Mexican-American teen Angel Chavez (Rafael Campos) is accused of killing a white girl in the Californian town of San Juno. The victim's progressive mother is the school board madam chairman fighting to stop segregation of the Mexican kids. A lynch mob shows up at the jail. Slick operator Barney Castle (Arthur Kennedy) leads the defense. He hires law professor David Blake (Glenn Ford) who has limited court experience. Abbe Nyle (Dorothy McGuire) is their skilled clerk. Barney takes Angel's mother Consuela Chavez (Katy Jurado) on a fund raising tour among his communist supporters.
The court drama is almost there. I like most of it. The problem with court dramas is that I hate to be smarter than the characters. If the doctor comes back with a pat answer, David has to challenge him. He has to point it out and challenge him especially if it is essential for the case. He needs the girl to walk UP the stairs. He can't just let that go. The other issue is the mother. I don't know any mother who is willing to sacrifice her son for the cause. At least, the movie needs to set that up better. I was expecting another Mockingbird, but this turns into something else. I don't mind that something else, but I need some better writing. I need a scene where David tries to convince Angel not to testify. I don't want David to be less unless he is written as a young green incompetent.
The court drama is almost there. I like most of it. The problem with court dramas is that I hate to be smarter than the characters. If the doctor comes back with a pat answer, David has to challenge him. He has to point it out and challenge him especially if it is essential for the case. He needs the girl to walk UP the stairs. He can't just let that go. The other issue is the mother. I don't know any mother who is willing to sacrifice her son for the cause. At least, the movie needs to set that up better. I was expecting another Mockingbird, but this turns into something else. I don't mind that something else, but I need some better writing. I need a scene where David tries to convince Angel not to testify. I don't want David to be less unless he is written as a young green incompetent.