Courtroom Dramas: The Caine Mutiny, Witness for the Prosecution, Legal Drama, Judgment at Nuremberg, Anatomy of a Murder, 12 Angry Men, Fury.

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Courtroom Dramas: The Caine Mutiny,

Witness for the Prosecution, Legal Drama,

Judgment at Nuremberg,

Anatomy of a Murder, 12 Angry Men, Fury.

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Extensive and excellent collection.

But if films from India are included, while Awaara is an of course, being superb, above and ahead of most films on many counts, Adaalat seems included more for subjective reasons than having come ahead of any objective criteria of many other excellent films, whether in Hindi or in other languages of India. Two obvious examples that come to mind would be Kanoon in Hindi of B&W era, and Paathalaag in Marathi of the same era (it was remade, titled Mera Saaya, in Hindi, but the remake was far more glamour and much less of courtroom drama). And there is at least one in Bengali that deserves consideration, Uttarphalguni, remade as Mamata in Hindi.

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Contents:-

The Caine Mutiny, Witness for the Prosecution, Legal drama, Judgment at Nuremberg, Anatomy of a Murder, 12 Angry Men, Fury, A Few Good Men, The Verdict, ...And Justice for All, The People vs. Larry Flynt, The Social Network, Night Falls on Manhattan, The Client, A Time to Kill, Runaway Jury, The Paradine Case, Breaker Morant, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, The Rainmaker, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Presumed Innocent, A Cry in the Dark, The Firm, Trial film, Howl, Rules of Engagement, My Cousin Vinny, The Pelican Brief, An American Crime, Inherit the Wind, A Civil Action, High Crimes, I Want to Live!, The Winslow Boy, Disclosure, Nuts, The Lincoln Lawyer, Fracture, Carrington V.C., Suspect, The Gingerbread Man, American Violet, The Accused, Blind Faith, The Deruga Case, Snow Falling on Cedars, Primal Fear, Sleepers, Awaara, Red Corner, Knock on Any Door, Before and After, The Trials of Oscar Wilde, The Divided Heart, If Someone Had Known, Time Limit, Young Mr. Lincoln, Desperate for Love, Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story, The Rack, Class Action, The Juror, Ghosts of Mississippi, Sergeant Rutledge, A Case of Rape, The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell, Twelve Angry Men, True Believer, Student Seduction, Trial by Jury, Blood Oath, The Andersonville Trial, Guilty by Suspicion, Dust Be My Destiny, Adaalat, Swoon, The Burning Bed, Shadow of Doubt, The Unknown Man, Crack in the Mirror, The Truth, Jaded, The Chatterley Affair, Wives Under Suspicion, The Boys, Gideon's Trumpet, El Dorado, Storyville, The Kiss Before the Mirror, Without Evidence, Adela, American Tragedy, Close-Up, Inherit the truth, Ann Carver's Profession, A Case of Deadly Force, Hostile Witness.

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The Caine Mutiny

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Witness for the Prosecution

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Witness for the Prosecution
Witness for the Prosecution (1924)

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Looking forward to reading it, having loved the portrayal by Marlene Dietrich of the wife who loved her husband, not realising he wasn't merely the criminal but intended to cheat her after she'd saved his life - and the superb lawyer who, having realised she'd conned him, turns to save her, nevertheless, knowing she was innocent and her being espxecuted for a murder committed by the husband had been his plan all along!

December 28, 2020.

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Legal drama

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Judgment at Nuremberg

Unparalleled amongst all possible courtroom drama due to sheer daunting reality of unimaginable chapter of history, where once arrogant ruling echelon of Germany denied all accusations of wrongdoing until suddenly faced with documentary evidence, not merely that of documents that had been part of their regime, but of documentary films and photographs, taken by shocked and disbelieving allied soldiers as and when they came across the death camps they had found after nazis had fled.

Subsequently, most Nazi war criminals took the line of denying personal responsibility, and even knowledge, of the extermination of six million Jews and a few million others, such as East Europe civilians, but documentary evidence against them was overwhelming. Despite strict orders from top, to destroy not only all documents but all factories, farms, infrastructures et al, they had delayed it due to a belief in magical invincibility of their leader, until they had to take flight, and then they had for most part changed out of uniforms to claim innocence. But larger fish were caught, although far too many simply fled or were not recognised by allies as war criminals, which most in any position of authority, in fact, were.

