Trial Reviews

Courtroom dramas often fail to maintain a high level of interest with their enclosed, sterile settings and inevitable outcomes. This is not the case with TRIAL, an unusually good film due to extraordinary efforts by everyone involved. Ford is an inexperienced lawyer who defends an undoubtedly innocent Mexican youth against a charge of murder. The case very nearly meets its resolution outside the courtroom when an angry mob attempts a lynching. In an unusual casting move for the 1950s, the presiding judge is black. Hernandez's portrayal of the conscientious jurist is superb. In addition to its focus on prejudice, the film also deals with using such a case to help the cause of communism. Kennedy--who earned an Oscar nomination for his supporting performance--is the constant schemer who uses Ford as his spokesman, albeit an unwitting one. This attack on communism clearly dates the picture, but, despite this, it remains a highly suspenseful, well-performed, and powerful drama.