Two of my all-time favorite movies will be aired Wednesday on Turner Classic Movies—“To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Inherit the Wind.” Scenes in their courtroom sequences mesmerize me by the brilliance of the dialogue and skill of the actors to dominate the screen.
Interestingly, both films deal with life in small Southern communities during the first third of the 20th century. For the most part, residents of neither community could be held up as models for what American values should be, except those displayed by the protagonists, Atticus Finch fighting racial injustice in Mockingbird, Henry Drummond battling religious fundamentalism’s crusade against science, specifically evolution versus the Bible, in Inherit the Wind.
Watch them, or record them for later viewing, if you can. In addition, here are films with legal or courtroom scenes worthy of your time and attention (send me any additions, or subtractions, you deem appropriate):
Anatomy of a Murder
Philadelphia
A Few Good Men
The Verdict
Judgement at Nuremberg
Suspect
Adam’s Rib
A Man for All Seasons
Witness for the Prosecution
12 Angry Men
Erin Brockovich
Dark Waters
Kramer vs. Kramer
My Cousin Vinny
Legally Blonde
Chicago
The Trial of the Chicago Seven
Sergeant Rutledge
Breaker Morant
Paths of Glory
A Tale of Two Cities
The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell
