The trial genre differs from the broader courtroom drama in that the latter includes any film in which a justice system plays an integral role in the film's narrative, and thus does not necessarily require the inclusion of a legal trial.[2]
Notable films
In 1989, the American Bar Association rated the 12 best trial films of all time in their ABA Journal, providing a detailed and reasoned legal evaluation for its choices. Ten of the films are in English; M (1931) is in German and The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) is a French silent film. Moreover, ten of them take place (at least, in part) in a courtroom.[3]
In 2008, the American Film Institute compiled its own "courtroom drama" top-ten list, five films of which were also on the ABA list.[2]
The ABA also published a list of the 12 best trial stageplays, noting that the transition from film to the stage is sometimes difficult. It also has an extensive honorable mention list.[4]
Aside from the first few minutes of the film, 12 Angry Men (1957) does not take place in a courtroom. It views the particular case and the system of justice through the prism of jury deliberations. The film explains practical explications of legal concepts basic to the American system of justice, and their effect on a particular trial and defendant. Those include the presumption of innocence, burden of proof, and the requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.[3]
The trial in M (1931) does not take place in a legal courtroom; rather, crime syndicate leaders along with the city's underground 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." 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.[3]
The military trial film is a subtype of the trial genre that focuses on military trials (i.e., court-martial).[1][2]
They typically include conflicting questions of loyalty, command responsibility, ethical rules and rules of engagement, obedience to superior authority, politics and class conflict. War and trials are good foils for one another. The struggles are perennial and engaging. A partial list includes:
black and white depiction of a corrupt World War I French court martial leading to a firing squad, and a 'futility of war' conclusion. It was directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Kirk Douglas as the failed defense attorney.
a court martial of Australian soldiers, including Harry 'Breaker' Morant, by their British commanders in the aftermath of the Boer War in South Africa. The film details the tribulations of the defense counsel and the defendants, as they try to throw a wrench into the administrative gears of Morant's court martial. Anticipating the Nuremberg trials and the defense of "superior orders", the soldiers' main defense is that they were doing their duty as they understood it, and following orders and policy from above. Nevertheless, this "kangaroo court" moves to its inevitable conclusion.[7] The film was nominated for an Academy Award.
Marine Colonel Terry Childers (Samuel L. Jackson) is brought to court-martial on charges of disobeying the rules of engagement in a military incident at an American embassy in Yemen, with flashbacks to Vietnam.
a Malayalam-language film based on Soorya Krishna Moorthy's stage play of the same name, which itself was based on the play Court Martial by Swadesh Deepak.
It is based on the life of Mildred Gillars, an American singer and actor who during World War II broadcast Nazi propaganda to US troops and their families back home.
The Man Who Sued God (2001), an Australian film starring Billy Connolly who takes God (represented by the church) to court for compensation over the destruction of his fishing boat due to an "act of God".
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), directed by Scott Derrickson, is an American courtroom drama horror film loosely based on the story of Anneliese Michel. It follows a self-proclaimed agnostic defense lawyer representing a parish priest who is accused by the state of negligent homicide after he performed an exorcism. The film, which largely takes place in a courtroom, depicts the events leading up to and including the exorcism through flashbacks.
Historical trial films are noted for frequently taking dramatic liberties with historical accounts for the purposes of simplifying the storyline, exaggerating dramatic effects, or pressing a point with the audience.
The Prisoner of Shark Island, a 1936 biopic directed by John Ford, loosely based on the life of Maryland physician Samuel Mudd, who treated the injured presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth and later spent time in prison after his controversial conviction for being one of Booth's accomplices.
They Won't Forget, a 1937 drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy, providing a fictionalized account of the trial and subsequent lynching of Leo Frank after the murder of Mary Phagan in 1913.
The Letter, a 1940 film directed by William Wyler, inspired by the Ethel Proudlock case, a real-life scandal involving the Eurasian wife of the headmaster of a school in Kuala Lumpur who was convicted in a murder trial after shooting dead a male friend.
Boomerang, a 1947 American crime semidocumentary film based on the true story of a vagrant (Harold Israel in real life, John Waldron in the film) accused of murdering a clergyman.
Murder in the First, a 1995 American legal drama that tells the alternate history of a petty criminal named Henri Young who is sent to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary and later put on trial for murder in the first degree
Amistad (1997) is a historical drama, directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the true story of an uprising in 1839 by newly-captured African slaves that took place aboard the ship La Amistad off the coast of Cuba, the subsequent voyage to the northeastern United States, and the legal battle that followed their capture by a U.S. revenue cutter. It was nominated for four Academy Awards.
Find Me Guilty, a 2006 comedy-drama based on the true story of the trial of Jackie DiNorscio, the longest Mafia trial in American history.
Flash of Genius, a 2008 American biographical drama film focusing on Robert Kearns (played by Greg Kinnear) and his legal battle against the Ford Motor Company after they developed an intermittent windshield wiper based on Kearns' patented invention.
