In over 100 years of cinema there are hundreds of movies with legal scenes or themes. In Greta Garbo’s last silent film, The Kiss (1929), she is on trial for killing her husband. Her defense counsel (and former lover) avows his faith in her innocence—“a faith greater than that of lawyer to client.” Maybe ethical rules were different in 1929 in France?
I use film clips in the appellate practice class at Stetson University College of Law, a fertile source for preservation of error examples and other lessons. Most of the students—and younger lawyers in our Inn—are unfamiliar with even the more recent movies on this list. That should be remedied.
Some films are built around trials. These can provide lessons in litigation tactics, preservation of error, ethical issues, and much more. Many provide outstanding entertainment as well, including those in the list that follows. This list is subjective, not exhaustive, and in no particular order.
Anatomy of a Murder (1959) features a strong script by a lawyer/judge based on an actual case. Jimmy Stewart plays the lead defense counsel, defending Ben Gazarra’s character for killing a man who attacked his wife, a femme fatale portrayed by Lee Remick. Actor George C. Scott is on the prosecutor’s team. Evidentiary issues abound, and there is a rare scene of lawyers doing legal research using books. Maybe the best scene is when Stewart explains to Gazarra the potential defenses to a murder charge. Too much coaching? Watch and decide.
In John Grisham’s The Rainmaker (1997) plaintiff’s counsel Rudy Baylor, played by Matt Damon, admits to the judge played by Danny Glover that Damon is out of his league, fighting a team of insurance company lawyers led by John Voight. Damon is assisted by “para-lawyer” Deck Shifflet, played by Danny Devito, who provides a clinic in illegally soliciting another injury victim in person while the victim is still in the hospital. Some courtroom shenanigans are over the top, but stay tuned for Damon’s rebuttal closing, violating multiple rules in about 30 seconds.
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) brings Harper Lee’s novel to the screen with Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. Peck deservedly won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Before the trial starts the judge stops by Finch’s house to ask him to defend Tom Robinson, a Black man wrongfully accused of assaulting a white woman in Alabama. Great performances abound, including a silent but significant first film appearance by Robert Duvall.
The Verdict (1982) stars Paul Newman as an alcoholic lawyer representing the parents of a young brain-damaged mother in a Boston medical malpractice case. He is opposed by a cadre of lawyers led by actor James Mason. The film is rife with ethical violations (which begin before trial), questionable evidentiary rulings, failures to preserve, contempt warranting rants, and a nonsensical legal case cite, suggesting if there was a lawyer involved in filming, the lawyer was missing that day.
Inherit The Wind (1960) was directed by Stanley Kramer and based on the 1955 play. It is a fictionalized depiction of the Scopes monkey trial, which took place in Dayton, Tennessee, in 1925. It was the only prosecution for teaching evolution in violation of a state law, repealed in 1967. Spencer Tracy plays Henry Dummond, who represents Clarence Darrow. The special prosecutor is named Matthew Harrison Brady—the fictionalized version of former presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan—and portrayed by Fredric March. Courtroom scenes include jury selection and Tracy calling opposing counsel March to the stand as an expert on the Bible after the court excludes the scientific experts Tracy had planned to call.
My Cousin Vinny (1992) is another Alabama trial with actor Joe Pesci defending his cousin and a friend for the murder of a convenience store owner. Fred Gwynne plays an excellent old school judge (he may not be correct, but he is never in doubt). Marisa Tomei won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and among other things shows how one could be an expert witness based on experience—in her case automotive expertise.
Witness for the Prosecution (1957) is a celluloid version of the 1953 Agatha Christie play. Charles Laughton plays a senior barrister defending Leonard Vols, played by Tyrone Power, who is being prosecuted for murdering an older woman he befriended after she names him in her will and is killed. Marlene Dietrich gives a tour de force performance as “the” witness. Laughton displays some courtroom “tricks,” and like most of the films on the list, this one comes with a surprise ending. And yes, the lawyers and judges wear wigs.
Marshall (2017) depicts Thurgood Marshall early in his career, defending a Black chauffeur accused of raping his white woman employer in 1941 Connecticut. Actor Chadwick Boseman (who died in 2020), portrays Marshall as a skillful trial lawyer with excellent instincts. This is another of several films on this list that have dramatic demonstrations during the trial.
Philadelphia (1993) won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Tom Hanks as a lawyer who sues his elite law firm, claiming he was fired when it became apparent he had AIDS. This was an early mainstream film dealing with such issues. Denzel Washington portrays a personal injury lawyer and Hanks’ former adversary whom Hanks hires to represent him. The trial features another demonstration and fine acting by Hanks, Washington, defense counsel played by Mary Steenburgen, and a nuanced performance by Charles Napier as the judge.
A Few Good Men (1992) was based on an actual 1986 incident—although in real life the marine went into a coma but survived. Actor Tom Cruise is lead defense counsel defending the court martial of two accused marines in a case that goes to trial, contrary to his plea bargaining routine. Jack Nicholson was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and J.A. Preston turned in a fine performance as the chief judge. Those who don’t know what “you can’t handle the truth” means will learn when they watch.
It was difficult to keep this list to 10. There are many more movies with great true and fictional stories, fine acting, and legal lessons. Each of these is worth investing two hours.
Finally, a mention that one of the finest actors of the past 50-plus years has played a lawyer in three stages of his career. A young Al Pacino plays a conflicted criminal defense lawyer who delivers a dramatic opening statement in And Justice For All. Pacino is also the managing partner in The Devil’s Advocate: “Are we negotiating? Always.” And he is the senior lawyer delivering a golden rule, personal opinion-laced closing in American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally. The middle one is not for kids.
Raymond T. (Tom) Elligett Jr., Esquire, is an appellate and trial lawyer with Buell Elligett Farrior & Faircloth, P.A. in Tampa, Florida. He is a member of the J. Clifford Cheatwood American Inn of Court and serves on the Editorial Board for The Bencher.