Trial film

Trial films is a film genre, also commonly referred to as courtroom drama.

The American Bar Association's list

In 1989, the American Bar Association rated the twelve best trial films of all time, and provided a detailed and reasoned legal evaluation for its choices. Ten of them are in English; M is in German and The Passion of Joan of Arc is a French silent film. The films on the ABA Journal list are here:

Ten of the movies take place (at least in part) in courtrooms.

The American Bar Association also published a list of the 12 best trial plays, noting that the transition from film to the stage is sometimes difficult. It also has an extensive honorable mention list.

Oddities

The trial in M is not in a legal courtroom. Instead, the city's crime syndicate leaders and underground elements hold proceedings in a warehouse. Despite the lack of legal trappings, "it is one of the most effective trials ever filmed, questioning our notions of justice and revenge, mob rule and order, power and responsibility. Our social orientation is flip-flopped." Wearing long leather coats instead of robes, criminals become judges. The murderer is cast as the victim, while the forces of law and order must rely on luck. Peter Lorre strikingly raises the issue of his culpability due to alleged insanity, and the imposition of ultimate retributive justice is depicted as being unsatisfying for society and the survivors of the murdered victims.

Trial (1955 film)

Trial is a 1955 American film directed by Mark Robson based on the novel written by Don Mankiewicz. It stars Glenn Ford, Dorothy McGuire, Arthur Kennedy, and Juano Hernandez. It is about a Mexican boy accused of rape and murder; originally victimized by prejudiced accusers, he becomes a pawn of his communist defender, whose propaganda purposes would be best served by a verdict of guilty.

Plot

Angel Chavez (Rafael Campos) is a Mexican American who lives in the small California town of San Juno. During an annual event called Bass Night held at the town beach, he wanders onto the beach, off-limits to Mexican Americans. There he meets a non-Hispanic girl from his high school class. After she suffers a heart attack and dies, Angel is arrested and charged with murder.

At the state university, a law professor, David Blake (Glenn Ford), is told he can no longer teach because he has never appeared in court to defend a client. Blake asks if he would be able to teach in the fall semester if he finds work with a law firm for the summer and gets courtroom experience. The dean agrees and Blake finds work at a small law firm run by Bernard Castle (Arthur Kennedy). Castle wants to defend Angel and agrees to hire Blake to handle the case. Castle and Angel's mother (Katy Jurado) travel to New York City to raise money to defend Angel. Castle leaves his law clerk Abbe Nyle (Dorothy McGuire) to help Blake, and they fall in love.