The Verdict (1982)

A lawyer sees the chance to salvage his career and self-respect by taking a medical malpractice case to trial rather than settling.

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

Barry Reed (based upon the novel by), David Mamet (screenplay)

Stars:

Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Newman	...	Frank Galvin
Charlotte Rampling	...	Laura Fischer
Jack Warden	...	Mickey Morrissey
James Mason	...	Ed Concannon
Milo O'Shea	...	Judge Hoyle
Lindsay Crouse	...	Kaitlin Costello Price
Edward Binns	...	Bishop Brophy
Julie Bovasso	...	Maureen Rooney
Roxanne Hart	...	Sally Doneghy
James Handy	...	Kevin Doneghy
Wesley Addy	...	Dr. Towler
Joe Seneca	...	Dr. Thompson
Lewis J. Stadlen	...	Dr. Gruber (as Lewis Stadlen)
Kent Broadhurst	...	Joseph Alito
Colin Stinton	...	Billy

Storyline

Frank Galvin was once a promising Boston lawyer with a bright future ahead. An incident early in his career in which he was trying to do the right thing led to him being fired from the prestigious law firm with which he was working, almost being disbarred, and his wife leaving him. Continually drowning his sorrows in booze, he is now an ambulance chasing lawyer, preying on the weak and vulnerable, and bending the truth whenever necessary to make what few dollars he has, as he has only had a few cases in the last few years, losing the last four. His only friend in the profession is his now retired ex-partner, Mickey Morrissey, who gets Frank a case, his fee solely a percentage of what his clients are awarded. The case should net Frank tens of thousands of dollars by settling out of court, that money which would at least get him back on his feet. It is a negligence suit brought on behalf of Deborah Ann Kaye by her sister and brother-in-law, Sally and Kevin Doneghy, against St. Catherine...

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Plot Keywords:

reference to arizona | court | lawyer | archdiocese | hospital | 

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Taglines:

Frank Galvin Has One Last Chance At A Big Case.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 December 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Será justicia

Filming Locations:

Kaufman Astoria Studios - 3412 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$54,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The only dramatic narrative cinema movie starring Paul Newman and directed by Sidney Lumet, though Newman had appeared about a dozen years earlier in Lumet's documentary King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970).

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Goofs

The major legal rulings at the climax are actually gross misunderstandings of the rules of evidence as they had existed under common law for centuries at the time of the trial, rather than being obviously legally correct as the characters suggest.

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Quotes

Mickey Morrissey: He is the prince of fucking darkness.

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Alternate Versions

NBC edited 33 minutes from this film for its 1985 network television premiere.

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Connections

Featured in The Verdict: Sidney Lumet, The Craft of Directing (2007)

User Reviews

Newman should have won the Oscar for this one.

If Newman hadn't been up against Ghandi, he probably would have. I think the Academy realized their error and Newman's win for The Color of Money was really for his portrayal of Frank Galvin, in this well-done tale of moral decrepitude and ultimate redemption. Writer Mamet and Director Lumet are into heavy symbolism throughout, with the scene of the developing Poloroids of the victim (the case becomes clear in Galvin's mind), to Galvin's pilfering of a woman's mail to run down a lead on a potential witness. The closing statement of Newman's character to the jury is powerful.