December 29, 2020.

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Anatomy of a Murder

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12 Angry Men

A case where a youth would be hanged by almost unanimous vote of the jury, but for one juror who questions each until it becomes clear they are dealing with something else in their own past, not with facts of the case in question, and lack of evidence thereof.

December 29, 2020.

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Fury

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A Few Good Men

One of the few and good courtroom drama and investigation films about the U.S. military, along with Courage Under Fire and The General's Daughter (One could include JFK, since military is indicated in courtroom by Jim Garrison to be involved, but JFK isn't limited to military).

Here, it's abòut clearing the role of two accused of a crime that they were, in fact, ordered to commit.

December 29, 2020.

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The Verdict

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...And Justice for All

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The People vs. Larry Flynt

This film, surprisingly, was an embarrassment and a dilemma for feminists in U.S., for reasons opposite to what one would say normal or would expect. It wasn't that they were embarrassed about porn, which they were unanimously opposed to, it being mostly exploitative of women, and cause of horrible repercussion against young women, even children.

It was that they thought that the point was freedom of press, and about those believing in it defending the right of someone to it even when one hates what they use the freedom for; clearly, they coukdnt see in this instance that they stretched this argument too far.

It would be easier to see if it was instead about, say, right of KKK to publish material about their killings, or nazis publishing about justification and argument for continuance of holocaust, not only exterminating their pet hatred the Jews but also, as set out in the agenda planned before and announced along with plan to attack Russia, enslavement and extermination by starvation or otherwise, of all population East of Germany up to Urals.

Then, of course, it's obvious that freedom of press and speech argument is ridiculous and dangerous when used for criminal purposes. Why women, when sworn to fighting for human rights for women, won't insist on those rights when it's about hate targeting women, is clearly because they don't quite believe it yet, and would concede a male's right to freely victimise them.

Would they grant the opposite - a woman publishing violence against males as entertainment - as a right to freedom? No, none of them. They'd barely defend a woman protecting her own life against a predator, if it were a male.

December 29, 2020.

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The Social Network

Most engrossing and informative, where the original conceives lost due to technicalities, the latecoming wizard stole the whole thing brazenly and then threw out his buddy and financier, and now that Google + too has folded, the stolen Facebook all but rules - if it weren't for Twitter!

December 30, 2020.

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Night Falls on Manhattan

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The Client

The first published work by Grisham, it's cute and heroic, dangerous and heartwarming, all at once - with a bright and responsible ten year old boy trying to take care of his mother and little brother, after they witnessed a suicide of someone accessory to murder who told them about it before killing himself, and the single woman lawyer who helps the boy with everything - protect himself and his family, solve the crime, ....

It set the tone about what one expected of Grisham, and even when it wasn't such peaks, he didn't disappoint.

December 29, 2020.

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A Time to Kill

This was the first one Grisham wrote, and in many ways it sets the tone for what one expects of his work - it's about justice, obtained under circumstances difficult at best.

December 29, 2020.

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Runaway Jury

In the book, he wrote about case against tobacco. In the film, they switched to arms. Was it because smoking, meanwhile, had been restricted in most of first world, even though it was pushed in poorer third world by companies unable to profit as much at expense of youth of first world?

Like The Firm, but to a lesser degree, the film had a tad more of physical action, since intelligent moves are more difficult to bring out for an audience that might or might not read.

Hitchcock did manage it, but even he brought down his remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much, from the taciturn English version where the mum is the champion shooter who takes the difficult shot at the end, to the glamourised American version that opens in colour in North Africa and the mother, a professional singer, sings to her boy at end - the English version had a daughter, incidentally.

December 29, 2020.

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The Paradine Case

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Breaker Morant

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The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

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The Rainmaker

Grisham's far more touching first work about tobacco, where realistic end has the young lawyer win, but the defence melt away, and simply vanish. Matt Damon was superb in the film which stayed true to Grisham.

December 29, 2020.

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The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Very church, this one, in that much of it is kept within framework of dogma that's essentially abrahmic - such as the three a.m. fixed time!

December 29, 2020.

