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The Young Philadelphians
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The Young Philadelphians (1959)

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User Rating: 7.2/10 (736 votes)
Photos (see all 6 | slideshow)

Overview

Director:
Vincent Sherman
Writers:
James Gunn (writer)
Richard Powell (novel)
Release Date:
30 May 1959 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
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... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 nominations more
User Comments:
The Philadelphia Way of Life more

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

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)
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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
 
Crew believed to be complete



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Additional Details

Also Known As:
The City Jungle (UK)
more
Runtime:
136 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
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
MOVIEmeter: ?
^ 3% since last week why?

Fun Stuff

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

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
9 out of 9 people found the following comment useful:-
The Philadelphia Way of Life, 28 November 2006
7/10
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

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.

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