Al di là di ogni ragionevole dubbio

"The Lawyer" is an entertaining, if unspectacular courtroom drama featuring the sterling acting talents of Barry Newman ("The Limey", "Bowfinger") and Diana Muldaur ("L.A. Law", "Star Trek: The Next Generation") amongst others. In short, it is about a New York lawyer who ups-sticks to the country, and a murder case he handles in his new environment. As I said, it's nothing special, but surprisingly involving nonetheless. Essentially it plays like a high quality TV movie, so it's no surprise that a spin-off TV series, "Petrocelli", followed. It's worth watching if you have a spare couple of hours, and fans of the show will be interested to see the formative incarnation of Petrocelli. Assured helming, incidentally, comes from Sidney J. Furie - director of one of the best Cold War Spy films ever, "The Ipcress File". "The Lawyer" will make no-one's All Time Top Ten list, I can assure you, but there are many many worse films out there. In a word: Interesting.

(7/10)

I remember seeing this in 1970 in the theater. I wish it would be released on DVD. What I remember about it was that a doctor was being charged with the murder of his wife. The Lawyer never had anything to do with defending an accused murderer. This was his first such case but no one could have asked for a better defense. He basically created doubt in the jurors minds by demonstrating during the trial that not only did others have a motive for killing the doctor's wife but they could just as well have done it. While the defense presented in the movie may not hold up in a modern setting - in 1970 before DNA evidence was possible this defense was most effective. I remember a bit more but enough said ... Hope this comes out on DVD.

This film is a courtroom drama following lawyer Barry Newman (Petrocelli) as he defends doctor Robert Colbert (Jack) against the charge of murdering his wife Mary Wilcox (Wilma). The story is based on a true case and the film resulted in a TV spin off series called 'Petrocelli'. In fact, the film has the feel of a TV movie.

It's an OK film – nothing special. The running time is too long and rival lawyer Harold Gould (Scott) has a very annoying habit of throwing snacks violently into his mouth and eating his way through the dialogue. Lose points for that. The script-writers have also given Colbert some pretty stupid lines of dialogue - why on earth would he say such dumb stuff if he wants to convince us of his innocence? He tells his lawyer words to the effect of 'you really want to know if I did it or not, don't you?' Why would an innocent man tease his lawyer, and the audience, like this? Pure crap from the scriptwriting department.

Actually, it doesn't really matter because Colbert is about to be transported to his next adventure on the "Time Tunnel". He's just biding his time. By the way 'Bidin' My Time' is a classic song by Judy Garland from the film "Girl Crazy" (1943). The film's not so good, but the song sequence is great. Back to this film, it's made in the 70's so guess what, gratuitous breast alert!

Likable, if not terribly engrossing, courtroom drama in which Barry Newman originated his trademark role of opportunistic lawyer Tony Petrocelli (reprised in a subsequent TV series). Generally well-handled by director Furie but the murder sequence, re-enacted in three different ways during the course of the trial, seems unnecessarily flashy. A smart script and a lively music score ensure that the film be an eminently watchable one.

It seems more of a pity that director Furie, who started out strongly with films like this one and THE IPCRESS FILE (1965) would later end up helming third-grade action fare like the IRON EAGLE films or misbegotten would-be blockbusters like SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE (1987)...

The Lawyer, is a 1970 over-looked gem. Barry Newman in his best role, as a dedicated lawyer who will go to the ends of the world to prove that his client, a doctor, is innocent in the murder of his beautiful wife.

Based in part on the Dr. Sam Shepperd murder trail of the late 1950s/early 1960s. The Lawyer is fast paced and extremely well-acted. Blonde bombshell Mary Wilcox is worth the price of this film alone. It's truly amazing how this beautiful,well-built, and highly gifted actress never became more than a character actress.

Your honor, I rest my case. The Lawyer is tops! 10 out of 10.