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Presumed Innocent

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A Cry in the Dark

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The Firm

The film stayed true to the book up to a point, but then substituted a running Tom Cruise for the complex planned moves of the book that outwitted the criminals and others alike. One enjoys them separately, but at least they did retain the essential intact, that of high paying law firms that might hold the life of every employee, and terminate it at necessity of maintaining the highly paying crimes of the firm.

December 29, 2020.

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Trial film

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Howl

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Rules of Engagement

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My Cousin Vinny

It's difficult to say if there's another film quite so thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, even when one never loses sight of the two innocent New York young boys falsely accused of murder in small town South, likely to be executed if convicted, and with only Vinny for a lawyer! One's with them, from start to finish, and cheers at every win of the streetsmart New York Vinny, and even more so for his glamourous fiancee who testifies at a crucial juncture. One never tires of watching it, especially with the judge declaring he'd like to hear that, too!

December 29, 2020.

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The Pelican Brief

Grisham's second published work, and as beautiful as the first, except one wishes there weren't quite so many bodies - but it's about high finance and politics! And a brilliant young law student unravelling it all, by staying alert.

The only notable difference in the film was, the severe dressing down she gave the journalist was toned down in film. Grisham's women can be courageous, realistic, but films have to go Doris Day singing to her boy even when it's Hitchcock remake of his own original English where the mum shoots the criminal.

December 29, 2020.

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An American Crime

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Inherit the Wind

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A Civil Action

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High Crimes

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I Want to Live!

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The Winslow Boy

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Disclosure

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Nuts

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The Lincoln Lawyer

Another taut crime courtroom drama where Matthew McConaughey defends low life criminals and bike gangs, but is revolted defending rich boy who rapes and murders and denies; the lawyer catches a break or two, and is able to not only survive but also send the rich boy to his just deserts.

December 29, 2020.

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Fracture

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Carrington V.C., Suspect

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The Gingerbread Man

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American Violet

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The Accused

Boston Globe had carried a campaign, then not so common yet, telling readers "if she said no, it's rape", cutting out all arguments about the victim's character or behaviour, used by defence until then to justify any attack by the criminals, even to exclusion of any other defence.

When the film was shown on television in 1991, the Florida rape case involving a Kennedy was current. As a viewer said, if he'd waited, been nice, she might have said yes; and it was obvious that rape was about an aggression to put her down, deny her right to choose, in both cases.

December 29, 2020.

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Blind Faith

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The Deruga Case

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Snow Falling on Cedars

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Primal Fear

The comprehensive film about the exposure of Boston priests' crimes by Boston Herald was comparatively recent; this film came around the time the actual case was exploding, even though it's seemingly about one aberration of a priest.

December 29, 2020.

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Sleepers

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Awaara

The film is superlative in far too many ways, and RK didn't - whether as performer or as director - hold the pose or the moment long enough to hammer the viewer into submission; especially with himself on camera, one had to be all alert to catch the fleeting, elusive moments that flew past before one knew.

This was only his third film, his own production and direction, and an additional tidbit for the connoisseurs, one notes he brought in five members of his family to play various roles. His father, still a hero, wasn't willing to play a hero's father; RK convinced him by saying he was the hero, and RK would play the son. And indeed it's an unconventional two hero film, where it's not about the two sparring for the girl - not overtly, anyway, although there are a couple of fleeting moments, of not essential importance to the main drama.

Quoting an older post of mine about this film:-

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"Funny, when one comprehend RK work, its a steep dose of quinine, which he has people ingesting knowing fully well it is so, because it's so heavily and yet attractively overstated with honey and spice - which is completely in accord with Naatyashaastra! 

Here in the perhaps his best work, and arguably best production only matched by Jaagte Raho, perhaps one of the best films ever, at that, this song - arguably the most famous and popular song of this pair, 'Dum Bhar Jo Udhar', -  and romance, is what most people of course remember, and in fact repeatedly watch the film for; and yet, this song, the romance, are just the overstating of honey with spices. 

The real soul is the story of the mother and son - she abandoned for no fault of hers and striving to bring up a child all by herself in poverty and on brink of starvation, he forever anguished with the realisation he has to look after her and handicapped first by his young age, then his lack of education and being caught in a bad trap. The young woman who is draped in romance angle is in fact the only relief and hope, only support and aspiration for the tortured soul. In this respect her role is not that different from that in Jaagte Raho, only there it is more obvious. 

