List Of Trial Films

Following is a list of trial films, containing films which center on the legal process of a trial, usually a trial by jury. {, class="wikitable sortable" , - ! Title ! Director ! Date ! Actor ! Actor ! Miscellaneous , - , '' Judge Priest'' , John Ford , 1934 ,

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

, , , - , '' The Prisoner of Shark Island'' , John Ford , 1936 , Warner Baxter , Gloria Stuart , , - , '' The Caine Mutiny'' , Edward Dmytryk , 1954 ,

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

, José Ferrer , military court, from novel by Herman Wouk , - , '' Young Mr. Lincoln'' , John Ford , 1939 , Henry Fonda , , , - , '' The Return of Frank James'' , Fritz Lang , 1940 , Henry Fonda , Gene Tierney , , - , '' The Paradine Case'' ,

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

, 1947 ,

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

, Alida Valli , , - , '' 12 Angry Men'' ,

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. He was nominated five times for the Academy Award: four for Best Director for ''12 Angry Men'' (1957), ''Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975), ''Network'' (1976), ...

, 1957 , Henry Fonda , Lee J. Cobb , , - , '' ''The Boys'' (1962 British film)'' ,

Sidney J. Furie Sidney Joseph Furie (born February 28, 1933) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his extensive work in both British and American cinema between the 1960s and early 1980s. Like his contemporaries Norman Jewison ...

, 1962 , Richard Todd , Robert Morley , , - , '' A Man for All Seasons'' , Fred Zinnemann , 1966 , Paul Scofield , Orson Welles , from play by Robert Bolt , - , '' Anatomy of a Murder'' , Otto Preminger , 1959 ,

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

, Lee Remick , from novel by

John D. Voelker John D. Voelker (June 29, 1903 – March 18, 1991), also known by his pen name Robert Traver, was a noted lawyer, author and fly fisherman from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Born and raised in Ishpeming, he later attended the University ...

, - , '' Inherit the Wind'' ,

Stanley Kramer Stanley Earl Kramer (September 29, 1913February 19, 2001) was an American film director and producer, responsible for making many of Hollywood's most famous "message picture, message films" (he would call his movies ''heavy dramas'') and a libera ...

, 1960 , Spencer Tracy , Fredric March , , - , ''

Judgment at Nuremberg ''Judgment at Nuremberg'' is a 1961 American epic courtroom drama film directed and produced by Stanley Kramer, written by Abby Mann and starring Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, Werner Klemperer, Marlene Dietr ...

'' ,

, 1961 , Spencer Tracy ,

Maximilian Schell Maximilian Schell (8 December 1930 – 1 February 2014) was an Austrian-born Swiss actor, who also wrote, directed and produced some of his own films. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1961 American film ''Judgment at Nuremberg'', h ...

, military court , - , '' Paths of Glory'' ,

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

, 1957 ,

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Do ...

, Adolphe Menjou , military court , - , '' The Passion of Joan of Arc'' ,

Carl Theodor Dreyer Carl Theodor Dreyer (; 3 February 1889 – 20 March 1968), commonly known as Carl Th. Dreyer, was a Danish film director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his movies are noted for their emotional aus ...

, 1928 , Renée Jeanne Falconetti , Eugène Silvain , , - , '' The Trial'' , Orson Welles , 1962 , Anthony Perkins ,

Akim Tamiroff Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character act ...

, from novel by Franz Kafka , - , '' The Wrong Man'' ,

, 1957 , Henry Fonda , Vera Miles , , - , '' To Kill a Mockingbird'' , Robert Mulligan , 1962 ,

, Mary Badham , , - , '' The Verdict'' ,

, 1982 ,

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

Charlotte Rampling Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress, known for her work in European arthouse films in English, French, and Italian. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role ...

, , - , '' Town Without Pity'' , Gottfried Reinhardt , 1961 ,

, Christine Kaufmann , military court; theme song sung by

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

, lyrics by Ned Washington, music by Dimitri Tiomkin , - , '' King and Country'' ,

Joseph Losey Joseph Walton Losey III (; January 14, 1909 – June 22, 1984) was an American theatre and film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born in Wisconsin, he studied in Germany with Bertolt Brecht and then returned to the United States. Blackliste ...

, 1964 ,

Dirk Bogarde Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as ''Doctor in the House'' (1954) for the Rank Organ ...

