production based on Herman Wouk’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a Navy crew relieving their captain, and his pressing mutiny charges. Defense attorney Jose Ferrer steals much of the last act, especially a court-martial confrontation comparable to the clash between Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise in “A Few Good Men.” Van Johnson and Fred MacMurray co-star.

“Class Action” (1991). Gene Hackman is a crusading attorney representing people harmed by cars that explode on impact, facing formidable opposing counsel: his daughter (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). Lawrence Fishburne and Fred Thompson co-star.

“Inherit the Wind” (1960). Stanley Kramer’s screen adaptation of Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s fictionalized version of 1925’s “Scopes Monkey Trial” features fine performances by Spencer Tracy, Fredric March and Gene Kelly. Dick York and Harry Morgan co-star.

“Judgment at Nuremberg” (1961). Filmmaker Stanley Kramer took Abby Mann’s script and an all-star cast to create a 190-minute drama about justice for Nazi criminals. Richard Widmark is an abrasive prosecutor, Maximilian Schell a sympathetic defense lawyer, and Spencer Tracy a calm judge. Helping convict Germans (including Burt Lancaster) are witnesses Montgomery Clift, Judy Garland and Marlene Dietrich. Schell and Mann won Oscars.

“The People v. O.J. Simpson” (2016). This edition of TV’s “American Crime Story” relies less on the familiar tale’s plot than vivid characters brought to life by terrific actors including Sarah Paulson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Courtney Vance, John Travolta, Nathan Lane and David Schwimmer.

“Presumed Innocent” (1990). Alan J. Pakula adapted Scott Turow’s bestseller and cast Harrison Ford as a married prosecutor suspected in the death of a colleague with whom he’d had an affair. Co-starring are Raul Julia, Brian Dennehy, Paul Winfield and John Spencer.

“To Kill A Mockingbird” (1962). Gregory Peck won an Oscar for his portrayal of Atticus Finch, an Alabama lawyer defending a black man (Brock Peters) from charges he raped a local girl (Collin Wilcox) and from community racism. Based on Harper Lee’s bestseller, Horton Foote’s Oscar-winning screenplay addresses hard truths in a soft manner. Besides three outstanding child actors, it features Paul Fix, William Windom and Robert Duvall.

“The Verdict” (1982). Paul Newman is a boozy Boston lawyer trying a medical-malpractice case and battling attorney James Mason (“the Prince of f***ing Darkness,” says colleague Jack Warden). Working from David Mamet’s screenplay, Sidney Lumet directed one of Newman’s best performances.

“Witness for the Prosecution” (1957). Based on a play by Agatha Christie, this Billy Wilder potboiler stars Charles Laughton as an infirm British barrister who defies medical advice and defends a drifter (Tyrone Power) from a murder charge. The cast includes Elsa Lanchester and Marlene Dietrich.