And while there is no denying the romance angle of 'Dum Bhar Jo Udhar', a much more complex song with matching complex filming is the much less often remembered one before her birthday - the line "Ab Raat Guzaranewaalie Hai", with its overlaying of several completely different meanings, all just as much of anguish to the two characters as the obvious one.

Jyotsna Gokhale Sunday, 3 June 2018, 18.00"

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December 29, 2020.

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Red Corner

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Knock on Any Door

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Before and After

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The Trials of Oscar Wilde

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The Divided Heart

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If Someone Had Known

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Time Limit

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Young Mr. Lincoln

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Desperate for Love

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Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story

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The Rack

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Class Action

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The Juror

The internet mentions only one version, but I clearly recall a much less glamourous version, and perhaps it had another name. About a mother of a young boy managing to protect him even as she's on jury and selected by criminals to be intimidated so that a hung jury can get them an acquittal.

In fact, it's right here below, - a 1994 film, Trial By Jury; presumably the book was written after the author was released from his contract with this film, and 1996 saw a more glamourous version.

December 29, 2020.

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Ghosts of Mississippi

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Sergeant Rutledge

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A Case of Rape

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The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell

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Twelve Angry Men

Why this is mentioned twice, once before as 12 Angry Men, don't know.

December 29, 2020.

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True Believer

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Student Seduction

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Trial by Jury

And here it is, Juror (1996 film) by another name. About a mother of a young boy managing to protect him even as she's on jury and selected by criminals to be intimidated so that a hung jury can get them an acquittal.

Since this one was released in 1994, presumably the book was written after the author was released from his contract with this film, and 1996 saw a more glamourous version.

December 30, 2020.

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Blood Oath

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The Andersonville Trial

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Guilty by Suspicion

There were, again, two or three films being shown on television recently, about the McCarthy era persecution of artists and writers in Hollywood, and this is one of them. Good one. The other had named the real person prominently.

December 30, 2020.

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Dust Be My Destiny

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Adaalat

There is far too much similarity between this film and the Bengali Uttarphalguni, which was also remade as Mamata; presumably this film was produced or directed by someone quite aware of the original work of literature and happy to plagiarise with cosmetic changes to cleanse up, not unlike Hitchcock remaking his own The Man Who Knew Too Much.

So here the young girl discovers her pregnancy after the love of her life has departed across oceans to study (Uttarphalguni has the girl forced to marry the moneylender due to her poor father's being threatened by him, after the love of her life has departed across oceans to study); she is forced into being a professional singer, a notch above prostitution in those times, to support herself and the son she manages to farm out with a decent family (Uttarphalguni has her do this when saved by a woman in the profession from suicide, after the husband has proved himself not above selling his wife and the young woman has fled with nowhere to go; the elder woman protects and teaches her, and the daughter fathered by the husband is schooled away, with the returned love protecting the daughter as a guardian 'uncle ').

In Adaalat, it's the pimp who's been trying to pull her down into outright prostitution who's murdered by her, and the returned love of her life who came too late defends her. Uttarphalguni had the daughter demand her guardian for answers, and defend her, after she's shot dead the husband who had been blackmailing her, now having discovered the daughter and threatened to tell her all.

December 30, 2020.

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Swoon

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The Burning Bed

Coming soon on television after Provoked, this film was a revelation, in that such tortures weren't limited to third world. Or even Asians in U.K..

December 30, 2020.

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Shadow of Doubt

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The Unknown Man

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Crack in the Mirror

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The Truth

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Jaded

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The Chatterley Affair

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Wives Under Suspicion

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The Boys

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Gideon's Trumpet

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El Dorado

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Storyville

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The Kiss Before the Mirror

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Without Evidence

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Adela

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American Tragedy

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Close-Up

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Inherit the truth

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Ann Carver's Profession

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A Case of Deadly Force

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Hostile Witness

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December 30, 2020.

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Reviews - Books I Read - DRJG

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Courtroom Dramas: The Caine Mutiny, Witness for the Prosecution, Legal Drama, Judgment at Nuremberg, Anatomy of a Murder, 12 Angry Men, Fury.

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