Class Action (1991)

Director:

Michael Apted

Writers (WGA):

Carolyn Shelby (written by) &
Christopher Ames (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

15 March 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

For the plaintiff...Jedediah Tucker Ward. For the defense...Margaret Eleanor Ward. Nothing Personal. It's just Father Vs. Daughter in the fight of their lives.

Plot:

Jeb Ward is an attorney who specializes in whistle blower, David vs. Goliath, type cases. He finds a...

Plot Keywords:

Trial | Work Ethic | Estrangement | Lawyer | Generation Gap

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Gene Hackman	...	Jedediah Tucker Ward
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio	...	Maggie Ward
Colin Friels	...	Michael Grazier
Joanna Merlin	...	Estelle Ward
Laurence Fishburne	...	Nick Holbrook (as Larry Fishburne)
Donald Moffat	...	Quinn
Jan Rubes	...	Pavel
Matt Clark	...	Judge Symes
Fred Dalton Thompson	...	Dr. Getchell
Jonathan Silverman	...	Brian
Joan McMurtrey	...	Ann
Anne Ramsay	...	Deborah (as Anne Elizabeth Ramsay)
David Byron	...	Carl
Tim Hopper	...	Howie
Robert David Hall	...	Steven Kellen
Ren Reynolds	...	Bartender at Bix
Wood Moy	...	Mr. Minh
Victor Talmadge	...	Bernstein
Ken Grantham	...	Anthony Patricola
Hajna O. Moss	...	Laura Holbrook
Abigail Van Alyn	...	Judge Ormsby
Greg Goossen	...	Bartender at Rosatti's (as Gregory B. Goossen)
Gretchen Grant	...	Party Goer
Richard Zitrin	...	Prosecutor
Elizabeth Monti	...	Clerk
John Dearman	...	Judge (as Judge John Dearman)
Carolyn Reynolds Najera	...	Receptionist
Carolyn Shelby	...	Woman Lawyer
James Van Harper	...	Janitor
Dan Hicks	...	Band at Rosatti's
Naomi Eisenberg	...	Group Band Singer
Maryann Price	...	Group Band Singer
Emmit Powell & The Gospel Elites	...	Gospel singer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Smadar Hanson	...	Jury Foreman (uncredited)
Michael D. Jones	...	Jury Member (uncredited)
Neil O'Neill	...	NightClub Attendee (uncredited)
Christabel Savalas	...	Office Worker (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Apted

Writing credits (WGA)
Carolyn Shelby		(written by) &
Christopher Ames		(written by) and
Samantha Shad		(written by)

Produced by
Christopher Ames	....	co-producer
Robert W. Cort	....	producer
Ted Field	....	producer
Scott Kroopf	....	producer
Kim Kurumada	....	associate producer
Carolyn Shelby	....	co-producer

Original Music by
James Horner

Cinematography by
Conrad L. Hall		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ian Crafford

Casting by
Lora Kennedy
Linda Lowy

Production Design by
Todd Hallowell

Art Direction by
Mark Billerman

Set Decoration by
Daniel Loren May		(as Dan May)

Costume Design by
Rita Ryack

Makeup Department
Stephen Abrums	....	head makeup artist (as Steve Abrums)
Steven E. Anderson	....	makeup artist
John M. Elliott Jr.	....	makeup artist (as John Elliott Jr.)
Emanuel Millar	....	head hair stylist (as Manny Miller)
Candace Neal	....	key hair stylist (as Candy Neal)
Catherine Childers	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Kim Kurumada	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Christian P. Della Penna	....	second second assistant director (as Chris Dellapenna)
Jodi Ehrlich	....	second assistant director
Marty P. Ewing	....	first assistant director (as Marty Ewing)
Robert J. Mooney	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
James R. Allen	....	assistant props (as Jim Allen)
Vince Armanino	....	lead carpenter
Lisa Devlin	....	stand-by painter (as Lisa Devlin)
Emily Ferry	....	property master
B.J. Fredrickson	....	lead painter
Dennis Hanrahan	....	swing gang
Gary Heider	....	swing gang
Barbara Mesney	....	set designer
Ray Mondoux	....	construction foreman
Barbara Munch	....	lead person
Gary E. Roloff	....	assistant property master (as Gary Roloff)
I.J. Van Perre	....	construction coordinator (as I.J. Van Perre Jr.)
Michael Whitehurst	....	swing gang
Jennifer Clinard	....	painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Lucy Coldsnow-Smith	....	supervising dialogue editor (as Lucy Coldsnow)
Don Digirolamo	....	sound re-recording mixer
Teri E. Dorman	....	dialogue editor (as Terry Dorman)
Michael Evje	....	sound mixer
Scott C. Eyler	....	assistant sound editor
Gary S. Gerlich	....	supervising sound editor
David Giammarco	....	dialogue editor
Dan Gleich	....	boom operator
Kimberly Harris	....	dialogue editor (as Kimberly Harris-Rivolier)
Ron S. Herbes	....	assistant sound editor (as Ron Herbes)
David L. Horton Jr.	....	foley editor
Samuel F. Kaufman	....	sound recordist (as Samuel T. Kaufman)
Elliott Koretz	....	sound effects editor (as Elliott L. Koretz)
Phillip Kos	....	assistant sound editor
Andrea Lakin	....	sound recordist
Andy Nelson	....	dubbing mixer
Steve Pederson	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Steve Pedderson)
Troy Porter	....	adr mixer
George Reinhardt	....	sound utility
Charleen Richards	....	adr mixer (as Charlene Richards)
Harry E. Snodgrass	....	sound editor
Tom Caton	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Lee Strosnider	....	sound mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Tom Sindicich	....	special effects
Peter Stolz	....	assistant special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Maurice Beesley	....	grip
Phil Bray	....	still photographer
Steve Cardellini	....	dolly grip
Gregory M. Childers	....	best boy grip (as Greg Childers)
Patrick Figueroa	....	grip
Gary Gill	....	rigging grip
Jeff Gilliam	....	electrician
Jon Guterres	....	key grip (as Jonathan Guterres)
Conrad W. Hall	....	first assistant camera
M. Todd Henry	....	camera operator (as Todd Henry)
Deborah Morgan	....	second assistant camera
Joe Carl Parsons	....	electrician
Tom Stern	....	chief lighting technician
Frank Strzalkowski	....	best boy electric
Kevin Thompson	....	electrician
Eric Blum	....	electrician (uncredited)
Lou Weinert	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Nancy Hayes	....	atmosphere casting
Bill McQuillen	....	casting assistant
Davia Nelson	....	casting: San Francisco
Jennifer Van Horn	....	atmosphere casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Giorgio Armani	....	selected wardrobe: Ms. Mastrantonio
Michael Becker	....	costumer: men (as Michael J. Becker)
Daniel Orlandi	....	assistant to costume designer
Mary Elizabeth Still	....	costumer: women (as Mary Still)
Sue Miller	....	costumer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Catherine Chase	....	assistant editor
Lee Grubin	....	first assistant editor
Phil Hetos	....	color timer
Ann Pollack	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Brandon Fields	....	musician
Ralph Grierson	....	musician
Jim Henrikson	....	music editor
James Horner	....	musician
Shawn Murphy	....	music scoring mixer
Ian Underwood	....	musician

