Tanford's List of 100 Important Trial Movies

Except where noted with an asterisk (*), the titles below are available at the circulation desk of the Jerome Hall Law Library.

A. Order of the Coif -- you must see these before you graduate

Adam's Rib (1949) Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy
Anatomy of a Murder (1959) Jimmy Stewart
Breaker Morant (1980) Australian court-martial
Caine Mutiny, the (1954) Humphrey Bogart
Few Good Men, a (1992) Tom Cruise, Demi Moore
Inherit the Wind (1960) Spencer Tracy
My Cousin Vinny (1992) Joe Pesci
Philadelphia (1993) Denzel Washington
Rainmaker, the (1997) Matt Damon
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) Gregory Peck
Witness for the Prosecution (1957) Marlene Dietrich

B. Honors

Assault at West Point: Court Martial of Johnson Whittaker (1994) Samuel L. Jackson
Bridge of Spies (2015) (Coen brothers)
*Burning Bed (1985) Farrah Fawcett
Class Action (1991) Mary Mastroantonio
Conspiracy: Trial of the Chicago 8 (1987) Peter Boyle
Devil & Daniel Webster, the (1941) Walter Huston
Disorder in the Court (1939) Three Stooges
Helter Skelter (1976) Charles Manson trial
In the Name of the Father (1993) Daniel Day-Lewis
Jagged Edge (1985) Glenn Close
The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) Matthew McConaughey, Marissa Tomei
Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Santa Claus on trial
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) Gary Cooper
Nuts (1987) Barbra Steisand
Paths of Glory (1957) Kirk Douglas
*Positively True Adventures of a Texas Cheerleader Murdering Mom (1993)
Presumed Innocent (1990) Raoul Julia
Roxie Hart (1942) Ginger Rogers [the original "Chicago"]
Rules of Engagement (2000) Tommy Lee Jones
*Story on Page One, the (1959) Rita Hayworth
Suspect (1987) Cher
*Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942) Tarzan fights for custody of Boy
True Grit (2011)
Twelve Angry Men (1957) Henry Fonda. No actual courtroom scenes.
Verdict, the (1982) Paul Newman

C. The Rest of the Class

Accused, the (1988) Kelly McGillis
*American Tragedy (2000) [O.J. trial] Ving Rhames as Johnnie Cochran
*American Violet (2008) Nicole Beharie
And Justice for All (1979) Al Pacino
*Big Daddy (1999) Adam SandlerBig Eyes (2014)
*Blind Faith (1998) Courtney Vance
Body of Evidence (1992) Madonna. Probably the worst trial movie ever made.
Caine Mutiny Court Martial, the (1988) Robt Altman film
*Career Woman (1936) Claire Trevor
Civil Action, a (1998) John Travolta
Compulsion (1959) Orson Welles
Court Martial of Billy Mitchell, the (1955) Gary Cooper
*Criminal Lawyer (1937) Lee Tracy
Cry in the Dark, a (1988) Meryl Streep (Australian)
Dirty Pictures (2000) James Woods
*Fatal Vision (1984) Gary Cole
*Find Me Guilty (2006) Vin Diesel
From the Hip (1987) Jud Hirsch
Fury (1936) Spencer Tracy
*Gang Related (1996) Jim Belushi
Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) Alec Baldwin
Gideon's Trumpet (1980) Henry Fonda
Guilty as Sin (1993) R. DeMornay. Probably the second worst trial movie ever made
*I Accuse (1957) Jose Ferrer
I Want to Live (1958) Susan Hayward
*I'm No Angel (1933) Mae West, Cary Grant
*Indictment: the McMartin Trial (1995) James Woods
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) Spencer Tracy
Judge, the (2015) Robert Duvall
*Kidco (1984)
Killing Yard (2001) A Alda
*Knock on Any Door (1949) Humphrey Bogart
Kramer v. Kramer (1979) Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman
*Last Innocent Man (1987) Ed Harris
Lawyer, the (1970) Barry Newman
Leave Her To Heaven (1945) Vincent Price as lawyer
*Let Him Have It (1991) British trial
Liar Liar (1997) Jim Carrey
*Lindbergh Kidnaping Case (1976) Anthony Hopkins
*Man in the Middle (1964) R Mitchum
*Marked Woman (1937) Bette Davis
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) Kevin Spacey
Murder in the First (1994) Kevin Bacon
Night Falls on Manhattan (1996) Andy Garcia
Night of Adventure (1944) Tom Conway
Paradine case, the (1947) G. Peck -- Canada
*People v. Jean Harris (1981) Ellen Burstyn
*People v. Dr. Kildare (1941) Lew Ayres
*People v. O'Hara (1951) Spencer Tracy
*Peyton Place (1957) Lana Turner
Place in the Sun, a (1951) Eliz Taylor
Primal Fear (1996) Richard Gere
*Rack, the (1956) Paul Newman
*Reap the Wild Wind (1942) John Wayne
Sacco & Vanzetti (1971)
*Sgt. Rutledge (1960) Woody Strode
*Simple Twist of Fate (1994) Steve Martin
Sleepers (1996) Brad Pitt
*Smart Woman (1948) Brian Aherne
Snow Falling on Cedars (2000)
*They Won't Forget (1937) Claude Rains
Time to Kill, a (1996) Samuel L Jackson
Town without Pity (1961) Kirk Douglas
*Trial & Error (1962) Peter Sellers
Trial and Error (1996) Michael Richards
*Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960) Peter Finch
True Believer (1989) James Woods
Twilight of honor (1963) Richard Chamberlain
*Twist of Fate (1997) M Amick
We the Jury (1996) Kelly McGillis
Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) Henry Fonda
Young Philadelphians, the (1959) Paul Newman