Starring: Paul Newman, Barbara Rush, Billie Burke, Brian Keith, Robert Vaughn and John Williams
Directed by: Vincent Sherman
I have not seen Anatomy of a Murder, I am only familiar with its reputation as one of the greatest 'courtroom films' ever made. That is probably the reason why it has overshadowed another 1959 film with a courtroom climax, Vincent Sherman's The Young Philadelphians. This is the only reason I can think of to explain why The Young Philadelphians has seemed to have dissapeared from memory. No, it's not a dazzling masterpiece, rather, it's solid entertainment that had me engrossed from beginning to end.
The main draw to this film is to see the young Paul Newman in top form. Just coming off his Academy-Award nominated performance in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1958, Newman gives another riveting performance. It's not hard to see why this man has become a legend as you watch his portrayal of Tony Lawrence, the driven young lawyer who seems to have the ability to conquer the world (or at least Philadelphia). He claws his way to success, and then puts it all on the line to save the neck of an old friend. At this stage of his career it's hard to discern between Newman's true acting skill and his electric screen presence, but it's undeniable that he carries the movie rather effortlessly.
Director Vincent Sherman assembled a fine cast to support Newman. Barbara Rush is the love inerest Newman just seems never quite seems to be able to marry (every time you think you hear wedding bells it falls apart in a dramatic confrontation). Rush is quite good at the beginning of the film as the love-struck young girl who falls for the young man beneath her social stature- she's vibrant, sexy and employs a unique diction that I found particularly endearing. I was rather dissapointed when she 'matured' into a typcially proper society woman on film, but she has enough spark with Newman to make the romance work. Also appearing are vetern scene-stealers Billie Burke as Rush's eccentric but lovable aunt, John Williams as Rush's alternately slimy and sincere father, Alexis Smith as the beautiful wife of an employer Newman wishes to embark on an affair with, and the underrated Brian Keith as the man in Newman's life who's secretly his father. Robert Vaughn received one of the three Academy Award nominations as the cippled best friend Newman defends, but his performance is a little too hammy and artificial for its own good. Oscar is a sucker for performances that feature a person with a physical disability, and Vaughn's constant crying and other obvious sympathy-getting techniques failed to make much of an impression on me.
The problem with The Young Philadelphians, as it is with many Hollywood films of this type, is that it's far to calculated and neatly organized to ever seem real. Conveniently all the characters are connected in one way or another- the lady that gives Newman his opportunity to make the big time happens to be Rush's aunt which sets up the dinner party where the confrontation between Newman and Ruhs must take place, the best friend is Rush's cousin, causing Newman to decide between his best friend and the reputation of his lovers' family, etc. It's all to beautifully coincidental- but that's just the way it goes. I didn't let it detract from my enjoyment of the film.
Other than Newman and some fine supporting performances, The Young Philadelphians is solid, but unexceptional. Still, it's a film I would recommend- ff anything, you'll walk away more of a Newman fan than ever.
(Black & White, in English)
-August 05, 2003
