Trial (1955)
This movie felt like one giant cheat. It’s a huge anti-Communism movie that ends up being a huge disappointment. Glenn Ford stars as a lawyer with no practical experience, sent to get some courtroom hours by his university dean. When he’s taken in by Arthur Kennedy, he proves to be completely inept in the ways of the law. That premise in itself makes very little sense. A law professor couldn’t possibly hold so little knowledge just because he’s never argued a case in court.
Arthur Kennedy is shown to be the oiliest of eels, a horrible, unscrupulous, immoral lawyer who manipulates everyone to his own gain. He’s such a monster, the likes of which have never been seen before ever! So thinks Glenn Ford, who obviously doesn’t get out much and has never seen a movie. Obviously, since Arthur Kennedy is so evil, he has to be a Communist. His secretary and former mistress, Dorothy McGuire, gets passed along to Glenn. Since she’s so loose, she has to be a Communist. It was an incredibly lazy casting choice, given her similar bad-but-sorry role in Gentleman’s Agreement.
The judge in the case is Juano Hernandez, who was solely cast because of the color of his skin. The movie even admits it! Glenn Ford complains and asks for a different judge, and Arthur Kennedy baits him with racial insults. I like Juano and look forward to seeing him included in a movie’s cast, but not when he’s only included to prove a point.
The actual trial, upon which the movie is titled, also doesn’t make any sense. A Hispanic kid, Rafael Campos, is accused of raping and killing a white girl. His defense: he couldn’t have raped her because he wasn’t even acquainted with the facts of life yet. Even if it is the truth, no attorney should put his client on the stand and let him tell it. Glenn Ford is repeatedly made out to be a terrible lawyer, but we’re supposed to forgive him because. . . he’s not a Communist. Throughout the trial, there’s never any mention of physical evidence to prove either side, such as scratches, bruises, proof of strangulation, etc.
Needless to say, I don’t recommend this movie. For a better Glenn Ford and Rafael Campos movie, check out Blackboard Jungle, for Arthur Kennedy, rent Bright Victory, for Dorothy McGuire, The Enchanted Cottage, and for Juano Hernandez, watch Young Man with a Horn.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Matt Byrne" for posting!
More Whit Bissell movies here!
Arthur Kennedy is shown to be the oiliest of eels, a horrible, unscrupulous, immoral lawyer who manipulates everyone to his own gain. He’s such a monster, the likes of which have never been seen before ever! So thinks Glenn Ford, who obviously doesn’t get out much and has never seen a movie. Obviously, since Arthur Kennedy is so evil, he has to be a Communist. His secretary and former mistress, Dorothy McGuire, gets passed along to Glenn. Since she’s so loose, she has to be a Communist. It was an incredibly lazy casting choice, given her similar bad-but-sorry role in Gentleman’s Agreement.
The judge in the case is Juano Hernandez, who was solely cast because of the color of his skin. The movie even admits it! Glenn Ford complains and asks for a different judge, and Arthur Kennedy baits him with racial insults. I like Juano and look forward to seeing him included in a movie’s cast, but not when he’s only included to prove a point.
The actual trial, upon which the movie is titled, also doesn’t make any sense. A Hispanic kid, Rafael Campos, is accused of raping and killing a white girl. His defense: he couldn’t have raped her because he wasn’t even acquainted with the facts of life yet. Even if it is the truth, no attorney should put his client on the stand and let him tell it. Glenn Ford is repeatedly made out to be a terrible lawyer, but we’re supposed to forgive him because. . . he’s not a Communist. Throughout the trial, there’s never any mention of physical evidence to prove either side, such as scratches, bruises, proof of strangulation, etc.
Needless to say, I don’t recommend this movie. For a better Glenn Ford and Rafael Campos movie, check out Blackboard Jungle, for Arthur Kennedy, rent Bright Victory, for Dorothy McGuire, The Enchanted Cottage, and for Juano Hernandez, watch Young Man with a Horn.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Matt Byrne" for posting!
More Whit Bissell movies here!