The Lawyer
Cast & Crew
Sidney J. Furie
Barry Newman
Harold Gould
Diana Muldaur
Robert Colbert
Kathleen Crowley
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Tony Petrocelli, an ambitious young lawyer, takes on the defense of Jack Harrison, a physician accused of murdering his wife. Jack claims that after a hard day at the hospital he fell asleep on a couch downstairs while his wife, Wilma, was having a barbecue in the backyard with several friends. Jack awakened to hear Wilma calling him. He was hit on the head and knocked unconscious when he rushed upstairs to see about her and on regaining consciousness found her dead. Believing he is innocent, Jack refuses the prosecutor's offer to allow him to plead guilty to manslaughter, and he is charged with first degree murder. The trial begins under much unfavorable publicity. Testimony is taken from an obviously prejudiced police investigator, and the local coroner is discovered to be professionally jealous of Jack. The most damaging testimony, however, comes from divorcée Alice Fiske who directly refutes Jack's own testimony by declaring that she and Jack had an extramarital affair. The jury finds Jack guilty of second degree murder, and he is sentenced to life imprisonment. Tony immediately prepares an appeal, claiming that his client did not receive a fair trial owing to prejudicial publicity. The appellate court grants a retrial, resulting in an acquittal when Tony shows that Jack's guilt was not proved beyond a reasonable doubt--Tony introduces a new witness who alleges that Wilma may have been murdered by the jealous wife of the man with whom Wilma was having an affair.
Director
Sidney J. Furie
Cast
Barry Newman
Harold Gould
Diana Muldaur
Robert Colbert
Kathleen Crowley
Warren Kemmerling
Booth Colman
Ken Swofford
E. J. Andre
William Sylvester
Jeff Thompson
Tom Harvey
Ivor Barry
Melendy Britt
John Himes
Ralph Thomas
Mary Wilcox
Gene O'donnell
Walter Mathews
Ray Ballard
James Mceachin
Robert L. Poyner
Crew
Roberta Adye
Glenn Anderson
Audrey Blasdel
Harold Buchman
Brad Dexter
Malcolm Dodds
Sidney J. Furie
Pato Guzman
Terry Morse Jr.
Terry Morse Jr.
Argyle Nelson Jr.
Ted Parvin
Delyte Petty
Marlene Pivnick
Rita Riggs
John Wilkinson
Ralph Woolsey
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Winter January 1970
Released in United States Winter January 1970
