I'm so happy for Joseph Cotten, getting a resurgence in his career in his sunset years. After Soylent Green, he acted in Airport '77, A Delicate Balance, The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case, and Twilight's Last Gleaming. In this courtroom tv drama, he has a very prominent role, arguably the second lead following Charles Lindbergh himself (although Anthony Hopkins won an Emmy for Lead Actor). You'll also see other old timers in the supporting cast, like Dean Jagger and 79-year-old Walter Pidgeon as the judge. Martin Balsam plays a very good lawyer - as he should, since he'd had so much experience playing lawyers since 1957. He's the defense attorney with his work cut out for him, defending the German immigrant Anthony Hopkins as the alleged kidnapper and baby killer.
Anthony had a couple of great scenes on the witness stand, but my main complaint with the movie was the lack of emotion with the other leads. Cliff De Young and Sian Barbara Allen, the Lindberghs, never seemed upset by their situation. In one scene, Cliff was seen eating breakfast while talking on the phone about a ransom note. How could he possibly eat during such a conversation? They were both far too calm at every stage of the film, begging the question as to why. If they weren't simply bad actors, perhaps there was more to the story than the film told.
If you don't know every detail of the case, trial, and outcome, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat. It may be slow-going at first, but the second half of the film (segmented out at "the trial") is fascinating and fast-paced. There are definite messages the filmmakers put across, such as mob mentality and anti-death penalty, and the screenplay is very intriguing. One could argue it raises more questions than answers, and if you're inspired, you could become completely consumed with the real-life case and its alternative theories.
Anthony had a couple of great scenes on the witness stand, but my main complaint with the movie was the lack of emotion with the other leads. Cliff De Young and Sian Barbara Allen, the Lindberghs, never seemed upset by their situation. In one scene, Cliff was seen eating breakfast while talking on the phone about a ransom note. How could he possibly eat during such a conversation? They were both far too calm at every stage of the film, begging the question as to why. If they weren't simply bad actors, perhaps there was more to the story than the film told.
If you don't know every detail of the case, trial, and outcome, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat. It may be slow-going at first, but the second half of the film (segmented out at "the trial") is fascinating and fast-paced. There are definite messages the filmmakers put across, such as mob mentality and anti-death penalty, and the screenplay is very intriguing. One could argue it raises more questions than answers, and if you're inspired, you could become completely consumed with the real-life case and its alternative theories.