''The Verdict'' is a 1982 American
legal drama
A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice play ...
film directed by
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), ...
and written by
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...
, adapted from
Barry Reed's 1980 novel of the same name. It stars
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 ...
,
Jack Warden
Jack Warden (born John Warden Lebzelter Jr.; September 18, 1920July 19, 2006) was an American character actor of film and television. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Shampoo'' (1975) and '' Heaven Can Wait' ...
,
James Mason
James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...
,
Milo O'Shea
Milo Donal O'Shea (2 June 1926 – 2 April 2013) was an Irish people, Irish actor. He was twice nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in ''Staircase (play), Staircase'' (1968) and ''Mass Appeal (play), Mass A ...
, and
Lindsay Crouse
Lindsay Ann Crouse is a retired American actress. She made her Broadway debut in the 1972 revival of ''Much Ado About Nothing'' and appeared in her first film in 1976 in ''All the President's Men''. For her role in the 1984 film ''Places in the ...
. A down-on-his-luck alcoholic lawyer accepts a
medical malpractice
Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury or death to a patient. The negligen ...
case to improve his own situation, but discovers along the way that he is doing the right thing.
''The Verdict'' garnered critical acclaim and box office success. The film was nominated for five
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, including
Best Picture
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
(Sidney Lumet),
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best or The Best may refer to:
People
* Best (surname), people with the surname Best
* Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer
Companies and organizations
* Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain
* Best Lock Corporatio ...
(Paul Newman),
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (James Mason), and
Best Adapted Screenplay (David Mamet).
Plot
Once-promising attorney Frank Galvin is an alcoholic
ambulance chaser
Ambulance chasing, also known as capping, is a term which refers to a lawyer soliciting for clients at a disaster site. The term "ambulance chasing" comes from the stereotype of lawyers who follow ambulances to the emergency room to find clients. ...
. As a favor, former partner Mickey Morrissey sends him a
medical malpractice
Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury or death to a patient. The negligen ...
case which is all but certain to be settled out-of-court for a significant amount. The case involves a young woman given general
anesthesia
Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), ...
during childbirth at a Catholic hospital, after which she choked on her vomit and was left
coma
A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...
tose. The
plaintiff
A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the p ...
s, her sister and brother-in-law, intend to use the settlement to pay for her care.
Galvin is deeply affected upon seeing the woman. A representative of the Catholic diocese offers a substantial settlement. Without consulting the family, Galvin declines and states his intention to take the case to trial, stunning all parties, including the
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
who is hearing the case. While preparing for the trial, Galvin encounters Laura in a bar and becomes romantically involved with her.
The case experiences several setbacks: The hospital's attorney, Ed Concannon, has a large legal team that is masterful with the press. The comatose woman's brother-in-law angrily confronts Galvin after Concannon's team tells him of the settlement offer Galvin rejected. Galvin's
medical expert disappears before testifying, and a hastily-arranged substitute's credentials are challenged. Judge Hoyle resents Galvin's refusal to settle the case, and undermines his questioning of the substitute. Nobody who was in the operating room is willing to testify that negligence occurred.
In chambers during the trial, Judge Hoyle threatens Galvin with
disbarment
Disbarment, also known as striking off, is the removal of a lawyer from a bar association or the practice of law, thus revoking their law license or admission to practice law. Disbarment is usually a punishment for unethical or criminal con ...
, but he angrily dismisses the judge as a
bagman
The term bagman (or bag man) has different meanings in different countries.
One group of definitions centers on the idea of traveling. In British usage, "bagman" is a term for a traveling salesman, first known from 1808.
In Australian usage, ...
and "
defendant
In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case.
Terminology varies from one jurisdic ...
's judge" who couldn't "hack it" as a lawyer, then asks for a mistrial. The judge denies the request and threatens to have Galvin arrested by the bailiff. Galvin storms out.
Kaitlin Costello, the nurse who admitted the woman to the hospital, is now a pre-school teacher in New York City; Galvin travels there to seek her help. As Laura hastily arranges to meet him, Morrissey discovers a check from Concannon in her handbag and realizes Concannon is paying her to provide inside information. Morrissey informs Galvin of Laura's betrayal, and Galvin confronts her in a bar. He strikes her, knocking her to the floor. Back in Boston, Morrissey suggests moving for a mistrial due to Concannon's ethics violation, but Galvin decides to continue.
