James Stewart stars as the semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler, who decides to defend Army Lt. Frederick Manion (Ben Gazzara), who admitted to killing a local innkeeper after his wife (Lee Remick) claimed that the innkeeper raped her. Filmed on location in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and directed by Otto Preminger, the movie was inspired by an actual case and adapted from a novel written by a Michigan Supreme Court judge. In fact, the role of the judge was played by a real lawyer, Joseph Welch, who represented the Army in the McCarthy congressional hearings. George C. Scott plays prosecutor Claude Dancer, who challenges Biegler’s “irresistible impulse defense.” There’s an unusual twist involving the victim’s mysterious business partner (Kathryn Grant).

Trivia: The original score is by Duke Ellington, who makes a cameo appearance in the film.

See our August 2018 cover story: “The 25 Greatest Legal Movies.”