A community for classic cinema enthusiasts who engage in discussions, share insights, and celebrate films from the early 20th century to the mid-1960s. Members appreciate the rich history, themes, techniques, and cultural significance of classic movies.
Question
I'm looking for recommendations that aren't "12 Angry Men", "Witness for the Prosecution" or "To Kill a Mockingbird" please and thank you
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Anatomy of a Murder
This by a long shot
Inherit the Wind and Judgment at Nuremberg are both excellent
Came here to recommend these two.
Can't go wrong with some Spencer Tracy
It takes a real man to keep up with Katharine Hepburn.
Judgment at Nuremberg is very good. But I beg to differ about Inherit the Wind. That movie is a trainwreck.
The Ox-Bow Incident
Witness for the Prosecution. One of THREE movies Billy Wilder made that year.
Confession (1937). An amazing Kay Francis movie that’s worth a blind buy on DVD, because I don’t know anywhere to stream it.
Maybe here? https://archive.org/details/confession-1937
Fritz Lang's Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, starring Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine.
"Anatomy of a Murder".
Foremost authenticity in terms of court procedures. For years it was routinely shown to pre-law college students as part of their freshman coursework.
Of much less merit --more like, just a pleasant time-waster, but still fun & fascinating --Paul Newman's performance in
'The Young Philadelphians'
I loved him in The Verdict.
Miracle on 34th Street
Nice
Excellent! One I already own, but haven't watched yet!
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Spoilers!!
Not Golden age. The Verdict with Newman & Mason is brilliant.
Agreed. Great movie.
Adam’s Rib?! Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy!!
Great movie. But it's more of a courtroom comedy.
Inherit the Wind.
It's been a while since I've watched it, so I don't remember how much if any of the actual trial we see, Intruder in the Dust (1949) centers around a murder trial. It's criminally neglected and a must see, especially if you liked To Kill a Mockingbirdcking.
NSFW (for language) trailer https://youtu.be/SNGo8a1RIpU?si=FLJqsIrVJgAA_Heo
Also The Letter, A Free Soul, and Compulsion all have pretty famous courtroom sequences.
I forgot about "The Letter"! The courtroom drama does play a key part in the story.
Intruder in the Dust is one of my favorite movies. You have excellent taste.
Anatomy of Murder is probably my favorite but that’s already been mentioned so a couple others that I think are worth watching
Verdict ( I know this is not exactly Golden Age but still think it’s worth mentioning with Newman and Mason in the cast)
Judgement at Nuremberg
I haven't seen many but the two that stick out are A Woman's Face and Confession.
In A Woman's Face the courtroom is more a framing device for the story leading up to it and the procedures are pre-war Sweden and probably adapted for the for the movie.
Similar with Confession but they were clever in not specifying the country in which it took place. This prevented any distractions from deviating from the procedures. This is set somewhere in Europe and as far as I know only the Anglosphere has jury trials.
A Woman's Face is a remake of a Swedish film. It doesn't have the courtroom scenes. I think it was adapted from a play. Maybe the play had them.
I think this is Joan Crawford's best film. I have seen the movie hundreds of times. I am totally hooked. I am so glad you posted this. How about that Conrad Veidt? Played the best villain.
Was Conrad Veidt anything but a villain?
I think he was mostly a villain, but IRL he was supposed to be a great guy. His wife was Jewish. Although he had a great career in German films, he gave up his career and came to the US to protect his wife from the Nazis. He was a tragic character in The Man Who Laughs. He again was a tragic figure hypnotized into doing bad things in the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. He dies at 50.
I was aware of most of that except for his old world work, because I don't speak or read foreign. He just had one of those bad guy faces, like Basil Rathbone.
I wonder if he was the model for Fearless Leader in the Rocky and Bulwinkle cartoons.
While not a courtroom drama more a courtroom adjacent drama Rope is a great watch
Not sure if 1961 still counts as classic, but Judgment at Nuremberg is an excellent courtroom drama with an inimitable Spencer Tracy and an up and coming Maximilian Schell.
It la not a courtroom drama but the trial scenes in To Kill A Mockingbird were amazing.
• Perfect Strangers (Ginger Rogers & Dennis Morgan, in their only other pairing besides Kitty Foyle)
• Inherit the Wind (Spencer Tracy, Gene Kelly, Frederic March, & Dick York)
• Judgement at Nuremberg (Spencer Tracy [again!] & Burt Lancaster)
• To Kill a Mockingbird (Gregory Peck)
Probably the most well-known of all courtroom dramas from Hollywood’s Golden Age, and for good reason. The fact that its plot and message are still as relevant today as they were when it was released is both shocking and not surprising at all. A must-watch.
• 12 Angry Men (Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb)
The writing and performances in this film are superb. Henry Fonda in his prime. Whenever I hear about a hung jury in a real-life criminal trial, I almost always think of this one.
• Adam’s Rib (Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Judy Holliday)
Not a courtroom drama, but I couldn’t help including it because it’s one of my fave Tracy/Hepburn flicks & it’s just brilliant all around.
So, to conclude:
Spencer Tracy was in a lot of courtroom films lol.
Compulsion - a 1959 movie about the same murders as Rope is about, but the movie isn't hindered by one take, same location staging. Orson Welles plays a judge!
His character is based on the same judge that was played by Spencer Tracy in Inherit the Wind.
I had no idea. Neat!
Witness for the prosecution.
I'm not sure if it qualifies as golden age (made in 1980), but "Breaker Morant" is one of the best ones out there.
Perry Mason
Selena Cross’s trial in Peyton Place. Dr. Swain had to make the moral choice of telling the unsavory, humiliating truth about why she killed her stepfather or let her potentially get the death penalty.
Perhaps also "Written on the Wind" would fit this category
"Roxie Hart" (1942) is interesting. It stars Ginger Rogers as Roxie. If the name is familiar, the movie is a non-musical version of what would later become "Chicago." There is no equivalent to Velma, but there are Billy Flynn and Amos Hart.
They won't believe me
This is another one of my favorite films. I love Robert Young. I tried to watch this the other day, but the streaming service stated it wasn't available. A must watch.
Young Mr Lincoln, part of the movie is courtroom drama
"The Defense Rests" (1934), starring Jean Arthur.
Love Jean Arthur
Ahh what’s it called… with Joan Crawford as a burlesque dancer and gets arrested and then has to choose between a playboy and her director in New York ? I don’t know if this is considered a courtroom drama but there is a court scene that’s so good
Dancing Lady (1933)
Thank you!
I've been meaning to watch this one
The Passion of Joan of Arc. It's before the Golden Age (silent era), but it's probably my favorite silent film. I always watch it with the "Voices of Light" score that was composed for it in 1994 and is available on the Criterion Collection editions.
To kill a mockingbird, 12 angry men and inherent the wind
Beyond Glory and South Sea Woman are two court martial films that I enjoyed.
Inherit The Wind but it's not historically accurate.
Same director- Judgement At Nuremburg.
The World Was His Jury (1958)
IMDB: An attorney defends a ship captain that was put on trial for negligence after a deadly event at sea. A courtroom drama about the true story of the sinking of SS Morro Castle (written by Herbert Abbott Spiro). Director: Fred F. Sears Writer: Herbert Abbott Spiro Stars: Edmond O'Brien, Mona Freeman, Karin Booth...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MF825hS7Ak
Three For Jamie Dawn (1956) Crime, Courtroom Drama
Three jurors are ripe for bribery by the lawyer (Richard Carlson) of a playgirl up for murder.
Director: Thomas Carr Writer: John Klempner Stars: Laraine Day, Ricardo Montalban, Richard Carlson
I don’t consider To Kill a Mockingbird a courtroom drama. Still a damn fine movie though.
12 Angry Men is undoubtedly one of the best but I have a weakness for Witness for the Prosecution. My mom had a teen crush on Tyrone Power, I love the performances.
Too bad Charles and Elsa never finished their production of I Claudius. That would have been wild.
Love Charles and Elsa - what a pity
Inherit the Wind
My Cousin Vinny (1992)
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What year is that from in the classic era? This sub is only 1960s and earlier.
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Wrong sub