Trial *** (1955, Glenn Ford, Dorothy McGuire, Arthur Kennedy, John Hodiak, Katy Jurado, Rafael Campos, Juano Hernandez) – Classic Movie Review 13,749

The 1955 American black and white film Trial stars Glenn Ford, Dorothy McGuire, Arthur Kennedy, John Hodiak, and Katy Jurado in the story of a rape-murder trial where a Mexican-American teenager is accused of the death of a Caucasian girl.

Director Mark Robson’s 1955 American black and white drama film Trial is written by Don M Mankiewicz, based on his novel, and stars Glenn Ford, Dorothy McGuire, Arthur Kennedy, John Hodiak, Katy Jurado, Rafael Campos, and Juano Hernandez.

Trial is an intelligent, exciting and provocative courtroom drama of the rape-murder trial of a young Mexican-American teenager, Angel Chavez (Rafael Campos), defended in court by ardent idealistic law professor David Blake (Glenn Ford), who fights exploitation of the case by the Communists.

There are intense performances all round from a terrific cast, but Arthur Kennedy steals the picture as the two-faced attorney Barney Castle, the cynical crypto-Communist out to inflame race hate, who takes the teenager’s case to exploit his Communist-backed organisation, and hires David Blake (Ford) to represent the boy in court.

Arthur Kennedy was Oscar nominated as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and was unlucky to miss out, but won a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture.

Juano Hernandez, as as Judge Theodore ‘Ted’ Motley, is apparently the screen’s first non-white judge.

Adapting from his own novel, Don M Mankiewicz provides the tense, taut, thoughtful screenplay, with only the 50-style rabid anti-Communist attack seeming hollow.

The film cost $1,341,000 and earned $3,305,000 worldwide, resulting in a declared profit for MGM of $518,000.

The cast are Glenn Ford, Dorothy McGuire, Arthur Kennedy, John Hodiak, Katy Jurado, Rafael Campos, Juano Hernandez, Robert Middleton, John Hoyt, Paul Guilfoyle, Elisha Cook Jr, Anna Lee, Whit Bissell, Richard Gaines, Barry Kelley, Frank Cady, Charles Tannen, David Leonard, John Rosser, James Todd, and Sheb Wooley.

Arthur Kennedy was Oscar nominated five times, as Best Actor in a Leading Role for Bright Victory (1951) and as Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Champion (1950), Trial (1955), Peyton Place (1958) and Some Came Running (1959).

American screenwriter and novelist Don Martin Mankiewicz (January 20, 1922 – April 25, 2015) is best known for his 1955 novel Trial, which won the Harper Prize. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for I Want to Live! (1958) and wrote the pilot for TV’s Ironside. He is the son of screenwriter Herman J Mankiewicz, who co-wrote the screenplay for Citizen Kane (1941) and shared the Best Original Screenplay Oscar with Orson Welles.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,749

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