In the courtroom, Costello testifies she wrote that the patient ate a full meal one hour before being admitted, which contradicts the original patient record that states a nine-hour interval. On cross-examination, an incredulous Concannon asks how she can prove this; Costello reveals that before she made the change, she made a photocopy of the original, and that she brought it to court. Concannon objects that for legal purposes, the original is presumed to be correct, but Hoyle unexpectedly reserves judgment. Costello testifies that the
anesthesiologist
Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, ...
later confessed to her that he had failed to read her admitting notes and administered general anesthesia, which is not proper for someone who ate only an hour previously. As a result, the patient vomited and choked. When the anesthesiologist realized his error, he threatened to end Costello's career if she did not change the "1" to a "9”.
After Costello is dismissed, Concannon again objects on the grounds that the original has precedence. The judge agrees and declares Costello's testimony
stricken from the record. Afterwards a diocese lawyer praises Concannon's performance to the diocese's bishop, who then asks, "But do you believe her?" — and is met with embarrassed silence.
Despite believing his case is hopeless, Frank gives a brief but passionate
closing argument
A closing argument, summation, or summing up is the concluding statement of each party's counsel reiterating the important arguments for the trier of fact, often the jury, in a court case. A closing argument occurs after the presentation of eviden ...
. The jury finds in favor of the comatose woman and the foreman asks whether the jury can award more than what the plaintiffs sought. The judge resignedly replies that they can. As Galvin is congratulated outside the courtroom, he catches a glimpse of Laura watching him from across the atrium before vanishing.
That night, a drunk Laura drops her whiskey on the floor, drags her telephone towards her and dials Galvin's office number. As his phone rings, Frank sits with a cup of coffee. He moves to answer the call but then stops and lets the phone continue to ring.
Cast
*
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 ...
as attorney Frank Galvin
*
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 ...
as Laura Fischer
*
Jack Warden
Jack Warden (born John Warden Lebzelter Jr.; September 18, 1920July 19, 2006) was an American character actor of film and television. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Shampoo'' (1975) and '' Heaven Can Wait' ...
as attorney Mickey Morrissey
*
James Mason
James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...
as attorney Ed Concannon
*
Milo O'Shea
Milo Donal O'Shea (2 June 1926 – 2 April 2013) was an Irish people, Irish actor. He was twice nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in ''Staircase (play), Staircase'' (1968) and ''Mass Appeal (play), Mass A ...
as Judge Hoyle
*
Lindsay Crouse
Lindsay Ann Crouse is a retired American actress. She made her Broadway debut in the 1972 revival of ''Much Ado About Nothing'' and appeared in her first film in 1976 in ''All the President's Men''. For her role in the 1984 film ''Places in the ...
as Kaitlin Costello Price
*
Edward Binns
Edward Binns (September 12, 1916 – December 4, 1990) was an American actor. He had a wide-spanning career in film and television, often portraying competent, hard working and purposeful characters in his various roles. He is best known for hi ...
as Bishop Brophy
*
Julie Bovasso
Julia Anne Bovasso (August 1, 1930 – September 14, 1991) was an American actress of stage, screen, and television.
Life and career
Bovasso was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of that borough, the daughter ...
as Maureen Rooney
*
Roxanne Hart
Roxanne Hart (born July 27, 1952) is an American actress, best known for her roles as Brenda Wyatt in the 1986 film '' Highlander'', and as Nurse Camille Shutt on the CBS medical drama series ''Chicago Hope'' (1994–1998). Hart has also received ...
as Sally Doneghy, the victim's sister
*
James Handy
James Handy is an American film actor. He appeared in numerous films and television shows since 1977. On film, he appeared in as Byers in '' K-9'' and in '' Logan''. His most notable television appearances are as Arthur Devlin in ''Alias'' and ...
as Kevin Doneghy
*
Wesley Addy
Robert Wesley Addy (August 4, 1913 – December 31, 1996)R Wesley Addy in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claim Index, 1936-2007, retrieved froAncestry.com/ref> was an American actor of stage, television, and film.
