The Young Philadelphians (1959)

Director:

Vincent Sherman

Writers:

James Gunn (writer)
Richard Powell (novel)

Release Date:

30 May 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Guilty secrets. Shocking scandals. All in a day's work for on Philadelphian lawyer.

Plot:

Up and coming, young lawyer Anthony Lawrence faces several ethical and emotional dilemmas as he climbs the Philadelphia social ladder...

Plot Keywords:

Pennsylvania | Law | Philadelphia Pennsylvania | Trial | Based On Novel

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Anthony Judson Lawrence / Narrator
Barbara Rush	...	Joan Dickinson
Alexis Smith	...	Carol Wharton
Brian Keith	...	Mike Flanagan
Diane Brewster	...	Kate Judson Lawrence
Billie Burke	...	Mrs. J. Arthur Allen, Owner Allen Oil Co.
John Williams	...	Gilbert Dickinson
Robert Vaughn	...	Chester A. 'Chet' Gwynn
Otto Kruger	...	John Marshall Wharton, Partner in Wharton / Biddle / Clayton Law Firm
Paul Picerni	...	Louis Donetti
Robert Douglas	...	Uncle Morton Stearnes
Frank Conroy	...	Doctor Shippen Stearnes
Adam West	...	William Lawrence III
Anthony Eisley	...	Carter Henry (as Fred Eisley)
Richard Deacon	...	George Archibald
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Murray Alper	...	Diner Counterman (uncredited)
Brandon Beach	...	Jury Foreman (uncredited)
Richard Boyer	...	Hotel Asst. Manager (uncredited)
Leonard Bremen	...	Carson, Construction Worker (uncredited)
Joe Brooks	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Peter Brown	...	Elevator Operator / Voice of Hotel Asst. Manager (uncredited)
James Burke	...	Police Officer Barney Flanagan (uncredited)
Wade Cagle	...	Corpsman (uncredited)
Gertrude Carr	...	Woman in Car (uncredited)
Isobel Elsom	...	Mrs. Dewitt Lawrence (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Carla Henry - Cricket Club Party Guest (uncredited)
Robert Haines	...	Court Stenographer (uncredited)
Ken Hardison	...	Corpsman (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Jack Henderson	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Stuart Holmes	...	Cricket Club Party Guest (uncredited)
James Hope	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
J. Anthony Hughes	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Helen Jay	...	Floozy (uncredited)
Theodore Lehmann	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Louise Lorimer	...	Mary Judson (uncredited)
Al McGranary	...	Judge (uncredited)
Don McGuire	...	Bartender (uncredited)
David McMahon	...	Police Desk Sgt. McMahon (uncredited)
Claire Meade	...	Margaret O'Donnell (uncredited)
Patricia Michon	...	Chippy (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Cricket Club Guest (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Forbes Murray	...	Joan's Party Guest (uncredited)
Alan Paige	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Yvonne Peattie	...	Miss Lurie (uncredited)
Frieda Rentie	...	Maid (uncredited)
Carl Saxe	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Charles Sherlock	...	Ed, Construction Man (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Cricket Club Guest (uncredited)
Fred Stromsoe	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Ruth Swanson	...	Receptionist (uncredited)
James Westmoreland	...	Bright Young Man (uncredited)

Directed by
Vincent Sherman

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
James Gunn		writer
Richard Powell		novel "The Philadelphian"

Produced by
James Gunn	....	producer

Original Music by
Ernest Gold

Cinematography by
Harry Stradling Sr.

Film Editing by
William H. Ziegler		(as William Ziegler)

Art Direction by
Malcolm C. Bert		(as Malcolm Bert)

Set Decoration by
John P. Austin

Costume Design by
Howard Shoup

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Kissell	....	assistant director (as William Kissel)

Sound Department
Stanley Jones	....	sound

Music Department
Ray Heindorf	....	music supervisor

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1959) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

The City Jungle (UK)

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

UK:PG (video: 1995) | UK:A | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #19198) | West Germany:16 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Will Rogers State Historical Park - 1501 Will Rogers State Park Road, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Barbara Rush replaced Natalie Wood who was put on studio suspension for refusing the role.

Quotes:

Anthony Judson Lawrence: This isn't very conducive to sensible thinking. I better go back before...
Joan Dickinson: I don't want sensible thinking!
Anthony Judson Lawrence: Neither do I.

The Philadelphia Way of Life

The Young Philadelphians is a curious mixture of Ross Hunter like soap opera together with a Tennessee Williams like hero and surprisingly enough it works most of the time.

Paul Newman is the hero whose very existence on the planet is a source of scandal. His mother Diane Brewster was disinherited by her husband's family when he killed himself on their wedding night. Newman's had to scrap for what's his in the world and isn't above using the bedroom to advance himself.

He's got a friend in Robert Vaughn who's also a black sheep in his Philadelphia Main Line family who gets himself in a jackpot when he's arrested for murdering his uncle. Newman, who's a tax lawyer, gets some on the job training in a criminal case, in defending Vaughn.

Like Katharine Hepburn in Suddenly Last Summer, characters like John Williams, Robert Douglas, and Frank Conroy seem above all to want to protect the family name. Hepburn was willing enough to have a lobotomy performed on Elizabeth Taylor and this crew seems ready willing and eager to send Vaughn to prison or the electric chair for the same reasons. Straight out of Tennessee Williams.

Newman shows some of the flash in his courtroom scenes, especially in his examination of Richard Deacon that he later showed in his Oscar nominated The Verdict which is my personal Paul Newman favorite. He trips Deacon the witness up with a piece of legal wizardry worthy of Perry Mason.

In the prologue of the film when the death of Adam West is shown on his wedding night to Diane Brewster the film is very discreet as to his reasons for doing what he did. It's explained this was a marriage arranged by his mother for the purpose of carrying on the family name even if it meant wedding a girl not from their crowd. He explains he has no interest in his wife and promptly goes out and dies in a speeding car crash. Today it would be far more explicit to say that maybe Adam West's character was gay. But we had the code in place back then and gay was invisible.

Robert Vaughn got an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor and his harrowing scenes with Newman in the drunk tank got him that. He lost to Hugh Griffith for Ben-Hur, but it was the first real notice he got and the start of a long career. Look for good performances by Alexis Smith as the older woman Newman woos, Billie Burke as the daffy dowager, and Barbara Rush whose on and off relationship with Newman guides most of the film.

The Young Philadelphians is kind of old fashioned today, somewhat dated, but still is good entertainment and recommended here.