Discussion - Courtroom Dramas
The Verdict (1982)
PRESUMED INNOCENT is a great courtroom thriller. What is your favorite courtroom drama?
There are so many to choose from: WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION, ANATOMY OF A MURDER, TWELVE ANGRY MEN…Gabler’s own personal favorite is Sidney Lumet’s THE VERDICT.
I agree THE VERDICT is a superb courtroom drama and I’d hold them in a tie to BREAKER MORANT and MAN FOR ALL SEASONS.
My favorite courtroom movie is “Inherit the Wind” (1960), about ther Scopes Monkey Trial. Excellent drama and suspense by attorneys (Spencer Tracy -defense, Fredric March - prosecution), judge (Henry Morgan), defendant (Dick York), and columnist (Gene Kelly). That it is based on fact and is a story I learned of in school, one that made immense headlines, adds to the tension.
Jo listed a film that’s not often seen on TV, BREAKER MORANT. Maybe Reel 13 could air it.
Anyone recall a peculiar little courtroom denouement in the David Lean film “Madeleine?” It was based on a true story of a case in Scotland.
The Accused is a great courtroom drama, and Jody Foster is amazing.
A really excellent courtroom drama - although it is technically a court-martial - is John Ford’s genuinely riveting “Sergeant Rutledge”. Jeffrey Hunter defends a black soldier, Woody Strode, on the charges that he raped and killed a very young white woman.
I really liked Witness for the Prosecution with Tyrone Power and Marlene Dietrich
how about these great black and white movies — Gregory Peck/ To Kill a Mockingbird, Jimmy Stewart/ in Anatomy of a Murder — Bogart/The Caine Mutiny & Twelve Angry Men/Fonda. Can anyone think of a courtroom comedy worthy of note?
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