Trial

1955

Trial (1955)

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Movie Info

Adapted by Don M. Mankiewicz from his own novel, Trial is a surprisingly timely story of how justice can sometimes be compromised by "special interests". It all begins when Mexican youth Angelo Chavez (Rafael Campos) is placed on trial for the murder of a white teenaged girl. Battling the lynch-mob mentality in and out of the courtroom is relatively inexperienced defense attorney David Blake (Glenn Ford). Believing that anything done on behalf of his client is for the common good, Blake approves the organization of an "Angelo Chavez Society" to pay the boy's court costs and ostensibly see that justice is done in the face of small-town prejudice. Soon, however, Blake discovers that both he and his client are being used as dupes by a Communist lawyer, who hopes that Chavez will be found guilty and executed, thereby creating a martyr for the Red cause. Much was made in 1955 of the fact that the presiding judge is a black man, played by Juano Hernandez. A bit creaky at times, Trial nonetheless still packs a wallop when shown today.

Cast

Glenn Ford
as David Blake
Dorothy McGuire
as Abbe Nyle
Arthur Kennedy
as Bernard 'Barney' Castle
John Hodiak
as District Attorney John J. 'Jack' Armstrong
Katy Jurado
as Consuela Chavez
Rafael Campos
as Angel Chavez
Juano Hernandez
as Judge Theodore Motley
Robert Middleton
as A.S. `Fats' Sanders
Catherine Neilson
as Washerwoman
Paul Guilfoyle
as Cap Grant
Elisha Cook Jr.
as Finn
John Lyons
Ann Lee
as Gail Wiltse
Whit Bissell
as Sam Wiltse
Richard Gaines
as Dr. Schacter
Barry Kelley
as Jim Backett
Frank Cady
as Canford
Charles Tannen
as Bailiff
David Leonard
as County Clerk
John Rosser
as Assistant District Attorney
James Todd
as Minister
Sheb Wooley
as Butteridge
Charlotte Lawrence
as Mrs. Webson
Percy Helton
as Youval
Dorothy Green
as Mrs. Ackerman
Everett Glass
as Dean
Grandon Rhodes
as Terry Bliss
John Hoyt
as Ralph Castillo
Charles Evans
as Lawyer No. 1
Frank Wilcox
as Lawyer No. 2
Wilson Wood
as Checker
Robert Bice
as Abbott
John Maxwell
as Benedict
Michael Dugan
as Pine
Vince Townsend Jr.
as Dr. Abraham Tenfold
Frank Ferguson
as Kiley
Robert Forrest
as Reporter
Mort Mills
as Reporter
Rodney Bell
as Lew Bardman
Richard Tyler
as Johnson
Mitchell Lewis
as Jury Foreman
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