Trial and Error
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
James Hill
Peter Sellers
Richard Attenborough
Beryl Reid
David Lodge
Frank Pettingell
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
After forty years of waiting for a case, an incompetent barrister named Morgenhall is finally given a dock brief. His client is Fowle, a timid little seed merchant accused of murdering his wife. When Morgenhall interviews Fowle, the man readily admits that he is guilty. A quiet man, he had found his wife Doris' incessant good humor and constant laughing intolerable. In desperation, he had taken in a lodger with a sense of humor equal to Doris'. But when Doris had refused to run off with the lodger, Fowle had killed her. Undaunted by the confession, Morgenhall plans what he considers to be a brilliant defense. He converts Fowle's cell into a courtroom, and the two men thoroughly rehearse the case, taking turns at acting out the various roles--judge, jury members, and witnesses. At the actual trial, however, Morgenhall becomes a bumbling fool incapable of uttering a single word in defense of his client. Consequently, Fowle is convicted and condemned. When Morgenhall goes to apologize to Fowle, he learns that his client has been acquitted on the grounds that his defense was totally inadequate. Fowle congratulates Morgenhall and points out that any other "technique" would have ended in disaster.
Director
James Hill
Cast
Peter Sellers
Richard Attenborough
Beryl Reid
David Lodge
Frank Pettingell
Eric Woodburn
Frank Thornton
Tristam Jellinek
Patrick Newell
Audrey Nicholson
John Waite
David Drummond
Eric Dodson
Ian Curry
Henry Kay
Crew
Martin Atkinson
Sarah Beber
Jane Buck
Ann Chegwidden
Dimitri De Grunwald
Dimitri De Grunwald
Robert E. Dearing
Jack Dooley
Eamonn Duffy
Jean Fairlie
Wally Fairweather
Patricia Gilbert
Ron Grainer
Sheila Hawkins
Eric Hillier
Red Law
Sidney Leggett
Albert Lott
Bert Owen
Ken Reynolds
Dennis Robertson
Bert Ross
Pierre Rouve
Edward Scaife
John Siddall
Ray Simm
Jack Smart
Herbert R. Smith
Tom Smith
Peter Weatherley
Jake Wright
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Copyright length: 78 min. Filmed in England; released there in 1962 as The Dock Brief; running time: 88 min.
Miscellaneous Notes
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