Bernie (2011) is a black comedy film based on the real-life 1996 murder of 81-year-old millionaire Marjorie Nugent in Carthage, Texas by her companion Bernhardt "Bernie" Tiede. Tiede having been extremely well-liked in his local community, the film explores the trial process and the popular support he received, which caused great difficulties for the prosecution.
In Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) has his sanity examined at a hearing. The film won 4 Academy Awards, with Gwenn winning for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The film was also nominated for Best Picture.
From the Hip (1987) is a Comedy Drama starring Judd Nelson, Elizabeth Perkins, John Hurt, and Ray Walston about a first year lawyer manipulating his way into trying a case much earlier in his career than is normal. Much of the humor took place in the first case, a simple assault case in which he garnered significant media attention and developed a high profile for himself and attention to his firm. The more dramatic second case was a murder case which tested the young attorney's ethics.
A Fish Called Wanda, a 1988 heist comedy film following a gang of diamond thieves who double-cross one another to recover stolen diamonds hidden by their jailed leader. In an effort to locate the diamonds, one of the thieves seduces the barrister defending the leader.
My Cousin Vinny, a 1992 comedy film about an inexperienced personal injury lawyer who is hired to represent his cousin and the cousin's friend, who have been put on trial for a murder they did not commit.
Liar Liar, a 1997 American satirical fantasy comedy film starring Jim Carrey as a lawyer who built his entire career on lying but finds himself cursed to speak only the truth for a single day.
Legally Blonde, a 2001 American romantic comedy film about a sorority girl who attempts to win back her ex-boyfriend by following him to Harvard Law School, culminating in her defending a fellow sorority member on trial for murder.
Chicago, a 2002 satirical musical comedy film adapted from the 1975 stage musical of the same name, centered on the fictional cause célèbre trial of a woman who killed her paramour.
The Ox-Bow Incident, unusual in that the trial does not take place in a formal court room, but is a vote among a posse that turns into a lynch mob. Directed by William A. Wellman, and starring Henry Fonda (who also starred in Twelve Angry Men). It was nominated for Best Picture Oscar in 1943.
Trial, a 1955 American drama film 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.
The Tattered Dress, a 1957 film noir crime film centering on two trials, the first of a wealthy man charged with a murder, and the second of the wealthy man's defense attorney, who is framed for bribing a juror in the first case.
Gunman's Walk, a 1958 western directed by Phil Karlson.
The Boys, a 1962 British courtroom drama film revolving around four teenagers trial for the murder of a garage night watchman in the course of a burglary
The Last Wave (released in the United States as Black Rain), a 1977 Australian mystery drama film directed by Peter Weir,[11][12] about a white solicitor in Sydney whose seemingly normal life is disrupted after he takes on a murder case and discovers that he shares a strange, mystical connection with the small group of local Aboriginal people accused of the crime.
...And Justice for All (1979), directed by Norman Jewison and nominated for 2 Academy Awards, examines the flawed and human, venal, and immoral side of justice, focusing on all-too-human judges. As Norman Webster wrote, the film "is a sweeping – and somewhat simple-minded – indictment of the American justice system." The film can be seen from the perspective of Judicial Qualifications Commissions (also known as Judicial Tenure Commissions), which are judicial agencies charged with overseeing judicial performance and conduct. From that end, the indictment of the courts and judicial system (and the examples) are not so outlandish as might be supposed.[13] Starred Al Pacino, Jack Warden, and John Forsythe.
Suspect, a 1987 American legal mysterythriller film starring Cher as Kathleen Riley, a beleaguered D.C. public defender assigned to represent homeless veteran Carl Wayne Anderson (Liam Neeson) accused of a murder because he was seen sleeping in the victim's car the night of her murder.
Runaway Jury, a 2003 American film adaptation of the John Grisham novel The Runaway Jury,[15] the film pits lawyer Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman) against shady jury consultant Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman), who uses unlawful means to stack the jury with people sympathetic to the defense.
Fracture, a 2007 psychological legal crime thriller film.
The Trial, a 2010 drama film based on the novel of the same name by Robert Whitlow, centered on a murder trial.
The Lincoln Lawyer, a 2011 American legal thriller film starring Matthew McConaughey as an attorney who typically defends low-end criminals
The Judge, a 2014 American legal drama film starring Robert Downey Jr. as a hotshot lawyer defending his father, an aging judge played by Robert Duvall, against a vehicular manslaughter charge.
Joker: Folie à Deux, a 2024 American jukebox musical psychological thriller film directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, loosely based on DC Comics characters. It is the sequel to the 2019 film, Joker, and centers on the criminal trial for the events of the former film.
Vesper, Thomas J. (2012). Uncle Anthony's Unabridged Analogies, Quotes, Proverbs, Blessings & Toasts for Lawyers, Lecturers & Laypeople (3rd ed.). St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing, Thomson Reuters. ISBN9780314283214. (includes a section on movies about lawyers)
