GIDEON'S TRUMPET THE MOVIE

Gideon's Trumpet the Movie

Gideon's Trumpet the Movie

Introduction

Gideon's Trumpet is among the few films to treat the law as a serious subject. The real-life history behind this case is perhaps even more amazing than the film: occasional handy man and convicted petty thief Clarence Gideon sent a handwritten petition to the U.S. Supreme Court that forced a major, long-overdue change in the law.

Gideon's Trumpet the Movie

In the tradition of his earlier work in Grapes of Wrath and Twelve Angry Men, Henry Fonda played another social-protest role in the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV presentation Gideon's Trumpet. Clarence Earl Gideon (Fonda) is a poor, ill-tempered Florida handyman who is arrested for petty larceny in 1961. Unable to afford a lawyer, Gideon is sentenced to five years in prison. His treatment by the Florida judicial system, a clear violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, is brought to the attention of the Supreme Court. As a result, a landmark decision is reached, assuring free legal representation for anyone accused of a crime in the United States. Also appearing are Jose Ferrer as Gideon's attorney Abe Fortas, John Houseman (who also produced) as the Chief Justice, and Fay Wray as the owner of the lodging establishment where Gideon lived. Gideon's Trumpet premiered on April 30, 1980.

Unlike docudramas that present a simplistic view of their subjects, Gideon's Trumpet does not falsely make its protagonist into a likable hero, and Henry Fonda's powerful performance is one of the few times that he played a character so obviously flawed as a person. It is among his best late-career performances. Despite its origins as a made-for-television movie, Gideon's Trumpet contains inventive camera work and an overall sheen of quality that belie its TV-movie status. It ranks with the best films of the early 1980s, despite not having had a theatrical release.

This 1980 made-for-tv movie shows a landmark court case (Gideon v. Wainwright) that established the right to legal representation in criminal trials. It is based on a superb book by Anthony Lewis (long-time New York Times writer about the judiciary) that I read once upon a time. The reason I wanted to see it, however, was a cast including four Academy Award winners plus Fay Wray (who, decades earlier was King Kong's love interest).

Playing the part of Clarence Earl Gideon as a very stubborn semi-educated Florida man, a four-time loser who managed to get the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court, was Henry Fonda. He received an emmy nomination for his performance, one that is quite compelling. Fonda is as stubborn, though not as eloquent, as he was as the hold-out juror in "Twelve Angry Men." The Florida penitentiary to which he is sentenced for five years for larceny he did not commit is portrayed as a sort of summer camp for adult males. I'm pretty sure that the real one was a hell-hole in comparison. Be that as it may, the film Gideon goes about his work as a mechanic and seeks out law ...