Transportation Department
Chuck Alsobrook	....	transportation captain
Manny Demello	....	transportation co-captain
Frank Gonzales	....	transportation captain
James Thornsberry	....	transportation coordinator (as Jim Thornsberry)

Other crew
Paula Benson-Himes	....	production coordinator
David Boyll	....	location assistant (as David L. Boyll)
Stacy Carling	....	location assistant
Rory Enke	....	location manager
Gordon Epperson	....	caterer
Mary Jane Faris	....	assistant accountant
Jordana Glick-Franzheim	....	assistant: Mr. Cort
Susan Griffin	....	assistant location manager
Kimberly Hughes	....	production assistant
Linden Johnson	....	assistant accountant
Penny Key	....	assistant: Mr. Kroopf
David Lamb	....	location scout
Joe Murphy	....	production accountant
Karen Nemsick	....	caterer
Ellen Pasternack	....	unit publicist
Marshall Peck	....	production associate
Valerie Peterson	....	assistant production coordinator
Ann Pollack	....	assistant: Mr. Apted
Scott Rosencrans	....	production assistant
Frank Simeone	....	location assistant
Paula Tracy Smuin	....	choreographer (as Paula Smuin)
Judi Townsend	....	script supervisor
Richard Zitrin	....	legal advisor
Richard Zitrin	....	technical advisor
Cathryn Blum	....	location scout (uncredited)
Adam Pinkstaff	....	vehicle fabricator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Interscope Communications
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1991) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (1991) (France) (theatrical)
• Finnkino (1991) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Fox Video (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (2000) (Finland) (TV)
• Manuel Salvador (Spain)
• Oy Europa Vision AB (1991) (Finland) (VHS)
• SubTV (2007) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1995) (Finland) (TV) (TV2)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes and dollies
• Giorgio Armani  costumes: for Mary Elisabeth Mastrantonio
• John Ross Catering  catering
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Paula Silver Ltd.  titles
• Todd-AO/Glen Glenn Studios  recorded at
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for uses of strong language

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:S | Norway:11 | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:M | Iceland:L | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Bix Restaurant - 56 Gold Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Interscope Communications

Trivia:

San Francisco mayor Art Agnos and city supervisor Angela Alioto can be glimpsed as extras in church congregation during Gene Hackman's homage speech to his deceased wife.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): There is a scene between Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in the kitchen, and she says to Gene, "I forget......How many tablespoons are in a teaspoon?" She should have said, "How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon."

Quotes:

Jedediah Tucker Ward:By the way, you so much as look at my daughter, they won't be able to identify you with dental records.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fight Club (1999)

Soundtrack:

Canned Music

Class Action in A Class By Itself ****

Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio provide a perfect chemistry as a father and daughter, both of whom being attorneys in this excellent 1991 film.

The plot is twofold. Not only are the two on opposite sides of a case involving a faulty automobile but they must cope with the death of the mother, a lovely lady who chose to remain with a wandering Hackman.

Hackman argues the case for the defense. It is horrifying that a cover-up existed because it would be cheaper to deal with the lawsuits than to make the necessary improvements.

A very engrossing film dealing with the human spirit, ethics and indifference. Highly recommended.