Early years
A ...
as Dr. Towler
*
Joe Seneca
Joe Seneca (January 14, 1919 – August 15, 1996) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for Willie Brown in ''Crossroads'' (1986), Dr. Meadows in ''The Blob'' (1988), and Dr. Hanes in ''The Cosby Show''.
Life and care ...
as Dr. Thompson
*
Lewis J. Stadlen
Lewis J. Stadlen (born March 7, 1947) is an American stage and screen character actor. He is best known for playing Ira Fried in '' The Sopranos''.
Career
Born in Brooklyn, New York, to voice actor Allen Swift, Stadlen studied acting with S ...
as Dr. Gruber
*
Kent Broadhurst as Joseph Alito
*
Colin Stinton
Colin Stinton (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian actor.
Early life
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1947, Stinton moved to the United States as a child in 1952. He lived in a trailer with his family—traveling throughout the U.S. and finall ...
as Billy
*
Tobin Bell Tobin may refer to:
Name
*Tobin (surname)
* Tobin (given name)
Places in the United States
* Tobin, California
* Tobin Bridge, near Boston, Massachusetts
* Tobin Range, a mountain range in Nevada
* Tobin Township, Perry County, Indiana
* Tobin ...
as Courtroom Observer (uncredited)
*
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
as Courtroom Observer (uncredited)
Production
Film rights to Reed’s novel were bought by the team of Richard Zanuck and David Brown. A number of actors, including
Roy Scheider
Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer. Described by AllMovie as "one of the most unique and distinguished of all Hollywood actors", he gained fame for his leading and supporting ...
,
William Holden
William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...
,
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
,
Cary Grant
Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...
and
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is th ...
, expressed interest in the project because of the strength of the lead role.
Arthur Hiller
Arthur Hiller, (November 22, 1923 – August 17, 2016) was a Canadian-American television and film director with over 33 films to his credit during a 50-year career. He began his career directing television in Canada and later in the U.S. By t ...
was originally attached to direct while
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...
was hired to write a screenplay.
[William Goldman, ''Adventures in the Screen Trade'', 1982 pp. 62-67]
Though Mamet had made a name for himself in the theater, he was still new to screenwriting (his first film credit had come in 1978). The producers were uncertain whether Mamet would take the job given the standards he set with his own previous work, but according to
Lindsay Crouse
Lindsay Ann Crouse is a retired American actress. She made her Broadway debut in the 1972 revival of ''Much Ado About Nothing'' and appeared in her first film in 1976 in ''All the President's Men''. For her role in the 1984 film ''Places in the ...
, who was then married to Mamet, the film was actually a big deal for him. Crouse also recalled Mamet struggling initially with Galvin's closing summation, but he finally came up with the scene after staying up an entire evening working on it.
Mamet's original draft ended the film after the jury left the courtroom for deliberations, giving no resolution to the case. Neither Zanuck nor Brown believed they could make the film without showing what happened, and Zanuck met with Mamet to convince him to re-write the ending. However, Mamet told Zanuck that the ending he wanted was "old-fashioned" and would hurt the film. He also reacted negatively to Zanuck's use of sarcasm to make his point, as Zanuck claimed his copy of the script was missing its final pages before telling Mamet the film title would need a question mark after it.
[
Hiller also disliked Mamet's script, and left the project. The producers commissioned another screenplay from ]Jay Presson Allen
Jay Presson Allen (March 3, 1922 – May 1, 2006) was an American screenwriter, playwright, stage director, television producer, and novelist. Known for her withering wit and sometimes-off-color wisecracks, she was one of the few women making a ...
, which they preferred, and they were later approached by Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...
to star in the film when he obtained a copy of the script from Allen.[
Redford suggested ]James Bridges
James Bridges (February 3, 1936June 6, 1993) was an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and actor. He is a two-time Oscar nominee: once for Best Original Screenplay for '' The China Syndrome'' and once for Best Adapted Screenplay fo ...
as a writer-director, and he had Bridges write several drafts of the screenplay, more or less sanitizing the lead character as he was concerned about playing a hard-drinking womanizer. Neither the producers nor Redford were happy with the rewrites and soon Bridges left the project. Redford then began having meetings with Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack (July 1, 1934 – May 26, 2008) was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack directed more than 20 films and 10 television shows, acted in over 30 movies or shows and produced over 44 films. For his film ''Out ...
without telling the producers; irritated, they fired Redford.
