First Monday in October (1981)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Ronald Neame

Writers:

Jerome Lawrence (play)
Jerome Lawrence (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 August 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

In the Supreme Court, there are only eight of them against all of her.

Plot:

For the first time in history a woman is appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where she becomes a friendly rival to a liberal associate.

Plot Keywords:

Supreme Court | Judge | Washington D.C. | Courtroom | Battle Of The Sexes

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Walter Matthau	...	Dan Snow
Jill Clayburgh	...	Ruth Loomis
Barnard Hughes	...	Chief Justice Crawford
Jan Sterling	...	Christine Snow
James Stephens	...	Mason Woods
Joshua Bryant	...	Bill Russell
Wiley Harker	...	Justice Harold Webb
F.J. O'Neil	...	Justice Waldo Thompson
Charles Lampkin	...	Justice Josiah Clewes
Lew Palter	...	Justice Benjamin Halperin
Richard McMurray	...	Justice Richard Carey
Herb Vigran	...	Justice Ambrose Quincy
Edmund Stoiber	...	Committee Chairman
Noble Willingham	...	Nebraska Attorney
Richard McKenzie	...	Hostile Senator

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Sweden:11 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | UK:15 (video) | Norway:16 | UK:AA | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Inyo National Forest - 351 Pacu Lane, Bishop, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The original Broadway production of "First Monday in October" by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee opened at the Majestic Theater in New York on October 3, 1978 and ran for 79 performances starring movie legend Henry Fonda and Jane Alexander who was nominated for the 1979 Tony Award for Actress in a Drama.

Quotes:

Justice Dan Snow: She wants me to disqualify myself because I won't go down there and sit through that pile of crap?
Chief Justice Crawford: Uh, well, uh...
Justice Dan Snow: So its crap. What if it is crap? That's not the point. Crap's got the right to be crap.
Chief Justice Crawford: Drop the legal language, Dan.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Roseanne: The Last Thursday in November (#8.8)" (1995)

First-Rate, Top Drawer, I Give it an 8!

The dialogue is priceless, and the physical comedy is great too, i.e., Barnard Hughes never says a word as he approaches Matthau's office where Matthau and Clayburgh are in a heated debate; it's a long shot from the office doorway as he approaches, and as soon as he is within earshot, he does a perfect "to the rear, march" without missing a beat!

I agree wholeheartedly with the comments of bato-2 except for the "comedy isn't much" remark. Why such a low rating?

This movie is among the many that I have taped, and I return to it often for "pure enjoyment".