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Angel Chavez (Rafael Campos) is a Mexican-American teenager who lives in the small California town of San Juno. During an annual event called Bass Night held at the town beach, he wanders onto the beach, which is off-limits to Mexican Americans. There he meets a non-Hispanic girl he knows from high school, but she has a weak heart due to rheumatic fever and dies suddenly, and Chavez is arrested.
On the grounds that her heart attack was caused by Chavez's attempt to seduce her—which, as they were minors, would have been statutory rape even if consensual—he is charged with felony murder. A racist mob attempts to break Chavez out of jail and lynch him, but the warden persuades them to stop by promising that the youth will be executed after a fair trial.
David Blake (Glenn Ford) is a law professor at the state university. He is told he must stop teaching until he has had some courtroom experience. Rejected by many law firms, he finds work at a small one run by Barney Castle (Arthur Kennedy). Castle wants to defend Chavez and agrees to hire Blake to handle the case. Castle and Chavez's mother (Katy Jurado) travel to New York City to raise money to defend Chavez. Castle leaves his law clerk Abbe Nyle (Dorothy McGuire) to help Blake, and they fall in love.
Detectives working for Castle's firm uncover an attempt to tamper with the jury on behalf of the prosecution, resulting in a new jury being empaneled. Over a weekend break during jury selection, Castle calls Blake to New York to join him at a fundraising rally. Blake quickly realizes that Castle is primarily using the case as a propaganda and fundraising tool for an American Communist group. Insulted at being used, Blake returns to San Juno to see the trial through to the end and represent Chavez's interests.
Blake's trial strategy is to rebut the prosecution's case sufficiently that he does not need to present a defense. However, at the last moment, Castle returns and, using his influence on Chavez's mother, threatens Blake with removal unless Chavez testifies. Blake realizes that Castle wants the teen subjected to a harsh cross-examination that will ensure his conviction and execution; he then will be a martyr, and Castle will be able to use the case as a fundraising tool as intended.
Blake remains on the case, but the cross-examination goes as poorly as feared. Chavez is found guilty, and as the jury did not suggest leniency, the death penalty will be automatic. Castle then does have Blake fired to keep him from speaking during sentencing, but he arrives anyway and requests and receives amicus status, allowing him to address the court.
Blake argues that Chavez is a minor, and instead of being hanged he can simply be sent to reform school. When the prosecutor agrees that this would be fair, the African-American judge (Juano Hernandez) accepts the suggestion. He then sentences Castle, who has tried to race-bait him during Blake's argument, to 30 days in jail for contempt.
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This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Trial film news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2015 Trial is a 1955 American drama film starring Glenn Ford Dorothy McGuire Arthur Kennedy and Juano Hernandez and directed by Mark Robson Based on the novel written by Don Mankiewicz it is about a Mexican boy accused of rape and murder originally victimized by prejudiced accusers he becomes a pawn of his communist defender whose propaganda purposes would be best served by a verdict of guilty TrialDirected byMark RobsonWritten byDon MankiewiczBased onTrial1955 novelby Don MankiewiczProduced byCharles SchneeStarringGlenn FordDorothy McGuireArthur KennedyJuano HernandezCinematographyRobert L SurteesEdited byAlbert AkstMusic byDaniele AmfitheatrofDistributed byMetro Goldwyn MayerRelease dateOctober 7 1955 1955 10 07 Running time105 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget 1 341 000 1 Box office 3 305 000 1 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Reception 4 Awards and nominations 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksPlot editAngel Chavez Rafael Campos is a Mexican American teenager who lives in the small California town of San Juno During an annual event called Bass Night held at the town beach he wanders onto the beach which is off limits to Mexican Americans There he meets a non Hispanic girl he knows from high school but she has a weak heart due to rheumatic fever and dies suddenly and Chavez is arrested On the grounds that her heart attack was caused by Chavez s attempt to seduce her which as they were minors would have been statutory rape even if consensual he is charged with felony murder A racist mob attempts to break Chavez out of jail and lynch him but the warden persuades them to stop by promising that the youth will be executed after a fair trial David Blake Glenn Ford is a law professor at the state university He is told he must stop teaching until he has had some courtroom experience Rejected by many law firms he finds work at a small one run by Barney Castle Arthur Kennedy Castle wants to defend Chavez and agrees to hire Blake to handle the case Castle and Chavez s mother Katy Jurado travel to New York City to raise money to defend Chavez Castle leaves his law clerk Abbe Nyle Dorothy McGuire to help Blake and they fall in love Detectives working for Castle s firm uncover an attempt to tamper with the jury on behalf of the prosecution resulting in a new jury being empaneled Over a weekend break during jury selection Castle calls Blake to New York to join him at a fundraising rally Blake quickly realizes that Castle is primarily using the case as a propaganda and fundraising tool for an American Communist group Insulted at being used Blake returns to San Juno to see the trial through to the end and represent Chavez s interests Blake s trial strategy is to rebut the prosecution s case sufficiently that he does not need to present a defense However at the last moment Castle returns and using his influence on Chavez s mother threatens Blake with removal unless Chavez testifies Blake realizes that Castle wants the teen subjected to a harsh cross examination that will ensure his conviction and execution he then will be a martyr and Castle will be able to use the case as a fundraising tool as intended Blake remains on the case but the cross examination goes as poorly as feared Chavez is found guilty and as the jury did not suggest leniency the death penalty will be automatic Castle then does have Blake fired to keep him from speaking during sentencing but he arrives anyway and requests and receives amicus status allowing him to address the court Blake argues that Chavez is a minor and instead of being hanged he can simply be sent to reform school When the prosecutor agrees that this would be fair the African American judge Juano Hernandez accepts the suggestion He then sentences Castle who has tried to race bait him during Blake s argument to 30 days in jail for contempt Blake and Abbe Nyle leave the court together Cast editGlenn Ford as David Blake Dorothy McGuire as Abbe Nyle Arthur Kennedy as Barney Castle John Hodiak as District Attorney Armstrong Katy Jurado as Mrs Chavez Rafael Campos as Angel Chavez Juano Hernandez as Judge Theodore Motley Robert Middleton as A A Fats Sanders John Hoyt as Ralph Castillo Paul Guilfoyle as Cap Grant Elisha Cook Jr as Finn Ann Lee as Gail Wiltse Whit Bissell as Sam Wiltse Richard Gaines as Dr Johannes Albert Schacter Barry Kelley as Jim BrackettReception editAccording to MGM records the film earned 2 312 000 in the U S and Canada and 993 000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of 518 000 1 Awards and nominations editAward Category Nominee s Result Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Arthur Kennedy Nominated Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture WonSee also editList of American films of 1955References edit a b c The Eddie Mannix Ledger Los Angeles Margaret Herrick Library Center for Motion Picture Study External links editTrial at IMDb nbsp Trial at AllMovie Trial at the TCM Movie Database Trial at the American Film Institute Catalog Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Trial film amp oldid 1178860579, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
