During the 1950s and early 60s, many wonderful teleplays were produced by "Playhouse 90" and other television programs. Many of these written for television plays eventually made their way to Hollywood and the remakes earned Oscars for the likes of Ernest Borgnine ("Marty") and Maximillian Schell ("Judgement at Nuremberg") . A few of the teleplays were remade into films that are today considered among the best movies ever made...such as "12 Angry Men". And, many of the best directors and writers got their start with such productions. If you can find them on YouTube, then you really are in for a treat!
Until I found this television version of "Judgement at Nuremberg", I assumed the 1961 film was wholly original. Regardless, however, you need to consider them like separate films, as the teleplay was extensively re-written and bears only a moderate similarity. It's not surprising, as the teleplay clocked in at 90 minutes (about 75-80 if you remove the commercials), whereas the 1961 film was nearly three hours long!! These additions turned out to be why I love the remake and only liked and respected the teleplay.
The story centers on one American judge (Claude Rains) who is one of three judges presiding over a trial of several German judges who perverted justice in order to please the new Nazi leaders as well as to 'help restore Germany'. The story begins just before the trial and ends just after the sentencing of these accused judges.
Maximilian Schell, Werner Klemperer, Torben Meyer and Otto Waldis all appeared in both the teleplay and the film. Of these, the one I repected most was Klemperer....who only had a few lines here and there but was wonderful as an amoral monster. Overall, a very well made teleplay and it would be great if you could watch it and then the movie to compare and contrast them. In nearly every way, I found the remake better...which I why I felt that film earned a 10 and was one of the best pictures of the 1960s.
Until I found this television version of "Judgement at Nuremberg", I assumed the 1961 film was wholly original. Regardless, however, you need to consider them like separate films, as the teleplay was extensively re-written and bears only a moderate similarity. It's not surprising, as the teleplay clocked in at 90 minutes (about 75-80 if you remove the commercials), whereas the 1961 film was nearly three hours long!! These additions turned out to be why I love the remake and only liked and respected the teleplay.
The story centers on one American judge (Claude Rains) who is one of three judges presiding over a trial of several German judges who perverted justice in order to please the new Nazi leaders as well as to 'help restore Germany'. The story begins just before the trial and ends just after the sentencing of these accused judges.
Maximilian Schell, Werner Klemperer, Torben Meyer and Otto Waldis all appeared in both the teleplay and the film. Of these, the one I repected most was Klemperer....who only had a few lines here and there but was wonderful as an amoral monster. Overall, a very well made teleplay and it would be great if you could watch it and then the movie to compare and contrast them. In nearly every way, I found the remake better...which I why I felt that film earned a 10 and was one of the best pictures of the 1960s.