Gideon's Trumpet (film)
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''Gideon's Trumpet'' is a 1980 American
made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
historical drama film A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction such as c ...
based on the biographical book of the same name written by
Anthony Lewis Joseph Anthony Lewis (March 27, 1927 – March 25, 2013) was an American public intellectual and journalist. He was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and was a columnist for ''The New York Times''. He is credited with creating the field o ...
. The film depicts the historical events before and during the 1963
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
case of ''
Gideon v. Wainwright ''Gideon v. Wainwright'', 372 U.S. 335 (1963), was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment to the United S ...
'' that brought the right of an attorney to criminal defendants who could not afford it and did not meet special requirements to get one for free. After the ruling, implements of the case were enacted publicly, nationally, and even globally."Divergent Formalities." ''Security and Privacy: Global Standards for Ethical Identity Management in Contemporary Liberal Democratic States'', by John Kleinig et al., ANU Press, 2011, 19–76.. The film, distributed by
Worldvision Enterprises Worldvision Enterprises, Inc. was an American television program and home video distributor established in 1954 as ABC Film Syndication, the domestic and overseas program distribution arm of the ABC Television Network. They primarily licensed ...
, premiered on April 30, 1980, on
CBS-TV CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
as a ''
Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas Citybased greeting card company. It is the longest-ru ...
'' film. The feature stars
Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor whose career spanned five decades on Broadway theatre, Broadway and in Hollywood. On screen and stage, he often portrayed characters who embodied an everyman image. Bo ...
as the titular Clarence Earl Gideon,
José Ferrer José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hi ...
as Abe Fortas, and
John Houseman John Houseman (born Jacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanians, Romanian-born British Americans, British-American theatre and film producer, actor, director, and teacher. He became known for his highly publ ...
as the Chief Justice of the United States. Other notable actors in the film included
Fay Wray Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian-American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international r ...
,
Sam Jaffe Shalom "Sam" Jaffe (March 10, 1891 – March 24, 1984) was an American actor, teacher, musician, and engineer. In 1951, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in '' The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950). He al ...
and
Dean Jagger Dean Jagger (November 7, 1903 – February 5, 1991) was an American film, stage, and television actor who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Henry King's '' Twelve O'Clock High'' (1949). Early life Dean Jeffri ...
. Robert L. Collins directed the film. It was produced and written under the direction of John Houseman and David W. Rintels. The film was recognized and nominated for three
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
s the same year it premiered on television on September 7, 1980.


Plot

The story starts with the title character
Clarence Earl Gideon Clarence Earl Gideon (August 30, 1910 – January 18, 1972) was an impoverished American Homelessness in the United States, drifter accused in a Florida state court of Burglary, felony breaking and entering. While in prison, he appealed his cas ...
looking into the camera and remarking how he would try to give a full account of his situation, even though he may not remember everything. The film shifts to a bar in
Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Route 98 in Florida, U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee and Pensacola, Florida, Pe ...
, in summer 1961, where several people notice the pool room was broken into and money stolen from the register. This leads to the arrest of Gideon, who was seen using a nearby payphone the same night the pool room was broken into. On the day of his trial, he asks for a defense attorney to be assigned to represent him because he cannot afford to pay one himself, but Judge Robert McCrary refuses his request even though Gideon claims it is his right to have an attorney in his trial. After the cross-examinations of witnesses against and for Gideon, and much deliberation from the jury based on how Gideon represented himself in the trial, Gideon is convicted and sentenced to five years in state prison. While there, Gideon often visits the prison's library researching how the law of the United States plays out, gaining support and reverence from his fellow inmates. From all this research, he makes arrangements to write a writ of ''certiorari'' petition to the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice and the other eight justices review other petitions before they come across Gideon's. Before they decide to follow through with his petition, the justices debate whether they can argue for a case in which a right to an attorney is given to everyone regardless of special qualifications. Gideon receives the letter stating they have accepted to hear his case. In order to collect more information,
Abe Fortas Abraham Fortas (June 19, 1910 – April 5, 1982) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1965 to 1969. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Fortas graduated from Rho ...
asks Gideon for a biography to see if he has any special circumstances. Once this personal information is received, Fortas soon realizes that Gideon does not match any special circumstances. Fortas goes to trial against the prosecutor and wins the case so Gideon can be tried again, this time with an attorney. Although Gideon is disappointed by having to go through a retrial, he is given an excellent attorney in the area by the name of Fred Turner. At the second trial, Gideon asserts that the retrial is unconstitutional and falls under
double jeopardy In jurisprudence, double jeopardy is a procedural defence (primarily in common law jurisdictions) that prevents an accused person from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges following an acquittal or conviction and in rare cases ...
. Unfortunately for Gideon, the judge rules the retrial does not fall under double jeopardy and allows it to proceed. The prosecuting team gives their remarks and discusses matters in almost the same way they did at Gideon's first trial. Turner notes a credibility flaw in one of the main witnesses, and he receives more information from other individuals who had previously been questioned. Turner is able to shed some light on newly found evidence and other information in regard to what happened on the night of the robbery. After some time, the jury decides Gideon is not guilty, and he is released from prison. Gideon walks out of the courthouse, content and relieved. As the camera pans out, a narrator reads the following quote by
Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yo ...
:


