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Vol. 5, Number 4 (1985/86) reprinted by permission of the author Lawyers and the Law A Filmography II Paul J. Mastrangelo * Number 4, Winter 1983 of Legal Reference Services Quarterly, I was quite confident that I had thoroughly covered the field. I was mistaken. My colleague Fred Shapiro, Head of Reference Services here at New York Law School Library supplied me with a list of ad- ditional films and several other librarians, professors and an anony- mous tipster made their contributions. I then went back myself to the sources and unearthed many additional titles. What we have co- operatively compiled appears in the list that follows. First, let me reiterate the criteria for a film's inclusion: it must be an English language, sound film in which the dramatic action is centered around a courtroom or a lawyer is featured as the leading character. Sadly, this has forced me to exclude several good films, such as The Ox-Bow Incident, a landmark film based on the novel by Walter van Tilburg Clark. Several people have suggested the film, but this story of vigilantism in the Old West does not fit within my parameters. Also, there are any number of films which include short court- room scenes, some very interesting and entertaining, but they must wait for a more ambitious project than the one at hand. Finally, everyone's favorite father figure of the 30s and 40s, Judge Hardy, is not included in this filmography, but Andy Hardy's dad certainly deserves a mention here. All of Me. Fantasy-comedy of a divorce lawyer who finds himself sharing his body with the soul of a departed heiress. Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Victoria Tennant, Madolyn Smith, Richard Libertini, Dana Elcar. d. Carl Reiner s. Phil Alden Robinson—adapted by Henry Olek from the novel by Ed Davis. Universal 93 min. Color 1984 And Then There Were None. Mystery in which a former judge is murdering people who have escaped punishment for some crime. Remade as Ten Little Indians, q.v., in 1965. Walter Huston, Barry Fitzgerald, Louis Hayward, Judith Ander- son, Roland Young, June Deprez, C. Aubrey Smith, Mischa Auer. d. Rene Clair s. Dudley Nichols—from the story by Agatha Christie. 20th Century-Fox 98 min. b/w 1945 Angel On My Shoulder. Fantasy of a murdered convict sent to earth by the devil as a respected judge and his efforts to outwit Satan while still in mortal form. Paul Muni, Ann Baxter, Claude Raines, Onslow Stevens, George Cleveland, Hardie Albright, James Flavin. d. Archie Mayo s. Barry Segall and Roland Kibbie United Artists 95 min. b/w 1946 Anybody's Woman. Melodrama concerning a lawyer involved with a chorus girl. Ruth Chatterton, Clive Brook, Paul Lukas, Huntley Gordon, Virginia Hammond, Tom Atracova. d. Dorothy Arzner s. Zoe Akins and Doris Anderson—based on a story by Gouver- neur Morris. Paramount 80 min. b/w 1930 At The Circus. Marx Brothers comedy which features attorney J. Cheever Loophole attempting to save a circus from bankruptcy. The Marx Brothers, Margaret Dumont, Eve Arden, Nat Pendle- ton, Kenny Baker, Fritz Feld, Florence Rice. d. Edward Buzzell s. Irving Brecher MGM 87 min. b/w 1939 Billy Budd. Drama of a naive, incorruptible seaman court-martialed for the murder of a sadistic master-of-arms. Peter Ustinov, Robert Ryan, Terence Stamp, Melvyn Douglas, John Neville, Ronald Lewis, Lee Montague. d. Peter Ustinov s. Peter Ustinov and DeWitt Bodeen-based on the novel by Her- man Melville and the play by Robert Chapman and Louis O. Coxe. Allied Artists 123 min. b/w 1962 Body Heat. Drama of a libidinous, slightly down-at-the-heels law- yer who becomes involved with a rich, unhappily married woman in a plot to kill her husband. William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Ted Danson, Richard Crenna, J.A. Preston, Mickey Rourke, Kim Zimmer. d. Lawrence Kasdan s. Lawrence Kasdan Warner Brothers 113 min. Color 1981 Boomerang. This drama follows loosely a 1924 Connecticut case in which the state's attorney argued brilliantly against his own case and obtained the defendant's release. Dana Andrews, Jane Wyatt, Lee J. Cobb, Cara Williams, Arthur Kennedy, Ann Levene, Taylor Holmes. d. Elia Kazan s. Richard Murphy—based on a Reader's Digest article by An- thony Abbott. 