Just Cause (1995)

Director:

Arne Glimcher

Writers (WGA):

John Katzenbach (novel)
Jeb Stuart (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

17 February 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Buried deep in the Florida Everglades is a secret that can save an innocent man or let a killer kill again.

Plot:

A Harvard professor is lured back into the courtroom after 25 years to take the case of a young black man condemned to death for the horrific murder of a child.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Harvard | Florida | Harvard Professor | Debate

Cast

Sean Connery	...	Paul Armstrong
Laurence Fishburne	...	Sheriff Tanny Brown
Kate Capshaw	...	Laurie Prentiss Armstrong
Blair Underwood	...	Bobby Earl
Ed Harris	...	Blair Sullivan
Christopher Murray	...	Detective T.J. Wilcox
Ruby Dee	...	Evangeline
Scarlett Johansson	...	Katie Armstrong
Daniel J. Travanti	...	Warden
Ned Beatty	...	McNair
Liz Torres	...	Delores Rodriguez
Lynne Thigpen	...	Ida Conklin
Taral Hicks	...	Lena Brown
Victor Slezak	...	Sgt. Rogers
Kevin McCarthy	...	Phil Prentiss
Hope Lange	...	Libby Prentiss
Chris Sarandon	...	Lyle Morgan
George Plimpton	...	Elder Phillips
Brooke Alderson	...	Dr. Doliveau
Colleen Fitzpatrick	...	Prosecutor
Richard Liberty	...	Chaplin
Joel S. Ehrenkranz	...	Judge
Barbara Jean Kane	...	Joanie Shriver
Maurice Jamaal Brown	...	Reese Brown
Patrick Maycock	...	Kid Washing Car #1
Jordan F. Vaughn	...	Kid Washing Car #2
Francisco Paz	...	Concierge
Marie Hyman	...	Clerk
S. Bruce Wilson	...	Party Guest
Erik Stephan	...	Student
Melanie Hughes	...	Receptionist
Megan Meinardus	...	Slumber Party Girl
Melissa Hood-Julien	...	Slumber Party Girl
Jenna Del Buono	...	Slumber Party Girl
Ashley Holliday	...	Slumber Party Girl (as Ashley Popelka)
Marisa Perry	...	Slumber Party Girl
Ashley Council	...	Slumber Party Girl
Augusta Lundsgaard	...	Slumber Party Girl
Connie Lee Brown	...	Prison Guard
Clarence Lark III	...	Prison Guard
Monte St. James	...	Prisoner
Gary Landon Mills	...	Prisoner
Shareef Malnik	...	Prisoner
Tony Bolano	...	Prisoner
Angelo Maldonado	...	Prisoner
Fausto Rodriguez	...	Prisoner
Karen Leeds	...	Reporter
Dan Romero	...	Reporter
Donn Lamkin	...	Reporter
Stacie A. Zinn	...	Reporter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mark Cheek	...	Student (uncredited)
Kylie Delre	...	Woman in Courtroom (uncredited)
Rocky Essex	...	State Trooper (uncredited)
Deborah Smith Ford	...	Medical Examiner (uncredited)
April Freeman	...	Woman in Courtroom (uncredited)
Patrick Fullerton	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Jody Millard	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Rene Teboe	...	Man in Bus Terminal (uncredited)

Directed by
Arne Glimcher

Writing credits (WGA)
John Katzenbach		(novel)
Jeb Stuart		(screenplay) and
Peter Stone		(screenplay)

Produced by
Michael Alden	....	associate producer
Sean Connery	....	executive producer
Gary Foster	....	co-producer
Arne Glimcher	....	producer
Steve Perry	....	producer
Anna Reinhardt	....	co-producer
Lee Rich	....	producer
Rhonda Tollefson	....	associate producer

Original Music by
James Newton Howard

Cinematography by
Lajos Koltai

Film Editing by
William M. Anderson		(as William Anderson)
Armen Minasian

Casting by
Kerry Barden
Billy Hopkins
Suzanne Smith

Production Design by
Patrizia von Brandenstein		(as Patrizia Von Brandenstein)

Art Direction by
Dennis Bradford

Costume Design by
Gary Jones
Ann Roth

Makeup Department
Paul Abascal	....	hair stylist
Scott H. Eddo	....	makeup artist (as Scott Eddo)
Donna Battersby Greene	....	hair stylist (as Donna Greene)
Melanie Hughes	....	makeup artist: Mr. Connerry
Shelley Woodhouse	....	makeup artist (as Shelly Woodhouse)

