Trial, The (1955)

First of all, as an earlier reviewer pointed out, this does not star Anthony Perkins. It stars Glenn Ford and Arthur Kennedy who both turn in excellent performances. Arthur Kennedy is especially good as a Communist Lawyer. The Trial is the trial of a young Hispanic boy for the murder (or accidental death) of an Anglo girl in a California town with plenty of racial predjudice to go around. Glenn Ford is a young and perhaps excessively naive Law Professor who must take the case in order to prove his academic credentials. Arthur Kennedy is a cynical lawyer who gets him the case and "helps" him by raising money. Eventually Glenn Ford realizes that he is being manipulated by the Communist Party under Arthur Kennedy and, too late,that the Party prefers the defendant as a martyr than to get an acquittal. Spoiler alert: Glenn Ford turns out to be better lawyer than even he believes and the ending, while probably not realistic in a real courtroom, is a "stand up and cheer" victory for good sense and the ability of all of us to see past our predjudices and ultimately do the right thing. Although set in 1947 it retains a relevancy to today as headlines in Ferguson Mo and New York City makes clear.

The name has a double meaning--the trial of a boy accused of rape, and the trials of an academic lawyer trying his first live case.Glenn Ford plays the lawyer perfectly, not as a natural genius, but as a decent human being in a hard situation. He has to face the real temptations of an advocate: self-doubt over his lack of experience; naked fear; the chance to put political convictions or fame ahead of a client; and, in the worst moments, despair. Glenn Ford's character in Trial has to meet them in his first case, and the tale is one of the best moral adventures I'd like new lawyers to see. Quite a few old ones, for that matter.

A-ok

I received TRIAL as described on this page. 1955 Glenn Ford. It is a made to order DVD-R with video and sound both excellent. Played fine even in my fussy Sony jukebox. Subtitles would be nice but this has none. Amazon should remove the confusing reviews of THE TRIAL but it seems they have done nothing to correct the mixing of reviews for both movies on the page. BTW, I think the movie is very good.

Great film. It depicts how (in this case the Communist Party) some radicals will use circumstances to further their agenda. We see it today and I challenge you to pick out similar cases. The acting and cast were exceptional. Juano Hernandez as the Black Judge was especially outstanding. If Anthony Perkins was in this film I missed him. Glenn Ford starred.

I'd forgotten the surprising deviation fro the novel's ending.

Poor quality DVD

WARNING: There are 2 films entitled TRIAL.Unfortunately, amazon.com has mixed the reviews for both filmswhich is very confusing..."TRIAL" was released in 1955 with Glenn Ford and Dorothy Maguire."THE TRIAL" was released in 1962 with Anthony Perkins and Orson Welles.The stories are completely different and there is no connection between them.Technically this is not a review but an attempt to clarify the issue.

Glenn Ford who provides a strong performance is hired to defend a young Hispanic boy accused of killing a white girl. He was hired by Barney Castle (Arthur Kennedy) in an Oscar nominated performance. Castle belongs to a Communist racist group who is more interested in having the defendant convicted regardless of the evidence. Fine performances also by Dorothy McGuire and Rafael Campos. Castle hopes to use the conviction of Chavez as a fundraising effort for the communist organisation he belongs to. There is an explosive finish to this fine movie, and it is well worth a look.

another great glenn ford film