20th Century-Fox 88 min. b/w 1947 Bordertown. Drama of a young Mexican-American lawyer who is disbarred and turns against the system. Paul Muni, Bette Davis, Margaret Lindsay, Eugene Pallette, Robert Barrat, Henry O'Neill, Hobart Cavanaugh. d. Archie Mayo s. Laird Doyle and Wallace Smith—adopted from a story by Robert Lord, suggested by Carroll Graham's novel. Warner Brothers 90 min. b/w 1935 Breach of Promise. A woman maneuvers a young lawyer and politi- cal candidate into a compromising position to win a breach of promise suit. Chester Morris, Mae Clarke, Mary Doran, Theodore Von Eltz, Charles Middleton, Elizabeth Patterson. d. Paul Stein s. Ben Verschleiser, John Goodrich, Anthony Veiller—based on the story by Rupert Hughes. Sono Art-World Wide 67 min. b/w 1932 Brothers in Law. Courtroom comedy of two lawyers vying for the same girl. Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, Richard Attenborough, Jill Adams, Miles Malleson, Raymond Huntley. d. Roy Boulting s. Frank Harvey, Jeffrey Dell and Roy Boulting—from a novel by Henry Cecil. GB: Boulting Brothers 94 min. b/w 1957 The Case Against Mrs. Ames. A district attorney finds himself fall- ing in love with a woman suspected of murdering her husband. Madeleine Carroll, George Brent, Arthur Treacher, Alan Baxter, Beulah Bondi, Alan Mowbray d. William Seiter s. Arthur Somers Roche—adapted by Gene Towne and Gramah Baker. Paramount 85 min. b/w 1936 Circumstantial Evidence. A newspaper reporter fakes a crime to prove his theory that circumstantial evidence should be ruled out in courts of law. Chick Chandler, Shirley Grey, Arthur Vinton, Dorothy Revier. d. Charles Lamont s. Ewart Adamson—from a story by Tom Terris. Chesterfield 69 min. b/w 1935 Circumstantial Evidence. Melodrama of a man sentenced to the electric chair on only circumstantial evidence. Michael O'Shea, Lloyd Nolan, Trudy Marshall, Billy Cum- mings, Ruth Ford, Reed Hadley. d. John Larkin s. Robert Metzler 20th Century-Fox 67 min. b/w 1945 Counsel for Crime. Melodrama in which a prominent, but shady criminal lawyer is pitted in a courtroom battle against his son, a fledgling lawyer. Otto Kruger, Douglass Montgomery, Jacqueline Wells, Thurston Hall, Nana Bryant, Gene Morgan. d. John Brahm s. Fred Niblo, Jr., Grace Neville, Lee Loeb, Harold Buchman from the story by Harold Shumate. Columbia 61 min. b/w 1937 A Covenant With Death. In this melodrama an unjustly convicted murderer kills his hangman and is then found to be innocent of the first offense. George Maharis, Katy Jurado, Laura Devon, Earl Holliman, Sidney Blackmer. d. Lamont Johnson s. Harry Marcus and Sol Levitt-from the novel by Stephen Becker. Warner Brothers 97 min. Color 1967 Crime Takes a Holiday. Melodrama of a racket busting district at- torney with a very unconventional style. Jack Holt, Marcia Ralston, Russell Hapton, Douglas Dumbrille, Arthur Hohl, Paul Fix. d. Lewis D. Collins s. Jefferson Parker, Henry Altimus and Charles Logue-from a story by Altimus. Columbia 59 min. b/w 1938 Cynara. A successful London barrister drifts into an affair with a young girl and finds his career ruined. Ronald Colman, Kay Francis, Phyllis Barry, Henry Stephenson, Viva Tattersall. d. King Vidor s. Frances Marion and Lynn Starling—adapted from the play by H. M. Harwood and Robert Gore-Brown, based on the latter's novel, An Imperfect Lover. Samuel Goldwyn/United Artists 80 min. b/w 1932 Daniel. Drama based on the story of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Concerned chiefly with the effect of their execution on their chil- dren. Timothy Hutton, Edward Asner, Mandy Patinkin, Lindsay Crouse, Joseph Leon, Amanda Plummer. d. Sidney Lumet s. E. L. Doctorow—from his novel, The Book of Daniel. Paramount 130 min. Color 1983 The Defense Rests. Melodrama concerning a successful mob "mouthpiece" and the young female law school graduate who at- tempts to expose him. Jean Arthur, Jack Holt, Nat Pendleton, Arthur Holn, Harold Huber. d. Lambent Hillyer s. Jo Swerling—from her story. Columbia 70 min. b/w 1934 Design for Scandal. Comedy-drama concerning a woman judge and the reporter sent to get her disbarred after she rules against his boss in a court case. Rosalind Russell, Walter Pidgeon, Edward Arnold, Lee Bow man, Jean Rogers, Mary Beth Hughes, Guy Kibbee. d. Norman Taurog s. Lionel Houser MGM 85 min. b/w 1941 Divorce of Lady X. Comedy about a lawyer who falls in love with a woman who is masquerading as married. Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, Binnie Barnes, Ralph Rich- ardson, Morton Selten, J. H. Roberts. d. Tim Whelan s. Arthur Wimperis, Alan Dalrymple—adapted by Lajos Biro from the play, Counsel's Opinion, by Gilbert Wakefield. GB: London Films 92 min. Color 1938 The Dreyfus Case. Retelling of the famous French case of the 1890s . Cedric Hardwicke, Beatrix Thomson, Charles Carson, George Merritt, Sam Livesey. d. F. W. Kraemer and Milton Rosmer. s. Reginald Berkeley and Walter Mycroft. GB: Sudfilm-British International 90 min. b/w 1931 The Enforcer. Melodrama of a district attorney with the job of as sembling a case against a murder?for?pay racket. Humphrey Bogart, Zero Mostel, Ted deCorsia, Everett Sloane, Roy Roberts, Lawrence Toland. d. Bretaigne Windust s. Martin Rackin Warner Brothers 87 min. Color 1951 A Fever in the Blood. Melodrama in which various candidates for governor manipulate a murder trial to further their own political ambitions. Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Angie Dickinson, Jack Kelly, Don Ameche, Ray Danton, Herbert Marshall. d. Vincent Sherman s. Roy Huggins and Harry Kleiner—from the novel by William Pearson. Warner Brothers 117 min. b/w 1961 The Fortune Cookie. In this comedy an ambulance-chasing attorney talks his brother-in-law into an elaborate million dollar insurance swindle. Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ron Rich, Cliff Osmond, Judi West, Lurene Tuttle, Harry Holcombe. d. Billy Wilder s. Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond. United Artists 125 min. Color 1966 The Ghoul. Horror-fantasy of a crooked lawyer and a man returned from the dead. Boris Karloff, Cedric Hardwicke, Ernest Thesiger, Dorothy Hyson, Anthony Bushell. d. T. Hayes Hunter s. Frank King, Leonard Hines, L. DuGarde Peach, Roland Pert- wee, John Hastings Turner and Rupert Downing—based on a novel by Frank King. Remade as the 1962 comedy No Place Like Homicide. GB: Gaumont-British 73 min. b/w 1933 The Girl Who Had Everything. Drama concerning a woman who falls in love with the criminal client of her attorney-father. Remake of A Free Soul. Elizabeth Taylor, Fernando Lamas, William Powell, Gig Young, James Whitmore, Robert Burton d. Richard Thorpe s. Art Cohn—based on a novel by Adela Rogers St. Johns. MGM 69 min. b/w 1 953 Grand Jury Secrets. Melodrama concerning two brothers, a news- paper reporter and a district attorney, in conflict over certain private and explosive information. John Howard, Gail Patrick, William Frawley, Harvey Stephens, Jane Darwell, Porter Hall. d. James Hogan s. Irving Reis and Robert Yost—based on the story by Reis and Maxwell Shane. Paramount 68 min. b/w 1939 The Green Scarf. Drama of an elderly French lawyer defending an accused murderer who is deaf, dumb and blind. Michael Redgrave, Ann Todd, Leo Genn, Kieron Moore, Jane Griffiths, Jane Henderson. d. George More O'Ferrall s. Gordon Wellesley GB: Associated Artists 96 min. b/w 1954 Hat, Coat and Glove. Involved melodrama of a famous lawyer de- fending his wife's lover for a murder he himself committed. Ricardo Cortez, Barbara Robbins, John Beal, Margaret Hamilton, Sara Haden. d. Worthington Miner s. Francis Faragoh—adapted from the play A Hat, a Coat, a Glove by Wilhelm Speyer. RKO 64 min. b/w 1934 Having Wonderful Crime. Melodrama concerning a lawyer turned amateur sleuth. Pat O'Brien, George Murphy, Carole Landis, Lenore Aubert, George Zucco. d. Eddie Sutherland s. Howard J. Green, Stewart Sterling and Parke Levy RKO 132 min. b/w 1945 I Am The Law. Crime melodrama concerning a law professor, newly named special prosecutor, who wages a one man war against a protection racket. Edward G. Robinson, Wendy Barrie, Barbara O'Neil, John Beat, Otto Kruger. d. Alexander Hall s. Jo Swerling—based on a series of magazine articles by Fred Allhoff. Columbia 83 min. b/w 1938 Illegal. Crime melodrama concerning a fast talking, double dealing lawyer playing cat and mouse with the boss of a crime syndicate. Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe, Jayne Mans- field, Albert Dekker. d. Lewis Allen s. W. R. Burnett and James R. Webb—from a story by Frank J. Collins. Warner Brothers 88 min. b/w 1955 Is There Justice? Melodrama concerning a tough district attorney who sends a crook and his innocent wife to prison, with tragic results. Rex Lease, Blanche Mehaffee, Henry B. Walthall, Robert Ellis, Helen Foster. d. Stuart Paton s . Betty Burbridge Sono Art-World Wide 65 min. b/w 1931 It Happened To Jane. Comedy of the legal tug-of-war between a pretty lobster-selling widow and a powerful railroad magnate. Doris Day, Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovaks, Steve Forrest, Teddy Rooney, Russ Brown. d. Richard Quine s. Norman Katkov—from a story by Katkov and Max Wilk. Columbia 98 min. Color 1959 It Started in Naples. Comedy-drama of an American lawyer who is involved in a child custody suit, as well as romance, in Italy. Clark Gable, Sophia Loren, Vittorio DeSica, Marietto, Paolo Carlini, Claudio Ermelli, Giovanni Filidoro. d. Melville Shavelson s. Melville Shavelson, Jack Rose, Suso Cecchi d'Amico—based on a story by Michael Pertwee and Jack Davies. Paramount 100 min. Color 1960 The Judge. In this melodrama a prominent criminal lawyer uses a killer he has just gotten acquitted after a hot courtroom battle as a pawn in a macabre scheme to avenge his wife's infidelity. Milburn Stone, Katherine deMille, Paul Guilfoyle, Stanley Wax- man, Norman Budd, Jonathan Hale. d. Elmer Clifton s. Samuel Newman, Clifton Bond based in part on a story by Julius Long. Emerald Productions (Film Classics) 69 min. b/w 1949 Jury's Evidence. Melodrama of a man on trial for his wife's murder, protracted jury deliberations, and a surprise ending. Hartley Power, Margaret Lockwood, Nora Swinburne, Sebastian Shaw, Jane Millican, Patrick Ludlow, Charles Paton. d. Ralph Ince s. Ian Dalrymple—from the story by Jack deLeon. GB: British Lion 71 min. b/w 1936 Justice Takes a Holiday. Melodrama of a judge who adopts the child of a man wrongly convicted of theft and then prevents his parole merely to insure the happiness of the child. Huntley Gordon, Audrey Ferris, Many Kamp, Robert Frazer, Syd Saylor, Patricia O'Brien. d. Spencer Bennett s. John Thomas Beville—from a story by Walter Anthony Mer- rill. Weeks Production (Mayfair) 63 min. b/w 1933 Juvenile Court. Melodrama in which a far-seeing, young public de- fender, who fails to win acquittal for a murder suspect, organizes a Police Athletic League to rehabilitate street kids. Paul Kelly, Rita Hayworth, Frankie Darro, Hally Chester, Don Latorre, David Gorcey. d. D. Ross Lederman s. Michael L. Simmons Columbia 60 min. b/w 1938 Knock On Any Door. In this drama a prominent lawyer defends, as a victim of society, a youth accused of killing a policeman. Humphrey Bogart, John Derek, Allene Roberts, George Mac- ready, Susan Perry. d. Nicholas Ray s. Daniel Taradash and John Monks, Jr.—from the novel by Willard Motley. Columbia 100 min. b/w 1949 Ladies of the Jury. In this comedy a society woman, sitting for the first time as a juror, causes havoc during a murder trial and in the ensuing jury deliberations. Edna Mae Oliver, Ken Murray, Roscoe Ates, Kitty Kelly, Lita Cherret. d. Lowell Sherman s. Adapted from the play by Frederick Ballard. RKO 64 min. b/w 1932 The Laughing Lady. Melodrama in which the divorced wife of a powerful banker falls in love with her husband's lawyer and sues for the custody of her child. Ruth Chatterton, Clive Brook, Dan Healy, Nat Pendleton, Ray mond Walburn, Dorothy Hall. d. Victor Schertzinger s. Bartlett Cormack and Arthur Richman—adapted from the play by Alfred Sutro. Paramount 77 min. b/w 1930 Let Us Live. Drama based on a real life case in Lynn, Massachusetts in which a murder trial is entering its third week when the real culprits are arrested and confess. Maureen O'Sullivan, Henry Fonda, Ralph Bellamy, Alan Bax ter, Stanley Ridges. d. John Brahm s. Anthony Veiller and Allen Rivkin —based on the story Murder in Massachusetts by Joseph F. Dinneen. Columbia 68 min. b/w 1939 Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean. Western based on the life of Roy Bean, the self-proclaimed west Texas judge of the 1880s. Paul Newman, Ava Gardner, Roddy McDowell, Victoria Prin- cipal, Anthony Perkins, Tab Hunter, John Huston. d. John Huston s. John Milius First Artists 120 min. Color 1972 Lonely Wives. Comedy of a lawyer employing a vaudeville per- former to serve as his double while he goes on the town. Edward Everett Horton, Esther Ralston, Laura LePlante, Patsy Ruth Miller. d. Russell Mack s. Walter DeLeon—based on the play by A. H. Wood. Pathe 85 min. b/w 1931 Madeleine (Strange Case of Madeleine). The story of Madeleine Smith who was tried in Scotland in 1857 for poisoning her lover. Ann Todd, Leslie Banks, Norman Wooland, Elizabeth Sellars, Ivor Bernard. d. David Lean s. Nicholas Phipps and Stanley Haynes GB: GFD/David Lean/Cineguild 101 min. b/w 1949 A Man Betrayed (Wheel of Fortune). Melodrama about a country lawyer determined to avenge the murder of a friend. John Wayne, Frances Dee, Edward Ellis, Wallace Ford, Ward Bond, Harold Huber. d. John H. Auer s. Isabel Down—adapted by Tom Kilpatrick from an original story by Jack Moffitt. Republic 83 min. b/w 1941 The Man in the Glass Booth. Drama of a guilt-ridden man, either a concentration camp survivor or a Nazi war