Production Management
Spencer Franklin	....	production supervisor
Steve Perry	....	unit production manager
David Collins	....	production supervisor (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard Patrick	....	second assistant director
Steve Perry	....	second unit director
Thomas A. Reilly	....	first assistant director (as Tom Reilly)
Gary Sales	....	first assistant director: second unit

Art Department
Jason Bedig	....	lead person
Michael Calabrese	....	swing gang
Scott Edinger	....	greensman
Richard Fernandez	....	assistant art director
Emily Ferry	....	property master
Mark Garner	....	set designer
Joseph Genna	....	swing gang
Robert Kopp	....	greensman
Otto Lindsey	....	swing gang
Brick Mason	....	storyboard artist
Pablo Miranda	....	mural artist
Peter Müller	....	set dresser (as Peter Muller)
Maria Nay	....	set decorator: Naples
Frank A. Raffa Jr.	....	swing gang (as Frank Raffa)
Bill Rea	....	assistant art director
Cloudia Rebar	....	set decorator: Miami (as Cloudia)
John H. Samson	....	construction coordinator (as John Samson)
Phillipa Sledge	....	art department coordinator
John Snow	....	master scenic artist
Joy Taylor	....	assistant property master
Eric Weiler	....	lead person
Susan Inge Wood	....	stand-by painter (as Susan Wood)
Thom Caraccio	....	signwriter (uncredited)
Robert Crowley	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Stephen I. Erdberg	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Michael J. Flynn	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Johnny Graham	....	propmaker (uncredited)
Charles Guanci Jr.	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Dean F. Janik	....	signwriter (uncredited)
Cheryl C. Johnson	....	stand-by painter (uncredited)
Brian Kontz	....	plaster foreman (uncredited)
Gary Metzen	....	construction (uncredited)
Jack Reeves	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Alan S. Reynolds	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Adrian Start	....	supervising painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
David Boulton	....	adr mixer
Laura Civiello	....	dialogue editor
Missy Cohen	....	assistant dialogue editor (as Melissa Cohen)
Lee Dichter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Richard Friedlander	....	foley editor
Michael Kirchberger	....	supervising sound editor
Dan Korintus	....	dialogue editor
Antonio Martínez	....	adr editor (as Antonio Martinez)
Jane McCulley	....	supervising adr editor
Michael W. Mitchell	....	assistant sound editor (as Michael Mitchell)
Branka Mrkic	....	assistant foley editor
James H. Nau	....	assistant adr editor (as James Nau)
Jac Rubenstein	....	foley editor
James Sabat	....	production sound mixer
Louis Sabat	....	boom operator
Warren Shaw	....	sound editor
Paul P. Soucek	....	sound effects editor (as Paul Soucek)
Jeffrey Stern	....	dialogue editor
Bill Sweeney	....	assistant adr editor (as William Sweeney)
David Wahnon	....	assistant foley editor
Tony Martinez	....	group adr editor (uncredited)
Nick Smith	....	assistant adr editor (uncredited)
Brian Vancho	....	foley artist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Robert S. Henderson	....	special effects (as Robert Henderson)
Michael Meinardus	....	special effects
Joe Pancake	....	special effects
Evan Campbell	....	sculptor (uncredited)
Carol Koch	....	cosmetic finisher (uncredited)
Yoichi Art Sakamoto	....	lab technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Bill Hansard	....	projection scenes

