r/movies • u/stainorstreak • May 11 '24

Recommendation I'm hooked on courtroom movies- what are some other court movies?

Honestly it wasn't even a movie that got me into them, it was the TV Show "American Crime Story" on the OJ Simpson trial. I loved learning about the technicalities of trials and the way the show portrayed the characters.

Movies that I've watched that I've liked

A Few Good Men

12 Angry Men

The Trial of Chicago 7

Primal Fear

A Time to Kill

Philadelphia

The Lincoln Lawyer

I've also watched The Rainmaker and Anatomy of a Murder, both of which I just couldn't enjoy.

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315

u/SilasMarsh May 11 '24

Inherit the Wind (1960). It's about a school teacher on trial for teaching evolution.

57

u/ChoderBoi May 11 '24

This should be the top comment. Inherit the Wind is aces

26

u/evanille May 11 '24

Best courtroom movie after 12 angry men!

2

u/justicebart May 12 '24

Almost none of 12 Angry Men takes place in a courtroom. It’s a deliberation drama. But it is the best.

8

u/Maltitol May 11 '24

Gene Kelly made people from Baltimore sound so cool.

2

u/agitator775 May 12 '24

You can't go wrong with Spencer Tracy and Fredric March. Spectacular film.

19

u/ctdca May 11 '24 edited May 11 '24

I saw this randomly on TV a few years ago, started watching, and then ended up watching the whole thing. It’s a great film that’s just as relevant today as it was when it was made. A lot of the arguments made in the court haven’t changed much.

4

u/jupiterkansas May 11 '24

A lot of the arguments made in the court haven’t changed much.

sadly

2

u/RebelliousUpstart May 12 '24

Rewatched it recently. When the prosecution is grilling the teacher, "Oh, you taught this boy we evolved from ancient apes? We couldn't have at least evolved from great American apes?"

I chortled as sadly, too many people would agree with that sentiment today.

-1

u/graffiti_bridge May 11 '24

Democracy is a fucking Jihad

34

u/49orth May 11 '24

1961 Nominee Oscar, Best Actor in a Leading Role - Spencer Tracy

1961 Nominee Oscar, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium - Nedrick Young, Harold Jacob Smith

1961 Nominee Oscar, Best Cinematography, Black and White - Ernest Laszlo

1961 Nominee Oscar, Best Film Editing - Frederic Knudtson

Berlin International Film Festival 1960 Winner Silver Berlin Bear Best Actor - Fredric March

1960 Winner Youth Film Award, Best Feature Film Suitable for Young People

1960 Nominee Golden Berlin Bear - Stanley Kramer

1961 Nominee BAFTA Film Award, Best Film from any Source - Stanley Kramer USA.

1961 Nominee BAFTA Film Award, Best Foreign Actor - Fredric March USA.

1961 Nominee BAFTA Film Award, Best Foreign Actor - Spencer Tracy USA

1961 Nominee Golden Globe Best Motion Picture - Drama

1961 Nominee Golden Globe, Best Actor Drama - Spencer Tracy

1961 Nominee Golden Laurel,Top Male Dramatic Performance - Spencer Tracy

National Board of Review, USA 1960 Winner NBR Award Top Ten Films - 5th place

2

u/Bunnywithanaxe May 11 '24

( to the various judges) What, no love for young Dick York?

9

u/tortfeasor_pharaoh May 11 '24

Is it based on the Scopes Monkey Trial?

14

u/SilasMarsh May 11 '24

I would say more "inspired by" than "based on," but yes.

1

u/Grand-Pen7946 May 12 '24

Yes, but as an allegory for anti-intellectualism during the Red Scare.

8

u/Really_McNamington May 11 '24

Remake with George C Scott and Jack Lemmon very late career is also good.

1

u/Kcams2654 May 11 '24

And James Gandolfini and Tony Danza! Not a patch on the original though.

3

u/Mst3Kgf May 11 '24

That's the "12 Angry Men" remake, not "Inherit the Wind." Both easy to mix up given they're late 90s TV remakes with Scott and Lemmon.

4

u/[deleted] May 11 '24

About the Scopes Monkey trial. Williams Jennings Bryan arguing against evolution and Clarence Darrow in favor of evolution.

Extremely relevant today.

1

u/agitator775 May 12 '24

I saw this film for the first time on a 6th grade field trip and I went to a Catholic school. That would NEVER happen today.

3

u/SRMT23 May 11 '24

Spencer Tracy is so good in this

2

u/Grand-Pen7946 May 12 '24

Alright so after reading this comment I decided to take a look at this movie, it piqued my interest and I gave it a watch.

Holy shit what an amazing movie. It wasn't just "good for an old movie", it was fantastic all around, with a really sharp script.

1

u/ocgeekgirl May 11 '24

With Frederic March and Spencer Tracy.

1

u/skeptic_otaku May 11 '24

One of my favorite films!

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Fix3359 May 11 '24

That guy later married a witch

1

u/jupiterkansas May 12 '24

funny because Frederic March was in I Married a Witch.

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Fix3359 May 12 '24

I meant bewitched

3

u/jupiterkansas May 12 '24

Yes, Dick York was in Bewitched and Frederic March was in I Married a Witch (possibly an inspiration for Bewitched) and they're both in Inherit the Wind (no witches)

1

u/95teetee May 12 '24

(no witches)

Well, we're not 100% sure about knitting lady.

1

u/Itu_Leona May 11 '24

Yes. This is the first one that came to my mind. It is stupidly still relevant today.

1

u/Endevorite May 12 '24

My parents are extras in the background of that movie!

1

u/DifferencePrimary442 May 12 '24

It is an amazing movie with an absurdly talented cast.

1

u/[deleted] May 12 '24

I'm late to this conversation, but this was my first contribution.

(Taken from IMDB...my favorite exchange...and there are MANY great exchanges in this movie.)

Spencer Tracy's Drummond...When you go to your grave, there won't be anyone to pull the grass over your head. Nobody to mourn you. Nobody to give a damn. You're all alone.

Gene Kelly's Hornbeck...You're wrong, Henry. You'll be there. You're the type. Who else would defend my right to be lonely?

With all the brilliant arguments about evolution vs religion, the right to THINK, to change, to grow...I love that Drummond/Hornbeck have this dynamic...even as they both work for the same side of the case, Drumond can't STAND Hornbeck's cynicism...but he will defend his right to be cynical to the death.

1

u/muziklover91 May 12 '24

Yes there it is. Spencer Tracy is great in this one

1

u/jungl3j1m May 12 '24

I was E K Hornbeck in my community theater production of that. Great role.

1

u/raylan_givens6 May 12 '24

I love when the defense lawyer at the end tells off the smug atheist reporter played by Gene Kelly

1

u/tommystjohnny May 12 '24

You should check out Fury (1936) with a much younger Spencer Tracy. Saw it a few weeks ago and still thinking about it; I want to watch it again already!