The Verdict (1982)

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

Barry Reed (based upon the novel by)
David Mamet (screenplay)

Release Date:

8 December 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A lawyer sees the chance to salvage his career and self-respect by taking a medical malpractice case to trial rather than settling.

Plot Keywords:

Lawyer | Medical Malpractice | Malpractice | Court | Ambulance Chasing

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Frank Galvin
Charlotte Rampling	...	Laura Fischer
Jack Warden	...	Mickey Morrissey
James Mason	...	Ed Concannon
Milo O'Shea	...	Judge Hoyle
Lindsay Crouse	...	Kaitlin Costello
Edward Binns	...	Bishop Brophy
Julie Bovasso	...	Maureen Rooney
Roxanne Hart	...	Sally Doneghy
James Handy	...	Kevin Doneghy
Wesley Addy	...	Dr. Towler
Joe Seneca	...	Dr. Thompson
Lewis J. Stadlen	...	Dr. Gruber (as Lewis Stadlen)
Kent Broadhurst	...	Joseph Alito
Colin Stinton	...	Billy
Burtt Harris	...	Jimmy - the Bartender
Scott Rhyne	...	Young Priest
Susan Benenson	...	Deborah Ann Kaye
Evelyn Moore	...	Dr. Gruber's Nurse
Juanita Fleming	...	Dr. Gruber's Maid
Jack Collard	...	Bailiff
Ralph Douglas	...	Clerk
Gregor Roy	...	Jury Foreman
John Blood	...	Funeral Director
Dick McGoldrick	...	Manager of 2nd Funeral Parlor
Edward Mason	...	Widow's Son
Patty O'Brien	...	Irish Nurse #1
Maggie Task	...	Irish Nurse #2
Joseph Bergmann	...	Friedman
Herbert Rubens	...	Abrams
J.P. Foley	...	John - Cigar Stand
Leib Lensky	...	Wheelchair Patient
H. Clay Dear	...	Courthouse Lawyer (as Clay Dear)
J.J. Clark	...	Courthouse Guard
Gregory Doucette	...	Sheraton Bar Waiter (as Greg Doucette)
Tony La Fortezza	...	Sheraton Bartender (as Tony LaFortezza)
Marvin Beck	...	Sheraton Bar Patron
Herb Peterson	...	Sheraton Bar Patron
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tobin Bell	...	Courtroom Observer (uncredited)
Kevin Fennessy	...	Funeral Mourner (uncredited)
Willow Hale	...	(uncredited)
Jon Hopwood	...	Courtroom Observer (uncredited)
Bruce Willis	...	Courtroom Observer (uncredited)

Directed by
Sidney Lumet

Writing credits
Barry Reed		(based upon the novel by)
David Mamet		(screenplay)

Produced by
David Brown	....	producer
Burtt Harris	....	executive producer
Richard D. Zanuck	....	producer

Original Music by
Johnny Mandel		(music by)

Cinematography by
Andrzej Bartkowiak		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Peter C. Frank		(as Peter Frank)

Production Design by
Edward Pisoni

Art Direction by
John Kasarda

Set Decoration by
George DeTitta Sr.		(as George DeTitta)

Costume Design by
Anna Hill Johnstone

Makeup Department
Joseph Cranzano	....	makeup artist (as Joe Cranzano)
Bob Grimaldi	....	hair stylist
Monty Westmore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Joseph M. Caracciolo	....	unit production manager
Jennifer Ogden	....	unit manager (as Jennifer M. Ogden)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Burtt Harris	....	first assistant director
Ken Ornstein	....	dga trainee
Robert E. Warren	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr.	....	prop master (as Joseph Caracciolo Jr.)
Edward Garzero	....	scenic artist
John McDonnell	....	props
Carlos Quiles	....	construction foreman (as Carlos Quiles Sr.)
William Sohmer	....	scenic artist
Dave Weinman	....	set dresser (as David Weinman)
Joe Williams Sr.	....	construction grip
Mark Bachman	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Louis Cerborino	....	sound editor (as Lou Cerborino)
Lee Dichter	....	re-recording mixer
Frank Graziadei	....	boom man
James Sabat	....	sound mixer
Louis Sabat	....	boom man
Maurice Schell	....	sound editor
Harry Peck Bolles	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)
Mel Zelniker	....	adr recordist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Louis Goldman	....	stillman
Gary Muller	....	assistant cameraman
Hank Muller	....	assistant cameraman
Robert Paone	....	second assistant cameraman (as Bob Paone)
Ed Quinn	....	dolly grip (as Eddie Quinn)
William H. Steiner	....	camera operator (as William Steiner)
Dusty Wallace	....	gaffer
Robert Ward	....	key grip (as Bobby Ward)
Billy Kerwick	....	grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
William Loger	....	wardrobe (as Bill Loger)
Marilyn Putnam	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
David Gelfand	....	apprentice editor
Andrew Mondshein	....	assistant editor (as Andrew Mondschein)

