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Gideon's Trumpet (1980)

| Biography, Drama, History | TV Movie 30 April 1980
Gideon's Trumpet Poster
The story of Clarence Earl Gideon and his fight for the right to have publicly funded legal counsel for the needy.

Director:

Robert L. Collins (as Robert Collins)

Writers:

Anthony Lewis (book), David W. Rintels (teleplay)

Stars:

Henry Fonda, José Ferrer, John Houseman | See full cast & crew »
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Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Henry Fonda ... Clarence Earl Gideon
José Ferrer ... Abe Fortas
John Houseman ... Chief Justice / Offscreen Narrator
Fay Wray ... Edna Curtis
Sam Jaffe ... 1st Supreme Court Justice
Dean Jagger ... Sixth Supreme Court Justice
Nicholas Pryor ... Jacob
William Prince ... 5th Supreme Court Justice
Lane Smith ... Fred Turner
Richard McKenzie ... Judge Robert McCrary
Dolph Sweet ... Charlie
Ford Rainey ... 2nd Supreme Court Justice
David Sheiner ... Abe Krash
J. Patrick McNamara ... Harris
Les Lannom ... Bobby Earle
See full cast »
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Storyline

True story of Clarence Gideon's fight to be appointed counsel at the expense of the state. This landmark case led to the Supreme Court's decision which extended this right to all criminal defendants. Written by Steve Walker <swalker@ionet.net>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

court | supreme court | judicial system | judicial | appeal to the supreme court | See All (32) »

Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

Certificate:

See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

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Did You Know?

Trivia

John Houseman's character is never identified by name, but historically, the Chief Justice at that time (1961) was Earl Warren. See more »

Goofs

In the first trial, when the bailiff is swearing in Lester Wade, he instructs him to "raise your right hand" [the audio of this is clipped]. However, Lester actually places his right hand on the bible and raises his left hand. On all other occasions in the movie, witnesses actually raise their right hands (and put their left hands on the bible) when being sworn in. See more »

Quotes

James Fitzpatrick: [referring to Jacob, who is about to argue before the Supreme Court for the very first time] Don't go feeling sorry for the poor son-of-a-bitch until we've won.
See more »

Connections

Edited into Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951) See more »

User Reviews

An eye opener
17 November 2001 | by ocgiii – See all my reviews

Just saw this this morning. It was well done, but I think dumbed down for general consumption. It was painful to hear so many distinguished jurists referring to attorneys or counsel as 'lawyers', as if the public wouldn't know to what they were referring. At least in the high court, they did use the proper nomenclature. Fonda did a good job of playing Gideon, although I believe the actual man was only about 50 at the time. He also made him out to be at the same time sympathetic and the unpleasant indignant multiple felon he likely was in reality.
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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 1980 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Gideon trombitája See more »

Filming Locations:

Samuel Goldwyn Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions, Worldvision See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1
See full technical specs »
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