Zanuck and Brown then hired 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), ...
to direct, sending him all versions of the script. After several rewrites, Lumet decided the story's original grittiness was fast devolving and chose Mamet's original script. This was agreed to by Paul Newman, who ultimately agreed to star. Lumet recalled that they had to rework only one or two scenes, mainly giving the trial a resolution as Zanuck and Brown had originally requested. Unlike Zanuck, when Lumet approached Mamet, he was able to get his approval to make that change to his original work.[
Lumet then recruited Warden and Mason, both of whom he had worked with before. He wasn't sure if Mason, a renowned actor in that era, would take a supporting role, but Mason liked Mamet's script and did not object.][
Prior to filming, Lumet held extensive dress rehearsals, standard practice for Lumet's films but not common on Hollywood productions. Newman was appreciative as they proved crucial in developing his performance, giving him the time he needed to tap into the emotional bankruptcy of his character.]
At one point during production, Newman barely avoided serious injury when a light estimated to weigh several hundred pounds fell about three feet away from him after breaking through its supports. The wood planks were apparently weakened by overnight rain.[
]Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
and Tobin Bell Tobin may refer to:
Name
*Tobin (surname)
* Tobin (given name)
Places in the United States
* Tobin, California
* Tobin Bridge, near Boston, Massachusetts
* Tobin Range, a mountain range in Nevada
* Tobin Township, Perry County, Indiana
* Tobin ...
have uncredited background appearances. They are seated together as extras in the final courtroom scene.
The producers were reluctant to keep the scene where Newman strikes Rampling, believing it would turn the audience against his character and even damage his public image. Newman insisted on keeping it, believing it was right for the story.[
After the film was finished, the studio's executives sent Lumet several suggestions and urged him to rework the ending with Galvin finally answering Laura's phone call, but Zanuck said that Lumet had final cut authority, and the film would remain as completed.][
]
Reception
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
gives the film a score of 89%, with an average rating of 7.8/10, based on 36 reviews. The website's "Critics Consensus" for the film reads: "Paul Newman is at the peak of his powers as an attorney who never lived up to his potential in ''The Verdict'', supported by David Mamet's crackling script and Sidney Lumet's confident direction." In a poll of 500 films held by ''Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' magazine, it was voted 254th Greatest Movie of all time. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers:
* The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO
* The Writers Guil ...
ranked the screenplay #91 on its list of the "101 greatest screenplays ever written". Richard D. Pepperman praised the scene in which Judge Hoyle eats breakfast and offers Galvin coffee as "a terrific use of objects, making for a believable judge in his personal, comfortable and suitable place, as well as a Physical Action (motion) that demonstrates the subtext of the Judge's objective (in support of the insurance company, the doctor and their attorney) without an abundance of expository dialogue."
The film opened in 3 theaters in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and grossed $143,265 in its first 5 days. The following weekend it expanded to 615 screens and grossed $2,331,805, finishing seventh for the weekend, and went on to gross $54 million.[
The film is recognized by the ]American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
in these lists:
* AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains: Frank Galvin – Nominated Hero
* 2006: AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #75
* 2008: AFI's 10 Top 10: #4 Courtroom Drama Film
Notes
See also
* Trial movies
Trial films is a subgenre of the legal/courtroom drama that encompasses films that are centered on a civil or criminal trial, typically a trial by jury.Rafter, Nicole. 2001. "American Criminal Trial Films: An Overview of Their Development, 1930– ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verdict, The
20th Century Fox films
1982 drama films
1982 films
American legal drama films
American courtroom films
1980s English-language films
Films scored by Johnny Mandel
Films about alcoholism
Films about lawyers
Films based on American novels
Films directed by Sidney Lumet
Films produced by David Brown
Films produced by Richard D. Zanuck
Films set in 1982
Films set in Boston
Films set in New York City
Films shot in Massachusetts
Films shot in New York City
Films shot in Toronto
Films with screenplays by David Mamet
Films set in hospitals
1980s American films