A Memory of Paul Newman
I was only 14 years old when I saw The Verdict. I think the film was playing at a sixplex out in White City, Oregon. The plex would've been very new. The Rogue Valley was transitioning from single-screen theaters to plexes at the time.
Looking back I can't help but think I must've been too young to understand what was going on watching the film, but my memory may be playing a trick on me. It may be I understood The Verdict better than I think I did, so far as plot was concerned. The memory I feel more confident of relates to the emotions associated with the last attempt of a lawyer wasted by alcohol and ambulance chasing to do real good and recover his honor as an officer of the court.
An actor, certainly one of Paul Newman's stature, may have many finest hours, but a character in a film only gets one. The character needs the actor to make it true. Frank Galvin was made true by Paul Newman.
Looking back I can't help but think I must've been too young to understand what was going on watching the film, but my memory may be playing a trick on me. It may be I understood The Verdict better than I think I did, so far as plot was concerned. The memory I feel more confident of relates to the emotions associated with the last attempt of a lawyer wasted by alcohol and ambulance chasing to do real good and recover his honor as an officer of the court.
Click to viewAn actor, certainly one of Paul Newman's stature, may have many finest hours, but a character in a film only gets one. The character needs the actor to make it true. Frank Galvin was made true by Paul Newman.