Music Department
Joel Moss	....	music engineer
Miles Goodman	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Angela Morley	....	additional orchestrator (uncredited)

Transportation Department
James Fanning	....	transportation captain
Michael Avallon	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Sally Brim	....	production assistant
Kay Chapin	....	script supervisor
Alexandra Decker	....	locations
Eileen Eichenstein	....	production office coordinator
Lilith Jacobs	....	assistant: Mr. Lumet
Ellen Levene	....	unit publicist
Kathleen McGill	....	production auditor: Production Services, Ltd.
Chris Stoia	....	locations
Todd Winters	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (as Fox-Zanuck/Brown Productions)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1982) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1985) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Centfox (1983) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (laserdisc)
• Abril Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (USA) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

• Casting Company, The  casting: Boston
• Intrada  score album released by (limited edition) (uncredited)
• Joy Todd Casting  casting
• Massachusetts Film Bureau  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Mayor's Office for Motion Pictures & Television  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as The New York City Mayor's Office of Motion Pictures & Television)
• Production Services International  production auditing (as Production Services, Ltd.)
• R/Greenberg Associates  titles

Runtime:

129 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Norway:16 | Iceland:L | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R (PCA #26710) | West Germany:6 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Two cast members - Edward Binns and Jack Warden - played jurors #6 and #7, respectively, in 12 Angry Men (1957), also by Sidney Lumet.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Early in the film, Frank two-finger-types a note on a manual typewriter to tape on the door of his office suite. When we see the note, however, we can see that the typed letters are perfectly uniform in darkness and thickness, indicating that the note was actually typed on an electric typewriter.

Quotes:

Frank Galvin: [to the judge] You couldn't hack it as a lawyer. You were a bag man for the boys downtown and you still are, I know about you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Jeff Goldblum/Aerosmith (#19.3)" (1993)

an old story, an important question, a great performance by a great actor

I saw "The Verdict" when it was released in 1982 and just watched it again. It is amazing what of the film I retained in memory. Most of what I remembered was the sheer brilliance of Paul Newman. In seeing it the second time, I'm 24 years older, I've worked for attorneys, I've had an experience with the justice system. And still, what I take away from "The Verdict" is the sheer brilliance of Paul Newman. After Matthew McConnaughey made "A Time to Kill," he asked his agents if he could meet Paul Newman. I guess someone told him they were similar. Newman said to him, "This is a time to not take yourself seriously and your work very seriously." When Matthew McConnaughey has a 50+ year career, you'll talk (I'll be gone) - but it's evident that Paul Newman takes his work very seriously indeed.

"The Verdict" is an old story - the drunken attorney who takes a case -think "The People Against O'Hara" for one - but this one has a stunning cast which includes Jack Warden, James Mason, Charlotte Rampling and Lindsay Crouse. And it asks one of life's great questions - what do you do when losing is just not an option? Drunken, disillusioned, ambulance-chasing Frank Galvin takes a slam-dunk hospital negligence case thrown to him by an investigator friend (Warden). His expert witness tells him he can win. So Galvin doesn't tell his client about a lowball offer, takes the thing to trial, loses his star witness, hires a pathetic expert, is reported by his client for failing to give them the offer they would have happily taken - simply put, there's no paddle but if he doesn't get down the river, any hope of reconstituting his life is over. Gone. David Mamet's script stacks everything against Frank but when you're fighting for your life, failure is not an option.

Newman is a wonder with his loser posture and hyperventilation and his desperateness. It's in his voice, it's on his face, it's in his smile, it's in his shaking hands. He's up against James Mason and his huge law firm, a smug, well-dressed bunch who will stop at nothing to win. One might think this type of firm is a cliché; it isn't. One of the characters says it best - "You have no loyalty to anyone, you don't care who you hurt. You're all whores." Unfortunately in real life, all attorneys are pretty much the same, but at least in film we occasionally are shown a decent one. When this film was made, the public had not yet been subjected to the Dream Team, the Robert Blake Case, the Menendez Brothers. But even today, knowing better, you can't help but buy into Newman's frantic sincerity.

The rest of the cast is uniformly excellent, with top honors going to Mason's smooth Concannon and Lindsay Crouse, who gives us the most powerful five minutes of the film with her magnificent performance as the admission nurse.

Is it a manipulative film? As hell. Is it feel good? You betcha. But take it from someone who knows an unfortunate truth - that justice is for the rich who pull in favors and have the money to fight, everyone lies their teeth off, and the jury system is sad - if I can be swept away by "The Verdict" and by Paul Newman's performance (another Oscar he was cheated out of) - you're gonna eat it up.