Class Action (1991)

An attorney representing a traumatized accident victim finds that his opponent is a very familiar defense attorney - his own daughter.

Director:

Michael Apted

Writers:

Carolyn Shelby, Christopher Ames

Stars:

Gene Hackman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Colin Friels

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Jed Ward is an attorney who specializes in whistle blower, David vs. Goliath, type cases. He finds a client who is suing an auto company over a safety problem that has had a severe effect on his life after the accident. He must replace the current attorney and be ready for trial quickly, and then he finds that the defense attorney will be his estranged daughter.

---

Plot Keywords:

judicial | judiciary | judicial system | attorney | trial | 

---

Taglines:

A father and a daughter, divided by a case, endangered by the truth.

---

Genres:

Drama | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for uses of strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 March 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Személyes ügy

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,207,923, 17 March 1991

Gross USA:

$24,277,858

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$28,277,918

Company Credits

Production Co:

Interscope Communications, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After this courtroom drama, star Gene Hackman would go on to appear in such legal dramas and thrillers as The Firm (1993), The Chamber (1996), Under Suspicion (2000) and Runaway Jury (2003).

---

Goofs

After being deluged with former test engineer Pavel's lifetime work files while at the automaker, Jed Ward asks colleagues to find "Pavel, the bunny man," so they can speak with him. If they had not yet spoken with Pavel, Jed would not know to describe him as "the bunny man."

---

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.

---

Connections

Referenced in Fight Club (1999)

---

Soundtracks

Canned Music
Written by Dan Hicks
Performed by Dan Hicks and the Acoustic Warriors with the Licketts

User Reviews

Fantastic

As a solicitor I normally like lawyer movies, but as a new father I loved this movie.

Most lawyer movies just have hypothetical issues which just raise my interest or remind me of my past.

This one awakened my imagination to the future.

My daughter is less than 12 months old and Hackman's character hit the exact note of feeling and pleasure, I feel when holding my daughter in my arms and watching her grow.

I can say that the scene at the end moved me to tears as I think about holding my daughter in my arms.

Hackman is by far on of the greatest actors I have ever seen. The others I can say did a fantastic job as well. You hate the villains and love the heroes.