Stunts
Danny Aiello III	....	stunts
Pete Antico	....	stunts
Bob Arnold	....	stunts
Maryellen Aviano	....	stunts
John Cade	....	stunts
Monty Cox	....	stunts
Cindy Daniels	....	stunts
Dennis Deveaugh	....	stunts
Kiante Elam	....	stunts
Kenny Endoso	....	stunts
Debbie Evans	....	stunts
Frank Ferrara	....	stunts
Bobby J. Foxworth	....	stunts (as Bobby Foxworth)
Stephen P. Hart	....	stunts
Kane Hodder	....	stunts
Keii Johnston	....	stunts
Henry Kingi	....	stunts
Joel Kramer	....	stunts
Johnny Martin	....	stunts (as John Martin)
Bennie Moore	....	stunts
Scott Nicholson	....	stunt bus driver
Chuck Picerni Jr.	....	stunt coordinator
Steve Picerni	....	stunts
Jeff Winn	....	stunts
Debbie Evans	....	stunt double: Kate Capshaw (uncredited)
George A. Sack Jr.	....	stunt driver (uncredited)
Tommy Mack Turvey	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Herb Ault	....	key grip
Jerry Bertolami	....	dolly grip
Colin J. Campbell	....	chief lighting technician (as Colin Campbell)
David S. Campbell	....	assistant camera: wildlife unit (as David Campbell)
Doug Cowden	....	best boy grip
Ray De La Motte	....	camera operator (as Ray De La Monte)
Alan Degen	....	director of photography: wildlife unit
Nivaldo González	....	second assistant camera: second unit (as Niualdo Gonzalez)
Frank Graziadei	....	video assist operator
Michael Green	....	first assistant camera
Frank M. Holgate	....	director of photography: aerial unit (as Frank Holgate)
Edward Knott III	....	key grip: second unit (as Edward Knett III)
Marvin Lee	....	second assistant camera
Gregory Lundsgaard	....	Steadicam operator
Gregory Lundsgaard	....	camera operator
Bill McConnell Jr.	....	second assistant camera
William McConnell	....	first assistant camera
John McGowan	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Michael McGowan	....	camera operator: second unit (as Mike McGowan)
Brian W. Nordheim	....	second assistant camera (as Brian Nordheim)
David Norris	....	camera technician: Wescam camera
Ron Phillips	....	still photographer
Frank Scheidbach	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Rob Scott	....	chief lighting technician: second unit
William Smaling	....	camera operator: second unit (as Bill Smalling)
William Tobin	....	first assistant camera: second unit (as Bill Tobin)
Alexander Witt	....	director of photography: second unit
Richard Clark	....	video playback operator (uncredited)
Dick Deats	....	key grip (uncredited)
Jon Baronn Farmer	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Jonathan Nixon	....	camera car grip (uncredited)
Earl Perque	....	grip: second unit (uncredited)
Jan Pester	....	Steadicam operator (uncredited)
Brian A. Pitts	....	set electrician: Boston (uncredited)
Leo Tamargo	....	aerial unit camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Maryellen Aviano	....	extras casting
David H. Kramer	....	adr voice casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Cheryl Beasley Blackwell	....	costume supervisor
Helen Monaghan	....	costumer
Hans Georg Struhar	....	costumer: Mr. Connery (as Hans Struhar)

