I'm shocked . . . shocked to discover legal glitches in a movie.
It is just a movie after all. (If you know of any courtroom movie without legal glitches, please name it. I've never seen one.)
But as to the hypnotism theory, of course Jack could have objected and the jury would have been instructed to disregard it. But it suited his purposes not to. If he objected he would have turned the jury even further against him. Instead, he used it to his advantage to win a continuance. I don't agree that the judge would necessarily act on his own without a prosecution objection. The judge might have denied the continuance and given the case to the jury with an instruction to disregard the hypnotism theory. But the judge wanted to get out of there too.
If I were looking for glitches, I'd suggest that it is unlikely in the extreme that they would begin a jury trial with witnesses on the last working day before Christmas. Also, the movie makes it seem like the trial is beginning very shortly after her arrest. (In part because it seems like no bail has previously been set, so she can't have been locked up for very long.) It's not clear what her charge was, but it could easily have been a felony charge like grand larceny. That probably would have required a preliminary hearing. Plus both the state and the defense would have wanted time to prepare - interview witnesses and the like. But the timing is necessary for the plot. So don't worry about the glitches. Just enjoy the movie. (If glitches of this nature worry you, the letters of transit probably ruin Casablanca for you. That would be a pity.)
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danashley
8 years ago
I did say it was enjoyable. I would have to disagree that every courtroom drama
has legal glitches of the magnitude of "Remember".I thought To Kill A Mockingbird, Anatomy of a Murder, Kramer vs. Kramer, A Few Good Men and The Verdict to name several made every attempt to be authentic while entertaining.
I also missed the connection between Casablanca's letters of transit and a courtroom drama. Indeed, it is one of my all time favorites and TCM usually shows it on New Year's Eve.In that vein, Happy New Year.
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pontevedro
8 years ago
Sorry, I haven't seen most of those recently. But I'm pretty sure I'd find glitches if I rewatched them. I do remember finding a few in the Verdict years ago when I watched it (while I was in law school.) Check out the "goofs" section on the IMDB page for the Verdict to get an idea.
Perhaps I was being too cute about the letters of transit. My point was just that you shouldn't let glitches get in the way of enjoying an otherwise enjoyable movie. You say you didn't let that happen here. I think it's fun to discuss inconsistencies, though. If you want more about the letters of transit (which are pretty much total hogwash) take a look at the Casablanca message boards or just google "letters of transit." They're a plot device that allows the drama to proceed. But they bear no relationship to reality.
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