Cast

*
Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor whose career spanned five decades on Broadway theatre, Broadway and in Hollywood. On screen and stage, he often portrayed characters who embodied an everyman image. Bo ...
as Clarence Earl Gideon *
José Ferrer José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hi ...
as Abe Fortas *
John Houseman John Houseman (born Jacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanians, Romanian-born British Americans, British-American theatre and film producer, actor, director, and teacher. He became known for his highly publ ...
as Chief Justice *
Fay Wray Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian-American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international r ...
as Edna Curtis *
Sam Jaffe Shalom "Sam" Jaffe (March 10, 1891 – March 24, 1984) was an American actor, teacher, musician, and engineer. In 1951, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in '' The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950). He al ...
as First Supreme Court Justice *
Dean Jagger Dean Jagger (November 7, 1903 – February 5, 1991) was an American film, stage, and television actor who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Henry King's '' Twelve O'Clock High'' (1949). Early life Dean Jeffri ...
as Sixth Supreme Court Justice *
Nicholas Pryor Nicholas David Pryor (born Probst; January 28, 1935 – October 7, 2024) was an American character actor. He appeared in various television series, films, and stage productions. Early life and career Pryor was born Nicholas David Probst in Balt ...
as Jacob * William Prince as Fifth Supreme Court Justice *
Lane Smith Walter Lane Smith III (April 29, 1936 – June 13, 2005) was an American actor. His well-known roles included newspaper editor Perry White in the ABC series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', collaborator entrepreneur Nathan Bat ...
as Fred Turner * Richard McKenzie as Judge Robert McCrary *
Dolph Sweet Adolphus Jean Sweet (July 18, 1920 – May 8, 1985) was an American actor credited with nearly 60 television and film roles and more than 50 roles in stage productions, including performances on Broadway. He often played policemen throughout ...
as Charlie *
Ford Rainey Ford Rainey (August 8, 1908 – July 25, 2005) was an American film, stage, and television actor.Myrna Oliver ''Los Angeles Times'', July 26, 2005. Early life Rainey was born in Mountain Home, Idaho, the son of Vyrna (née Kinkade), a teacher, ...
as Second Supreme Court Justice *
David Sheiner David S. Sheiner (born January 13, 1928) is an American retired actor. He appeared on Broadway, but is best known for his supporting roles in several films and television series. He started his career in television in 1952, but he was most succes ...
as Abe Krash * J. Patrick McNamara as Harris *
Les Lannom Leslie Thomas "Les" Lannom (born November 4, 1946, Johnston City, Illinois) is an American voice artist and musician, and retired film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Lester Hodges in the American Detective fiction, pr ...
as Bobby Earl Anthony Lewis, the author of ''Gideon's Trumpet'', also made a
cameo role A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking one ...
as a reporter in the final scenes of the film.