, Tom Courtenay , military court , - , '' Breaker Morant'' , Bruce Beresford , 1980 , Bryan Brown , Edward Woodward , military court , - , '' A Few Good Men'' , Rob Reiner , 1992 , Jack Nicholson , Demi Moore , military court , - , '' Rules of Engagement'' , William Friedkin , 2000 , Tommy Lee Jones , Samuel L. Jackson , military court , - , '' The Passion of the Christ'' , Mel Gibson , 2004 , Jim Caviezel , Maia Morgenstern , , - , ''

The Devil and Daniel Webster "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1936) is a short story by American writer Stephen Vincent Benét. He tells of a New Hampshire farmer who sells his soul to the devil and is later defended by Daniel Webster, a fictional version of the noted 19th-c ...

'' , William Dieterle , 1941 , Edward Arnold , Walter Huston , , - , '' The Man Who Sued God'' , Mark Joffe , 2000 , Billy Connolly , Judy Davis , , - , '' The Exorcism of Emily Rose'' , Scott Derrickson , 2005 ,

Laura Linney Laura Leggett Linney (born February 5, 1964) is an American actress. Having studied acting at Juilliard School (1986-1990), she became known for her complex and multilayered performances on stage and screen. She has received various accolades, ...

, Tom Wilkinson , , - , '' The Crucible (1957 film)'' , Raymond Rouleau , 1996 , Simone Signoret , Yves Montand , , - , ''

JFK John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

'' ,

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...

, 1991 , Kevin Costner , Kevin Bacon , , - , '' My Cousin Vinny'' , Jonathan Lynn , 1992 , Joe Pesci , Marisa Tomei , Marisa Tomei won an Oscar , - , '' ...And Justice for All'' , Norman Jewison , 1979 ,

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...

, Jack Warden , , - , '' Painted Faces'' , , 1929 , , , , - , '' Amistad'' ,

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

, 1997 ,

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...

, Anthony Hopkins , , - , '' The Ox-Bow Incident'' , William A. Wellman , 1943 , Henry Fonda , Dana Andrews , , - , ''

The Wreck of the Mary Deare ''The Wreck of the Mary Deare'' (in the UK published as ''The Mary Deare'') is a 1956 novel written by British author Hammond Innes, which was later adapted as a film starring Gary Cooper released in 1959 by MGM. According to Jack Adrian, th ...

'' , Michael Anderson , 1959 , Gary Cooper ,

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...

, , - , '' A Time to Kill'' , Joel Schumacher , 1996 ,

Sandra Bullock Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Sandra Bullock, various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, Bullock was ...

, Samuel L. Jackson , , - , '' The Client'' , Joel Schumacher , 1994 , Susan Sarandon, , Brad Renfro , from the novel by John Grisham , - , '' Presumed Innocent'' , Alan J. Pakula , 1990 ,

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...

, Raúl Juliá , from the novel by Scott Turow , - , ''

Primal Fear Primal Fear may refer to: * Primal Fear (band) Primal Fear is a German power metal band formed in 1997 by Ralf Scheepers (vocals, ex-Gamma Ray) and Mat Sinner (bass and vocals, Sinner). Sinner and Scheepers formed the band after Scheepers was ...

'' , Gregory Hoblit , 1996 , Richard Gere , Edward Norton , from the novel by William Diehl , - , '' A Civil Action'' , Steven Zaillian , 1998 , Robert Duvall ,

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (19 ...

, , - , '' Miracle on 34th Street'' ,

George Seaton George Seaton (April 17, 1911 – July 28, 1979) was an American screenwriter, playwright, film director and producer, and theatre director. Life and career Early life Seaton was born George Edward Stenius in South Bend, Indiana, of Swedish des ...

, 1947 , Edmund Gwenn , , , - , '' The Trial'' , David Jones , 1993 , Kyle MacLachlan , Anthony Hopkins , novel by Franz Kafka, screenplay by

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

, - , '' Trial'' ,

Mark Robson Mark Robson may refer to: * Mark Robson (film director) (1913–1978), Canadian-American film director and producer * Mark Robson (American writer), Scottish-American writer and expert in United States coins and stamps * Mark Robson (footballer) ...

, 1955 , Glenn Ford , Dorothy McGuire , from the novel by Don Mankiewicz , - , '' The Trial'' , Gary Wheeler , 2010 , Matthew Modine , Randy Wayne , from the novel by Robert Whitlow , - , '' Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer'' , Nick Searcy , 2018 , Earl Billings , Dean Cain , , - , ''

Witness for the Prosecution In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

'' , Billy Wilder , 1957 , Tyrone Power , Marlene Dietrich , , - , '' In the Name of the Father'' , Jim Sheridan , 1993 , Daniel Day-Lewis , Pete Postlethwaite , , - , '' Compulsion'' ,

Richard Fleischer Richard O. Fleischer (; December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American film director whose career spanned more than four decades, beginning at the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood and lasting through the American New Wave. Though he ...

