OVP: Twilight of Honor (1963)

Film: Twilight of Honor (1963)
Stars: Richard Chamberlain, Nick Adams, Claude Rains, Joan Blackman, James Gregory, Joey Heatherton
Director: Boris Sagal
Oscar History: 2 nominations (Best Supporting Actor-Nick Adams, Art Direction)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 2/5 stars

During the 1960's, crime dramas at the movies were all the rage.  Perhaps it was the massive success of Perry Mason on the small screen, but whatever the reason, crime dramas, frequently involving corruption, murder, sex, and ultimately a gigantic twist that brought back a "Not Guilty" verdict were all the rage.  As a result of this you got films like To Kill a Mockingbird, considered the quintessential courtroom drama, as well as classics like 12 Angry Men and Witness for the Prosecution.  You also got run-of-the-mill sorts of dramas like Twilight of Honor, released in 1963 as a starring vehicle for the new matinee idol Richard Chamberlain, who was at the peak of his Dr. Kildare fame.  Unfortunately Chamberlain is left with a bland turn with two key supporting actors stuck with scenery-chewing parts on the sidelines.

(Spoilers Ahead) The film follows David Mitchell (Chamberlain) after he is assigned a seemingly unwinnable case.  A local hero named Cole Clinton has been murdered by a local hood named Ben Brown (Adams), and the entire small town is determined to have him get the death penalty as a result.  An ambitious and unscrupulous lawyer named Norris Bixby (Gregory) is the prosecutor, and is frequently skirting the law, aided by a rather naive judge.  The film follows the court as it unfolds, as we learn that Cole Clinton has been having an affair, and was in the throes with Ben's wife Laura Mae (Joey Heatherton, in her big screen debut that won her a Golden Globe nomination) during the murder.

The film feels dated principally because the law that they discuss and that allows a loophole in the court case, where a husband can kill a man sleeping with his wife, seems pretty sexist and not something you'd see as admissible in court today.  The film's entire point, in fact, is to prove that Cole Clinton is having an affair with Laura Mae, thus getting Ben off on a technicality.  Eventually this is proven in the court, with people believing Ben during an extended testimony, but it casts a pall over the entire film, which reeks of sexism (the key female roles are the grieving-and-sacrificing widow, the sultry Laura Mae who is constantly slut-shamed, and Chamberlain's doormat of a love interest, played by Joan Blackman without any sense of reality or even self-respect) and feels very off-putting in its attitude toward women, not just by the lecherous old man but also by the dashing lawyer (there's a speech he gives toward the end of the film to Joan Blackman's father that will make you want to vomit).  It's a different time and all that, but when it's everywhere in the film it feels really disgusting.

The film received two Oscar nominations, most notably Best Supporting Actor for Nick Adams as the man-on-trial.  Adams is a largely forgotten actor now, but was quite famous at the time and was relatively young (in his early thirties) when he scored this citation.  He was famous for his friendship with Natalie Wood (some thought they were going to wed) and for his alleged romantic dalliances with James Dean and Elvis Presley.  His performance here seems a bit odd for a nomination.  He plays a guy completely smitten with Joey Heatherton (understandable), who is willing to essentially go to the gas chamber to not besmirch her honor, which she has no trouble doing herself (less understandable).  His big scenes come late in the film, when he's shown in flashback but his weird jealousy and reason for killing Cole Clinton don't jive with the meek, damaged man we see earlier in the film, and he seems to not understand subtlety remotely as he frequently breaks into histrionics, which someone like Dean, for example, could have done with a similar role.  As a result I'm not really impressed but the 1963 Supporting Actor field in general has sort of been a yawn so far (waiting for Bobby Darin and John Huston to make a definitive statement there though).  The Art Direction for the film was also cited, and that was better (I loved the lived-in quality of the offices and the courtroom scenes were well-constructed), though the homes still had too much elegance in my opinion (particularly the Clinton mansion).  I also suspect that Heatherton, who became a huge star briefly after this picture, was probably close to a nomination as it's the sort of performance the Oscars notice (sexy, near-prostitute, woman on the edge of morality, and all that).  I wonder how different her career, which petered and is best remembered for performances on USO tours would have been if she had been nominated so early in her career.

Those are my thoughts on this legal drama-what are yours?  Have you seen the film-if so, let's hear about it!  If not, weigh in on sexism in old movies-do you find yourself able to put your "it was a different time" hat on or do you find yourself gagging on stereotypes?