Historical background

Before ''Gideon v. Wainwright'', there was a history of cases related to the right of counsel that were involved in
criminal procedure Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail ...
in the United States. During the time of the case, there was a political shift toward how much the federal government could control in regard to federal law, which is shown by the
Warren Court The Warren Court was the period in the history of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1953 to 1969 when Earl Warren served as the chief justice. The Warren Court is often considered the most liberal court in U.S. history. The Warren Cou ...
. In regard to how well the film depicts the case historically, the film does not mention the name of the Chief Justice, but the Chief Justice of the United States at that time was
Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th governor of California from 1943 to 1953 and as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presid ...
. In the public recently, the case has differing opinions among many scholars into how well it is implemented. In the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, measures have been taken to ensure the case can apply to the state laws and federal laws included in the United States Constitution. Globally, the case has influenced changes to policies concerning the right to counsel, but the qualifications that determine the right of counsel still vary from country to country.


Production


Filming

The prison scenes in the film were captured at the Men's Correctional Facility in
Chino, California Chino ( ; Spanish for "Curly") is a city in the western end of San Bernardino County, California, United States, with Los Angeles County to its west and Orange County to its south in the Southern California region. Chino's surroundings ha ...
, using as extras prison inmates currently in the facility. Director Robert Collins commented on how difficult filming was with the prison inmates as extras: "By the time he production crewmade four takes, he prisonerswere very unhappy." Collins has also remarked that he took special care filming the prison scenes by making them more "harsh" than the court scenes because he wanted to create a "contrast" in those scenes. Fonda, who played the title character, also made some comments about how "fascinating" it was to play the role of Clarence Gideon, although he had not usually played similar roles in his past productions.


Reception


Release

On April 30, 1980, the day of the premiere, an article in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' was released to notify potential viewers. In it, John J. O'Connor compliments the show by saying, "The law and its intricacies are not the most promising subjects for compelling drama. But
Anthony Lewis Joseph Anthony Lewis (March 27, 1927 – March 25, 2013) was an American public intellectual and journalist. He was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and was a columnist for ''The New York Times''. He is credited with creating the field o ...
, a writer for ''The New York Times'', demonstrated that complex arguments and legal briefs could indeed be absorbing in his 1964 book 'Gideon's Trumpet'. And tonight at 9 o'clock on CBS-TV, an adaptation by David W. Rintels of that book makes the same point with remarkable success." Just weeks earlier, the
American Bar Association Journal The ''ABA Journal'' (since 1984, formerly ''American Bar Association Journal'', 1915–1983, evolved from '' Annual Bulletin'', 1908–1914) is a monthly legal trade magazine and the flagship publication of the American Bar Association. It is n ...
released an article entitled ''Blowing Gideon's Trumpet''.
Emmet Lavery Emmet Godfrey Lavery (November 8, 1902 – January 1, 1986) was an American playwright and screenwriter. Born in Poughkeepsie, Lavery trained as a lawyer, before devoting his career to the theatre and to film. He wrote the English libretto for ...
highlights the producer when she writes, "Rintels has won three Gavel Awards from the American Bar Association for his television productions."


Critical response

David Cornelius of DVD Talk, wrote, "Nearly three decades since its initial broadcast, it still holds a place as a triumph of televised storytelling." In May 1980, ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' magazine reviewed the television show as it was recently named in the ''
Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas Citybased greeting card company. It is the longest-ru ...
''. The author summarized the film and remarked, "As propaganda for an enlightened view of civil liberties, 'Gideon's Trumpet' offers, implicitly, a sharp indictment of the Burger Court's retreat from the kinds of decisions, like the one in the Gideon case, that marked the Warren Court as a sharp defender of the rights of the individual."


Awards and honors


See also

* '' Gideon's Trumpet'' (the book)


References


External links

*
Gideon's Trumpet
on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...
{{Robert L. Collins 1980 films 1980 drama films 1980 television films Films based on biographies 1980s historical films 1980s historical drama films American historical drama films American legal drama films Films about lawyers Films set in 1963 1980s legal drama films CBS films Hallmark Hall of Fame episodes Films directed by Robert L. Collins