, 1959 , Dean Stockwell , Orson Welles , , - , '' Runaway Jury'' ,

Gary Fleder Gary Fleder (; born December 19, 1965) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His most recently completed film, '' Homefront,'' was released by Open Road Films and Millennium Films in November 2013. In recent years he has bee ...

, 2003 , John Cusack , Rachel Weisz , , - , ''

Fracture Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid. If a displa ...

'' , Gregory Hoblit , 2007 , Anthony Hopkins ,

Ryan Gosling Ryan Thomas Gosling (born November 12, 1980) is a Canadian actor. Prominent in independent film, he has also worked in blockbuster films of varying genres, and has accrued a worldwide box office gross of over 1.9 billion USD. He has received ...

, , - , '' The Lincoln Lawyer'' ,

Brad Furman Brad Furman is an American film and music video director, producer, and writer. Career Furman grew up in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, attended Friends' Central School, and went on to study at New York University (NYU) where he earned a BFA i ...

, 2011 , Matthew McConaughey , Marisa Tomei , from the novel by Michael Connelly , - , '' Murder in the First'' , Marc Rocco , 1995 , Christian Slater , Kevin Bacon , , - , '' Music Box'' , Costa-Gavras , 1989 , Jessica Lange , Armin Mueller-Stahl , , - , '' The Last Wave'' , Peter Weir , 1977 , Richard Chamberlain , Olivia Hamnett , , - , ''

The Accused Accused or The Accused may refer to: * A person suspected with committing a crime or offence; see Criminal charge ** Suspect, a known person suspected of committing a crime * The Accüsed, a 1980s Seattle crossover thrash band *''The Accused'', a ...

'' , Jonathan Kaplan , 1988 , Kelly McGillis , Jodie Foster , , - , '' I Confess'' ,

, 1953 , Montgomery Clift ,

Anne Baxter Anne Baxter (May 7, 1923 – December 12, 1985) was an American actress, star of Hollywood films, Broadway productions, and television series. She won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, and was nominated for an Emmy. A granddaughter of Fra ...

, , - , '' The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing'' ,

, 1955 , Joan Collins , Farley Granger , fictionalized account of the Harry Kendall Thaw murder trial , - , '' Knock on Any Door'' , Nicholas Ray , 1949 ,

John Derek John Derek (born Derek Delevan Harris; August 12, 1926 – May 22, 1998) was an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer and photographer.Boomerang! ''Boomerang!'' is a 1947 American crime semidocumentary film based on the true story of a vagrant accused of murder who is found not guilty through the efforts of the prosecutor. It stars Dana Andrews, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Arthur Kennedy and ...

'' ,

Elia Kazan Elia Kazan (; born Elias Kazantzoglou ( el, Ηλίας Καζαντζόγλου); September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003) was an American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one o ...

, 1947 , Dana Andrews , Jane Wyatt , , - , ''

Suspect In law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime. Police and reporters in the United States often use the word suspect as a jargon when referring to the perpetrator of the offense (perp in dated U ...

'' , Peter Yates , 1987 ,

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

, Dennis Quaid , , - , '' The Trial of Joan of Arc'' , Robert Bresson , 1962 ,

Florence Delay Florence Delay (born 19 March 1941 in Paris) is a French academician and actress. Biography The daughter of Marie-Madeleine Carrez and Jean Delay, Delay studied at the Lycée Jean de La Fontaine and then the Sorbonne. In 1962, she played the tit ...

Jean-Claude Fourneau Jean-Claude Fourneau (28 March 1907 – 9 October 1981) was a French painter close to the surrealist movement. His mother was a descendant of Victor de Lanneau, restorer of the Collège Sainte-Barbe in Paris, of Juliette Adam, founder of a Fre ...

, , - , '' The Tattered Dress'' , Jack Arnold , 1957 , Jeff Chandler , Jeanne Crain , , - , '' The Rainmaker'' ,

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...

, 1997 , Matt Damon , Danny DeVito , , - , '' Q & A '' ,

, 1990 , Nick Nolte , Timothy Hutton , , - , '' The Judge'' , David Dobkin , 2014 , Robert Downey Jr. , Robert Duvall , , - , '' Flash of Genius'' , Marc Abraham , 2008 , Greg Kinnear , , fictionalized account of the Robert Kearns patent case against the Ford Motor Company , - Lists of films by genre Courtroom films