criminal, climaxing in this trial. Maximilian Schell, Lois Nettleton, Luther Adler, Lawrence Pressman, Henry Brown. d. Arthur Hiller s. Edward Anhalt—based on the play by Robert Shaw. American Film Theater 120 min. Color 1975 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Western drama of a lawyer who comes to national prominence for the shooting of an in- famous gunman. James Stewart, John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Vera Miles, Edmund O'Brien, Andy Devine, Ken Murray, John Carradine. d. John Ford s. James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck—based on a story by Dorothy M. Johnson. Paramount 123 min. b/w 1962 Manhattan Melodrama. D.A. elected governor is torn between friendship and observance of the letter of the law when his boy- hood friend is condemned to the electric chair. Clark Gable, William Powell, Myrna Loy, Leo Carillo, Nat Pen- dleton, George Sidney, Isabel Jewell. d. W. S. VanDyke s. Oliver T. Marsh, H. P. Garrett, Joseph L. Mankiewicz— adapted from a story by Arthur Caesar. MGM 93 min. b/w 1934 Manslaughter. Melodrama of an uncompromising district attorney who must prosecute his lover and send her to prison. Claudette Colbert, Fredric March, Emma Dunn, Natalie Moor- head, Richard Tucker. d. George Abbott s. George Abbott—from a magazine story by Alice Duer Miller. Paramount 82 min. b/w 1930 Micki & Maude. Comedy of a bigamist whose two wives, one of whom is a rising young attorney, become pregnant at the same time. Dudley Moore, Amy Irving, Ann Reinking, Richard Mulligan, George Gaynes, Wallace Shawn. d. Blake Edwards s. Jonathan Reynolds Columbia 118 min. Color 1984 Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. In this comedy a multi-millionaire who decides to give away his money is believed insane by his attorney and must prove his sanity in court. Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, George Bancroft, Lionel Stander, Douglass Dumbrille, Raymond Walburn. d. Frank Capra s. Robert Riskin Columbia 115 min. b/w 1936 None Shall Escape. Drama of the trial of a Nazi officer, in which his savage career is viewed through flashbacks. Marsha Hunt, Alexander Knox, Henry Travers, Richard Crane, Dorothy Morris, Trevor Bardette. d. Andre de Toth s. Alfred Neuman, Joseph Than Columbia 85 min. b/w 1944 On Trial. Drama of a man on trial for a murder committed to protect his wife's honor. John Litel, Margaret Lindsay, Edward Norris, Janet Chapman, James Stephenson, Nedda Harrigan. d. Terry Morse s. Don Ryan—from the play by Elmer Rice. Warner Brothers 60 min. b/w 1939 A Passage to India. Drama of the clash of cultures in British coloni- al India and the trial of an Indian accused of raping a young Brit- ish woman. Judy Davis, Victor Banerjee, Peggy Ashcroft, James Fox, Alec Guinness, Nigel Havers. d. David Lean s. David Lean—based on the novel by E. M. Forster and the play by Santha Rama Rau. GB: John Brabourne and Richard Goodwin (Columbia) 163min. Color 1984 Paths of Glory. Drama of the court-martial and execution of three innocent French soldiers during World War I, only to salve a general's vanity. Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, Wayne Morris, George Macready, Richard Anderson. d. Stanley Kubrick s. Stanley Kubrick, Calder Willingham and Jim Thompson— based on the novel by Humphrey Cobb. United Artists 86 min. b/w 1957 Penthouse. Drama of a wealthy lawyer to underworld figures who tries to find the murderer of his former fiancee. Remade in 1939 as Society Lawyer, q.v. Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy, Charles Butterworth, Mae Clark, Phillips Holmes, C. Henry Gordon. d. W. S. VanDyke s. Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett—based on a novel in Cos- mopolitan by Arthur Somers Roche. MGM 90 min. b/w 1933 The People vs. Dr. Kildare. A brilliant doctor performs an emer- gency operation on a young woman at the scene of an auto acci- dent and is sued for negligence. Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, Bonita Granville, Alma Kruger, Red Skelton, Paul Stanton, Diana Lewis. d. Harold S. Bucquet s. Willis Goldbeck and Harry Ruskin—based on an original story by Lawrence P. Bachmann and Max Brand. MGM 78 min. b/w 1941 The People's Enemy. Underworld "mouthpiece" decides to take the long-suffering wife of a beer-baron away from it all in this melo- drama. Melvyn Douglas, Preston Foster, Lila Lee, Shirley Grey, Roscoe Ates, William Collier, Jr. d. Crane Wilbur s. Edward Dean Sullivan and Gordon Kahn RKO 66 min. b/w 1935 Possessed. An influential New York lawyer with political ambitions secretly keeps a mistress to avoid a divorce scandal in this roman- tic melodrama. Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Wallace Ford, Skeets Gallagher, Frank Conroy, Marjorie White, John Miljan. d. Clarence Brown s. Lenore Coffee—based on the play The Mirage by Edgar Sel- wyn. MGM 76 min b/w 1931 Prince of the City. Drama of a young detective in the New York City Special Investigations Unit who blows the whistle on depart- ment corruption. Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy, Don Billett, Kenny Marino, Carmine Caridi, Tony Page. d. Sidney Lumet s. Jay Presson Allen and Sidney Lumet—based on the book by Robert Daley. Orion/Warner Brothers 167 min. Color 1981 Ready for the People. Drama in which a prosecutor in the N.Y. Dis- trict Attorney's office is faced with trying a young man accused of murder whom he believes is innocent. (A failed TV pilot which was converted into a theatrical release.) Simon Oakland, Everett Sloane, Anne Helm, Richard Jordan, Karl Helm. d. Buzz Kulik s. E. M. Parsons, Sy Salkowitz—from a magazine story by Eleazar Lipsky. Warner Brothers 54 min. b/w 1964 The Remarkable Andrew. Whimsical drama of a courthouse clerk who is on trial for embezzlement and aided by the ghosts of John Marshall and other "founding fathers". Brian Donlevy, William Holden, Ellen Drew, Montagu Love, Gilbert Emery, Brandon Hurst. d. Stuart Heisler s. Dalton Trumbo Paramount 80 min. b/w 1942 The Runner Stumbles. Drama based on a 1927 murder case in which a priest is accused of killing a nun with whom he was in love. Dick Van Dyke, Kathleen Quinlan, Beau Bridges, Maureen Stapleton, Ray Bolger, Tammy Grimes. d. Stanley Kramer s. Milan Stitt—based on his play. Stanley Kramer Productions 99 min. Color 1979 The Silent Witness. Melodrama of a man tried for the murder of a woman strangled, in fact, by his own son. Lionel Atwill, Greta Nissen, Weldon Heyburn, Helen Mack, Bramwell Fletcher, Mary Forbes. d. Marcel Varnel and R. L. Hough s. Douglas Doty—adapted from the play by Jack DeLeon and Jack Celestin. Fox 73 min. b/w 1932 6,000 Enemies. Tough prosecutor is framed on a bribery charge by an underworld boss and sent to prison. Walter Pidgeon, Rita Johnson, Paul Kelly, Nat Pendleton, Har- old Huber, Grant Mitchell. d. George B. Seitz s. Bertram Millhauser—based on a story by Wilinon Menard and Leo L. Stanley. MGM 61 min. b/w 1939 Society Lawyer. Melodrama concerning a wealthy lawyer who gets a racketeer acquitted and is forever being rescued by the grateful man. Remake of Penthouse, q.v. Walter Pidgeon, Virginia Bruce, Leo Carrillo, Eduardo Cian- nelli, Lee Bowman, Frances Mercer, Ann Morriss. d. Edwin L. Marin s. Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Leon Gordon, and Hugo Butler—based on a story by Arthur Somers Roche. MGM 77 min. b/w 1939 Soldier's Story. Drama of a black army attorney called into a Southern army base to investigate the murder of a black sergeant. Howard E. Rollins, Jr., Adolph Caesar, Dennis Lipscomb, Art Evans, Denzel Washington, Larry Riley. d. Norman Jewison s. Charles Fuller—from his play. Caldix Films Ltd. (Columbia) 101 min. Color 1984 Stairway to Heaven. Fantasy of a World War II British airman who survives a fatal plane crash and conceives an illusory "trial" in heaven in which his appeal to remain on earth is heard. David Niven, Kim Hunter, Raymond Massey, Roger Livesey, Robert Coote, Marius Goring, Richard Attenborough. d. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger s. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger GB: J. Arthur Rank 104 min. b/w 1946 Star Chamber. A group of judges takes the law into its own hands, meting out justice to criminals freed from prosecution on technicalities. Michael Douglas, Hal Holbrook, Yaphet Kotto, Sharon Gless, James B. Sikking, Joe Regalbuto. d. Peter Hyams s. Roderick Taylor and Peter Hyams—based on a story by Roder- ick Taylor. 