The Paper Chase (1973)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

James Bridges

Writers:

James Bridges (writer)
John Jay Osborn Jr. (novel)

Release Date:

16 October 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

You have to choose between the girl you love and the diploma you've worked for all your life. You have 30 seconds.

Plot:

A first-year law student struggles with balancing his coursework and his relationship with the daughter of a stern professor.

Plot Keywords:

Study Group | Professor | Harvard | Classroom | Student Mentor Relationship

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Timothy Bottoms	...	James T. Hart
Lindsay Wagner	...	Susan Fields
John Houseman	...	Charles W. Kingsfield Jr.
Graham Beckel	...	Franklin Ford III
James Naughton	...	Kevin Brooks
Edward Herrmann	...	Thomas Craig Anderson
Craig Richard Nelson	...	Willis Bell
Robert Lydiard	...	O'Connor (as Bob Lydiard)
Lenny Baker	...	William Moss, Tutor
David Clennon	...	Toombs
Regina Baff	...	Asheley Brooks
Irma Hurley	...	Mrs. Weasal
Bill Moher	...	Philip
Blair Brown	...	Miss Farranti
Richard Whelan	...	Pruit

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Netherlands:12 (original rating) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Thompson Films

Trivia:

First film of David Clennon.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jim falls on the ice, his position relative to the end of the sidewalk changes.

Quotes:

Susan: They finally got you, Hart, they sucked all that Midwestern charm right out of you. Look, he's got you scared to death. You're going to pass, because you're the kind the law school wants.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Soul Man (1986)

Soundtrack:

CONCERTO IN D+ for 3 trumpets, tympani, 2 oboes, strings and harpsichord

An education about getting an education

Have there been any other movies that are as good about the process of getting an education? Yes, you can guess from my login name that I'm a lawyer. I didn't go to Harvard but I can attest that the student/faculty struggle the movie depicts is realistic (and thankfully confined only to a few traditionalist Socratic profs now). The stress and tension involved in getting a law degree is accurate, too. We had a saying, the first year they scared you to death, the second year they worked you to death, the third year they bored you to death. I'd seen the movie years before I went to law school and then I watched it again a few months after I graduated. I actually started getting sick to my stomach and shifted uneasily in my chair as I watched the classroom scenes. It was the one and only time a movie induced a "flashback" for me and I can understand now why some war veterans cannot watch war movies.

John Houseman hadn't been in a movie in years when he made this one and he got a deserved Oscar for it. Having a babe like Lindsey Wagner would've made law school easier but I wasn't that lucky. On the other hand, the romance in the movie depicts a dilemma that many people find themselves in---they're caught up in an important part of their life such as getting a degree, dealing with a very challenging job, and then suddenly an opportunity for romance comes along. Do you let the romance distract you from your larger cause? "The Competition" was another movie that dealt with that romance vs. career theme and did it well.