Join The Community
05. In The Name Of The Father (1993)
The Case: British lawyer Gareth Peirce (Emma Thompson) fights for the freedom of Irish Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his father, who've been imprisoned on allegations of having links to the IRA.
Only In The Movies: Not only in the movies, as it happens In The Name Of The Father is based on an extraordinary true story.
04. Paths Of Glory (1957)
The Case: During an attack that would be impossible to overcome, soldiers fighting in World War 1 refuse to take up arms and face the wrath of their unit commander instead.
Only In The Movies: Kubrick's tough-as-old-boots anti-war movie sidesteps artistic license to instead deliver a sucker-punch of a story. We're always in floods by the end.
03. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
The Case: Family man and lawyer Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) speaks in the defence of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman in the Depression-crippled South.
Only In The Movies: Technically, Finch could have requested to have the trial relocated if he felt he wouldn't get a fair trial in the Deep South which would actually have saved him a lot of bother. Wouldn't have been quite as affecting, mind.
02. 12 Angry Men (1957)
The Case: Jurors deliberate over a murder case, and find their perceptions of the prosecuted man changed by the rather passionate Juror No. 8.
Only In The Movies: Juror No. 8 should technically have been kicked off the jury. He buys a knife similar to the one used in the crime in order to prove a point, which means he's technically carrying out his own investigation. That's illegal.
01. The Verdict (1982)
The Case: Washed-up lawyer Frank Galvin (Paul Newman) attempts to rescue his floundering career by pushing for a medical malpractice case to go to trial.
Only In The Movies: A number of blink-and-miss-em continuity errors in this one (the length of time the woman's in a coma changes, while the dates are often muddled), but the law's pretty sound. A towering achievement for Paul Newman, too.