Editorial Department
Edward R. Abroms	....	lightworks assistant (as Ed Abroms)
Elizabeth Dellureficio	....	assistant film editor
William Henry	....	first assistant film editor (as Bill Henry)
Gloria Kaiser	....	color timer
Marie-Pierre Renaud	....	assistant film editor (as Marie Pierre Renaud)
Fela Ife Small	....	post-production coordinator (as Fela Small)
Mitchel Stanley	....	additional film editor
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter (uncredited)
Laurie Butler	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Jeff Atmajian	....	orchestrator
Chris Boardman	....	orchestrator
Brad Dechter	....	orchestrator
Thomas S. Drescher	....	music editor (as Thomas Drescher)
James Newton Howard	....	orchestrator
Artie Kane	....	conductor
Frank Macchia	....	music preparation
Michael Mason	....	score co-producer
Shawn Murphy	....	score mixer
James Thatcher	....	musician: french horn (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Joyce M. Lark	....	transportation captain (as Joyce Lark)
Gary Preece	....	transportation captain
Dan Romero	....	transportation coordinator
Stanley Storc	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Gustavo Acosta	....	staff assistant
Lester Ayala	....	script supervisor
Keiko Baxter	....	staff assistant
Jessica Berman	....	staff assistant
William Bowling	....	location manager (as Bill Bowling)
Kelli L. Bright	....	staff assistant (as Kelly Bright)
Jennifer Burkley	....	staff assistant
Jeanne Byrd	....	script supervisor: second unit
Gary Cergol	....	staff assistant
Laureen Clarke	....	production secretary: second unit
Katherine Codekas	....	assistant production accountant
Cristina Colissimo	....	staff assistant (as Christina Colissimo)
Eileen Costello	....	assistant: Arne Glimcher
Peggy Craven	....	staff assistant
Patricia De Libero	....	staff assistant (as Patricia Delibero)
Shawn Deaver	....	staff assistant
Thomas S. Dickson	....	projectionist (as Tom Dickson)
Pam Dworsky	....	production coordinator: wildlife unit
Elizabeth Elwell	....	location manager
Wilma Garscadden-Gahret	....	script supervisor
Louisette Geiss	....	staff assistant
Otniel Gonzalez	....	weapons specialist
Ralph Gonzalez	....	first aid
Karen Gordon	....	production accountant (as Karen Gordon-Dryhurst)
Erik Graeff	....	staff assistant
Meade Gresalfi	....	staff assistant
Caryn Krooth	....	staff assistant
Deborah Marsh	....	staff assistant
Gene McMillan	....	wildlife consultant
Andrea Metzen	....	staff assistant
Mary Morgan	....	location manager
Jenny O'Haver	....	assistant: Lee Rich (as Jenny Selle)
Jacqui Popelka	....	assistant: Steve Perry
Marlis Pujol	....	production secretary
Jay Roberts	....	assistant: Mr. Fishburne
Steven Samanen	....	staff assistant
Patrick Selts	....	first aid
Donovan Smith	....	fly wrangler
Brian Szot	....	staff assistant
Charles A. Tamburro	....	helicopter pilot (as Chuck Tamburro)
Gloria M. Uribe	....	assistant location manager (as Gloria Uribe)
Beverly Visitacion	....	location manager
Bert Wahl	....	animal wrangler: wildlife unit
Sandy Watterson	....	production secretary
Nancy Willen	....	unit publicist
Bruce Wilson	....	staff assistant
Jeff Winn	....	craft service
Joseph Zolfo	....	staff assistant (as Joe Zolfo)
Josue Aguilar	....	set production assistant (uncredited)
Randall Balsmeyer	....	title designer (uncredited)
Andy Birmingham	....	production accountant (uncredited)
Bill Daly	....	post-production accountant (uncredited)
Marquita Doassans	....	press attache: France (uncredited)
Audra Potz	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Marlis Pujol	....	production coordinator (uncredited)
Kenny Rivenbark	....	remote head technician (uncredited)
Manuel Shah	....	location intern (uncredited)
David Spates	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Fountainbridge Films
• Lee Rich Productions
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1995) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment (1995) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1995) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1995) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1996) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1997) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan with Spanish subtitles)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD) (snapcase)
• Sandrews (2000) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD) (keepcase)
• Warner Home Video (2010) (USA) (DVD) (included in "4 Film favorites: Cult thrillers collection')
• Warner Bros. (Spain)
• Warner Home Video (2012) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• Cinovation Studios (special effects: Sullivan's parents)
• K.N.B. Effects Group (special effects: Joanie Shriver's corpse) (as Kurtzman, Nicotero & Berger EFX Group)

Other Companies

• Pinewood Studios  movie studio
• Balsmeyer and Everett  title design
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes and dollies
• D. Bassett & Associates  negative cutting
• Effects House, The  opticals
• Inter Video  24 frame playback
• Inter Video  24 frame video playback
• Lightnin' Production Rentals  transportation equipment
• Movie Movers  star trailers
• Movie Movers  transportation
• Palmbrokers  greenery (uncredited)
• Reeltime Creative  trailer music
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and strong language

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Ireland:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Collier County, Florida, USA

Company:

Fountainbridge Films

Trivia:

Arne Glimcher took on the directing duties as a favor to Sean Connery, who is a close friend and insisted that he would direct the film.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Armstrong is visiting the house of the (dead) parents of Blair Sullivan you can see one of the cameras in the left part of the screen.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bobby Earl:Hey, you want my money, you best start throwing some elbow into that, boy. A dollar fifty, that's two bits shy of a car wash.
Kid Washing Car #1:A dollar fifty *each*.
Bobby Earl:Oh man, now you must got me confused with some other idiot.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Psych: Autopsy Turvy (#6.14)" (2012)

Soundtrack:

Beto's Fifth

"In the heat of the night"-lite

Despite having a first-rate cast and a half-decent story this never builds up the necessary head of steam to keep us fully interested. It's a bit like "In the heat of the night" with the Poitier/Stieger roles reversed. Here it's Connery in the do-gooder Poitier role while the black Fishburne takes the Stieger part.

Bobby Earl is on death row for the rape and murder of a young white girl. He enlists the help of Connery's law professor to take his case on board arguing that serial killer Ed Harris has confessed to the murder while in jail. The plot is fairly predictable but is not unexciting. It's just that once we know who the bad guys are there really isn't very much else left. (The director, Arne Glimcher, never seems to be on top of the material).

Although effectively the stars neither Connery or Fishburne have much to do. Luckily we have the great Ed Harris exuding genuine menace as the incarcerated serial killer, wielding his power, Hannibal Lector style from inside his prison walls, while Blair Underwood as Bobby Earl displays real promise, suave and bland enough to make you wonder if he is guilty or not.