20th Century-Fox 109 min. Color 1983 Star of Midnight. Comedy-drama of a debonair lawyer-sleuth who solves a mystery. William Powell, Ginger Rogers, Paul Kelly, Gene Lockhart, Ralph Morgan, Leslie Fenton. d. Stephen Roberts s. Howard J. Green, Anthony Veiller, Edward Kaufman—based on a novel by Arthur Somers Roche. RKO 90 min. b/w 1935 The Story on Page One. Drama concerning the murder trial of a pair of lovers who murdered the woman's husband. Rita Hayworth, Anthony Franciosa, Gig Young, Mildred Dun- nock, Hugh Griffith, Sanford Meisner, Robert Burton. d. Clifford Odets s. Clifford Odets 20th Century-Fox 122 min. b/w 1959 The Strange Case of Dr. Rx. Whodunit concerning the hunt for a mysterious character who murders criminals gotten off by an un- scrupulous lawyer. Lionel Atwill, Patric Knowles, Anne Gwynne, Mona Barrie, Shemp Howard, Samuel S. Hinds, Paul Cavanagh. d. William Nigh s. Clarence Upson Young Universal 64 min. b/w 1942 A Stranger in Town. Melodrama of a Supreme Court justice, on va- cation in a small town rife with corruption, who must exercise his judicial offices. Frank Morgan, Richard Carlson, Jean Rogers, Porter Hall, John Hodiak, Robert Barrat, Chill Wills. d. Ray Rowland s. Isobel Lennart, William Kozlenko MGM 67 min. b/w 1943 The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Melodrama of murder, cover-up, and the threat of disclosure, involving a young lawyer. Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lisabeth Scott, Kirk Douglas, Judith Anderson, Roman Bohnen. d. Lewis Milestone s. Robert Rossen—based on a story by Jack Patrick. Paramount 117 min. b/w 1946 Strictly Dishonorable. Comedy-drama of an elderly judge and three young people involved in a romantic triangle. Paul Lukas, Sidney Fox, Lewis Stone, George Meeker, William Ricciardi, Sidney Toler. d. John Stahl s. Gladys Lehman—based on the play by Preston Sturges. Universal 91 min. b/w 1931 A Tale of Two Cities. Drama of a carefree British lawyer awakened to responsibility during the French Revolution and aiding victims of the Reign of Terror. Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allan, Edna Mae Oliver, Reginald Owen, Basil Rathbone, Donald Woods, Blanche Yurka, Henry B. Walthall. d. Jack Conway s. W. P. Lipscomb and S. N. Behrman—based on the novel by Charles Dickens. MGM 121 min. b/w 1935 A Tale of Two Cities. A remake of the above. Dirk Bogarde, Dorothy Tutin, Cecil Parker, Stephen Murray, Athene Seyler, Christopher Lee, Donald Pleasance, Ian Barmen. d. Ralph Thomas s. T. E. B. Clarke—based on the novel by Charles Dickens. GB: J. Arthur Rank 117 min. b/w 1958 Tell It To the Judge. Comedy concerning a woman lawyer anxious to be appointed a federal judge and her recently divorced lawyer husband. Rosalind Russell, Robert Cummings, Marie MacDonald, Gig Young, Harry Davenport. d. Norman Foster s. Nat Perrinq—from a story by Devery Freeman. Columbia 87 min. b/w 1949 Ten Rillington Place. Presentation of the famous John Christie Timothy Evans murder case which helped to end capital punish- ment in England. Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson, John Hurt, Gabrielle Daye, Andre Morell, Pat Heywood, Isobel Black. d. Richard Fleischer s. Clive Exton—based on the book by Ludovic Kennedy. GB: Columbia 111 min. Color 1971 Ten Little Indians. A remake of And Then There Were None, q.v., this version set in a remote chalet in the Austrian Alps. Hugh O'Brian, Shirley Eaton, Fabian, Leo Genn, Stanley Hol- loway, Wilfred Hyde-White, Daliah Lavi, Dennis Price. d. George Pollock s. Peter Yeldham—based on a Dudley Nichols script, adapted by Peter Welbeck from the play and novel by Agatha Christie. Tenlit Films/Seven Arts 92 min. b/w 1965 Ten Little Indians. A remake of the above, this version set in a hotel in the Iranian desert. Oliver Reed, Elke Sommer, Herbert Lom, Richard Attenbor- ough, Charles Aznavour, Stephane Audran, Gert Frobe, Adolfo Celi. d. Peter Collinson s. Enrique Llovet, Erich Krohnke—based on the play and novel by Agatha Christie. Italian/French/Spanish/W. German: Talia Films/Coralta Cine./ Corona Productions /Comeci, S.A. 105 min. Color 1975 Three Brave Men. Drama of a man released from a government job for "security reasons" and the several hearings leading to his vindication. Ray Milland, Ernest Borgnine, Frank Lovejoy, Nina Foch, Dean Jagger, Virginia Christine, Edward Andrews, Frank Faylon. d. Philip Dunne s. Philip Dunne—based on news stories by Anthony Lewis. 20th Century-Fox 88 min. b/w 1957 Tight Spot. Melodrama depicts the menaced protection of a female material witness in a gangster's deportation trial. Edward G. Robinson, Ginger Rogers, Brian Keith, Katherine Anderson, Lorne Greene, Eve McVeagh, Allen Nourse. d. Phil Karlson s. William Bowers—based on the play Dead Pigeon by Lenard Kantor. Columbia 97 min. b/w 1955 Trial and Error. British comedy centering around the courtroom dialogue between a meek little man accused of murdering his eternally cheerful wife and the ponderous, dull-witted barrister assigned to defend him. Peter Sellers, Richard Attenborough, Beryl Reid, David Lodge, Frank Pettingell, Eric Woodburn. d. James Hill s. Pierre Rouve—based on the play Dock Brief by John Mor- timer. MGM 85 min. b/w 1962 Twenty-One Days (U.S. title: Twenty-One Days Together). Brother of an eminent barrister about to become a judge accidentally kills the respected husband of the woman he's fallen in love with. Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, Leslie Banks, Francis L. Sul- livan, Hay Petrie, Esme Percy, Robert Newton. d. Basil Dean s. Graham Greene and Basil Dean—based on the play The First and the Last by John Galsworthy. GB: London-Denham Films 72 min. b/w 1939 Twilight of Honor. Drama of a small-town lawyer who must combat crooked lawyers and a biased judge and jury in defense of a man accused of a sex murder. Richard Chamberlain, Claude Rains, Nick Adams, James Greg- ory, Joan Blackman, Jeanette Nolan. d. Boris Sagal s. Henry Denker—based on a novel by Al Dewlen. MGM 115 min. b/w 1963 The Unguarded Hour. Melodrama of a young barrister defending a man for murder who can only be saved by an unknown, missing witness who turns out to be the wife of the barrister. Franchot Tone, Loretta Young, Lewis Stone, Roland Young, Jessie Ralph, Dudley Digges, Henry Daniell. d. Sam Wood s. Howard Emmett Rogers and Leon Gordon—based on the play by Ladislaus Fodor. MGM 80 min. b/w 1936 Whispering City. Melodrama of a lawyer who attempts to have killed a newspaper reporter who is slowly revealing his unsavory past. Paul Lukas, Mary Anderson, Helmut Dantine, Mimi d'Estee, John Pratt, Joy LaFleur. d. Fedor Ozep s. Rian James and Leonard Lee—from an original story by George Zuckerman and Michael Lennox. Canada: Quebec Production Corp. 95 min. b/w 1947 The Wiser Sex. Melodrama of a lawyer successfully ridding a town of racketeers who is caught unawares at the scene of a murder, framed, and tried for the crime. Melvyn Douglas, Claudette Colbert, Lilyan Tashman, William Boyd, Ross Alexander, Franchot Tone. d. Berthold Viertel s. Harry Hervey and Caroline Francke?—ased on the play Her Confessions by Clyde Fitch. Paramount 76 min. b/w 1932 The Wreck of the Mary Deare. Drama of a London Court of Inquiry convened to investigate the case of a freighter set afire and aban- doned in the English Channel. Gary Cooper, Charlton Heston, Michael Redgrave, Emlyn Wil- liams, Virginia McKenna, Cecil Parker, Alexander Knox. d. Michael Anderson s. Eric Ambler—based on the novel by Hammond Innes. MGM 106 min. b/w 1959 Young Man With Ideas. Comedy-drama of a young Montana lawyer who moves to California and encounters various problems while studying for the state bar exam. Glenn Ford, Ruth Roman, Denise Darcel, Nina Foch, Donna Corcoran, Ray Collins, Sheldon Leonard, Mary Wickes. d. Mitchell Leisen s. Arthur Sheekman MGM 84 min. b/w 1952 Young Mr. Lincoln. Dramatization of Lincoln's early years as a lawyer in Illinois. Henry Fonda, Alice Brady, Marjorie Weaver, Donald Meek, Richard Cromwell, Milburn Stone, Ward Bond. d. John Ford s . Lamar Troth 20th Century-Fox 100 min. b/w 1939 The Young Philadelphians. Melodrama of a poor lawyer scheming his way to the top of Philadelphia society while defending an army buddy on a murder charge. Paul Newman, Robert Vaughn, Barbara Rush, Alexis Smith, Diane Brewster, Brian Keith, Otto Kruger. d. Vincent Sherman s. James Gunn—from the novel The Philadelphian by Richard Powell. Warner Brothers 136 min. b/w 1959 Your Witness (U.S. title: Eye Witness). Drama of an American law- yer defending a war buddy on a murder charge in the English courts. Robert Montgomery, Patricia Wayne, Felix Aylmer, Leslie Banks, Michael Ripper. d. Robert Montgomery s. Hugo Butler and Ian Hunter. GB: Eagle-Lion 104 min. b/w 1950 Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1982. Gessner, Michael. "End Note," Student Lawyer, 12 (Mar., 1984), 56-57. Halliwell, Leslie. Halliwell's Film Guide: A Survey of 8000 English Language Movies. New York: Scribners', 1977. Maltin, Leonard. TV Movies. 1983-84 edition. New York: NAL, 1983. Michael, Paul. The American Movies Reference Book: The Sound Era. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1969. New York Times Film Reviews, 1913-1982. New York: Arno, 1970-1981. 12 vols. Screen World. New York: Crown, 1949- Variety Film Reviews, 1907-1980. New York: Garland, 1983. 16 vols. * Mr. Mastrangelo is Head of Acquisition/Cataloging, New York Law School. ** Ed. note: Although there may appear to be missing pages, the jumps in numbering merely reflect the fact that the published illustrations are not included in the web version of this article. |
