dougdoepke A self-doubting law professor wants to prove himself by defending a Mexican boy accused of murder. In the process, however, he gets mixed up with powerful political forces seeking to use him and the trial for their own narrow purposes.As I recall, the movie got a spread in Life magazine, probably because of its topical theme and serious intent. In the mid-1950's, race was becoming a major political topic, 1954's de-segregation ruling being a chief catalyst. Clearly, the movie wants to frame the emerging issue in generally liberal terms, vilifying both bigots and McCarthyites on the political right and communists on the left. In contrast, Glenn Ford's idealistic attorney stands in for what the movie hopes will be an emerging consensus, one that endorses a principled justice for all races. Making the judge (Hernandez) a Black man also suggests that our institutions can work well regardless of skin color.Now these are worthy topics, but even the best screenplay would have difficulty blending them into an effective 100-minutes. Unfortunately the result here tries to cover too much and ends in little more than an awkward dramatic mix. Also, the usually low-key Ford is too low-key in the movie's pivotal role. Thus the many disparate elements lack a unifying center, drifting more or less from one thread to the next without needed coherence. Notably, however, the film manages to avoid the cartoonish communist stereotypes of the period, making that key Cold War element more believable than most. For example, Kennedy's attorney (Barney) may be a schemer but he's also recognizably human, along with his boisterous fund- raising crowd. And when he admonishes the crowd to not trust anyone, I had to re-run to make sure I'd heard the un-Stalinist sentiment correctly. All in all, it's a well-intentioned film, but lacks the dramatic impact, for example, of the similarly themed 12 Angry Men (1957). Moreover, the sprawl is simply too loose to provide an effective "think piece" platform.

blanche-2 "Trial," released in 1955 and directed by Mark Robson, starts out quite typically. A Hispanic young man (Rafael Campos) is accused of assaulting and murdering a 15-year-old girl. There is all of the accompanying town prejudice.A law professor, David Blake (Glenn Ford) who needs trial experience in order to keep his job is taken on by attorney Barney Castle (Arthur Kennedy) and assigned the case. Though Blake's instincts go against Castle's orders, his insecurity kicks in and he conducts the pre-trial procedures the way that Barney wants them, little realizing that Barney has a very hidden agenda.This interesting film was done at the height of the Red Scare. It's very well-acted if disconcerting - only because there is no hint at the beginning as to where this film is going to lead. Dorothy McGuire plays Castle's assistant and ex-girlfriend who falls for Blake, and Katy Jurado plays the boy's easily influenced mother. Someone else mentioned the black actor, Brazilian-born Juano Hernandez, who plays the judge. A former Broadway actor, Hernandez gives a marvelous performance and is inspired casting. Sadly, all of these actors -- Ford, McGuire, Kennedy, Campos, Hernandez, Jurado, John Hodiak (who plays the prosecutor) and Ray Middleton (the sheriff) are gone now.Well worth watching.

MartinHafer This is a very strange relic of the 1950s "Red Scare". While I do not dismiss this era as quickly as some (Stalin was evil and bent on domination and destruction, though Hollywood often sees the fear of communism during this era as unfounded), there were some unusual anti-communist films that are a bit preachy but very watchable--and important historically.This film is about a defense attorney (Ford) who is being assisted by an organization that claims to be devoted to liberal ideas and free speech. However, over time, he sees them for what they are--opportunists who have NO interest in the young man on trial but are helping in order to undermine the American system.Finally, I'd like to point out one performance that really stuck out in my mind. Juano Hernandez plays the judge. Considering he was a dark-skinned man of Hispanic descent, it was amazing to see him in a mainstream movie playing the part of a judge. His acting was excellent and it was wonderful to see a little bit of color injected into a Hollywood film of this era--this is no small feat.

helpless_dancer Pretty good drama featuring a reluctant lawyer roped into a murder trial. As usual Ford does a credible job as the harried attorney who strives to see his client gets a fair shake. To do this he must alienate many of the town's leading citizens who are, of course, looking out for #1. Worth seeing.