The Lawyer (film)

1970 film by Sidney J. Furie

The Lawyer

Directed by| Sidney J. Furie
Written by| Sidney J. Furie
Harold Buchman
Produced by| Brad Dexter
Starring| Barry Newman
Diana Muldaur
Harold Gould
Cinematography| Ralph Woolsey
Edited by| Argyle Nelson Jr.
Music by| Malcolm Dodds

Production
company

Furie Productions

Distributed by| Paramount Pictures

Release date

* March 10, 1970 (1970-03-10) (New York City)

Running time

| 120 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $1.8 million[1]

The Lawyer is a 1970 American courtroom drama film loosely based on the Sam Sheppard murder case in which a physician is charged with killing his wife following a highly publicized and sloppy investigation. The film was directed by Sidney J. Furie and stars Barry Newman as the energetic, opportunistic defense attorney Tony Petrocelli and Diana Muldaur as his wife Ruth Petrocelli.,[2]

The film is the source of the role that Newman reprised in the television series Petrocelli.

## Plot

[edit]

Tony Petrocelli is a Harvard-educated attorney of Italian heritage who practices in an unidentified part of the American Southwest. He works (and drives) at a frenetic pace, not only because he is a zealous advocate for his defendants (mostly drunks and other small-time criminal cases) but also because of the vast distances of western prairie that he must cross in order to meet clients, investigate his cases and make court appointments.

A major case lands in his lap when he is asked to defend a young, prosperous physician who expects to be charged with the bludgeoning murder of his socialite wife.

## Cast

[edit]

* Barry Newman as Tony Petrocelli (based on F. Lee Bailey)
* Harold Gould as Eric P. Scott
* Diana Muldaur as Ruth Petrocelli
* Robert Colbert as Jack Harrison
* Kathleen Crowley as Alice Fiske
* Warren J. Kemmerling as Sergeant Moran (as Warren Kemmerling)
* Booth Colman as Judge Crawford
* Ken Swofford as Charlie O'Keefe
* E. J. André as F.J. Williamson
* William Sylvester as Paul Harrison
* Jeffery V. Thompson as Andy Greer (as Jeff Thompson)
* Tom Harvey as Bob Chambers
* Ivor Barry as Wyler
* Melendy Britt as Ann Greer
* John Himes as Myro McCauley
* Ralph Thomas as Mike Peterson
* Mary Charlotte Wilcox as Wilma Harrison (as Mary Wilcox)
* Gene O'Donnell as Judge Swackhammer
* Walter Mathews as Mr. Andre
* Ray Ballard as Mr. Canon
* James McEachin as Striker
* Robert L. Poyner as J.C. Hornby
* Michael Murphy as Intern in Legal Office (uncredited)

## Production

[edit]

The film was announced in 1966 and was inspired by the true life case of neurosurgeon Sam Sheppard, whose conviction for the murder of his pregnant wife was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court and who was acquitted in a 1966 retrial.[1] Sheppard's lawyer, F. Lee Bailey, sold the rights to Sheppard's book Endure and Conquer: My 12 Year Fight for Vindication to 20th Century Fox per an arrangement in which he'd forego direct payment from Sheppard for legal representation and reportedly received between $100,000 and $150,000.[1] In addition to Sheppard's own book, Fox also purchased the rights to two books covering the case by reporter Paul Holmes as well as the book My Brother's Keeper written by Sheppard's brother Steven.[1] Producers Norman Baer and Philip D'Antoni had initially optioned the rights to the story, but after the option expired Paramount Pictures acquired the rights.[3]

Sidney J. Furie became attached to direct having turned down the opportunity to direct M*A*S*H after finding the script to be too much of a mess.[3] An early version of the film would've framed the film in a "quasi-documentary" style, including the unconventional approach of having Bailey play himself, but the approach was abandoned due to a lack of interest from the studio and Bailey left the film.[1] Barry Newman, who played the Bailey-inspired character, was unaware of this initial approach and openly admitted that he made the performance his own rather than a facsimile of Bailey.[3] Norman Bogner initially collaborated with Furie on the script, but after Furie deemed their months of effort "uncinematic" Bogner left the project.[3] fledgling producer Harry Korshak, youngest son of Paramount fixer Sidney Korshak, had befriended Furie leading to Korshak's father-in-law, blacklisted writer Harold Buchman, coming on board to re-write the script.[3] In order to capture Bailey's mannerisms Furie, Buchman, and producer Brad Dexter followed Bailey on other cases in order to document his "performative" style in the courtroom, this prompted the crew to shift focus from the central murder to more on the character of the lawyer which was reflected with the title change where the original title The Sheppard Murder Case was instead replaced with The Lawyer.[3] Despite being unknown at the time, Furie cast Barry Newman as the lead as he'd impressed him in the audition in a way no other had.[3]

## Release

[edit]

The Lawyer had initially been intended for a 1969 release, but as Paramount was suffering financial difficulties and on the brink of bankruptcy the release was delayed.[3] The Lawyer eventually opened in New York on March 10, 1970, followed by a wide release on May 15 of that year.[3]

### Home Media

[edit]

KINO-LORBER issued "The Lawyer" on Blu-ray for its first-ever homevideo release in August 2024 via Kino's deal with Paramount. As stated on the sleeve art: The disc utilized a 2021 HD Master from a 4k Scan of the original 35mm camera negative.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e "The Lawyer (1970)". AFI. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
2. ^ New York Times movie review by Vincent Canby
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kremer, Daniel (2020). Sidney J. Furie: Life and Films. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0813165967.

## External links

[edit]

* The Lawyer at IMDb
* The Lawyer at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
* The Lawyer at the TCM Movie Database

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Sidney J. Furie

* A Dangerous Age (1957)
* A Cool Sound from Hell (1959)
* Doctor Blood's Coffin (1961)
* The Snake Woman (1961)
* Three on a Spree (1961)
* During One Night (1961)
* The Young Ones (1961)
* The Boys (1962)
* The Leather Boys (1964)
* Wonderful Life (1964)
* The Ipcress File (1965)
* The Appaloosa (1966)
* The Naked Runner (1967)
* The Lawyer (1970)
* Little Fauss and Big Halsy (1970)
* Lady Sings the Blues (1972)
* Hit! (1973)
* Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York (1975)
* Gable and Lombard (1976)
* The Boys in Company C (1978)
* The Entity (1982)
* Purple Hearts (1984)
* Iron Eagle (1986)
* Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
* Iron Eagle II (1988)
* The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991)
* Ladybugs (1992)
* Iron Eagle on the Attack (1995)
* Hollow Point (1996)
* Top of the World (1997)
* The Rage (1997)
* Married to a Stranger (1997)
* Renegade Force (1998)
* In Her Defense (1999)
* My 5 Wives (2000)
* Cord (2000)
* Under Heavy Fire (2001)
* The Fraternity (2002)
* Global Heresy (2002)
* Partners in Action (2002)
* Detention (2003)
* Direct Action (2004)
* American Soldiers (2005)
* The Veteran (2006)
* Conduct Unbecoming (2011)
* The Dependables (2014)

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