Kurt: /* External links */

2023-03-12T16:33:39Z

External links

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:33, 12 March 2023
Line 77:		Line 77:
	*{{cite web\|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/478812/index.html\|title=Mortimer, Sir John (1923-2009), British Film Institute}}		*{{cite web\|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/478812/index.html\|title=Mortimer, Sir John (1923-2009), British Film Institute}}
	*{{BFI\|4ce2b6a8f0b15\|The Dock Brief}}		*{{BFI\|4ce2b6a8f0b15\|The Dock Brief}}
	~~{{James Hill}}~~
	~~{{John Mortimer}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Dock Brief}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Dock Brief}}

Kurt at 16:31, 12 March 2023

2023-03-12T16:31:15Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:31, 12 March 2023
Line 1:		Line 1:
	~~{{Short description\|1962 film by James Hill}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=June 2016}}~~
	~~{{Use British English\|date=June 2016}}~~
	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	\| ~~name~~ = The Dock Brief		\| image = The Dock Brief.jpg
	~~\| image = Trial and error dvd cover~~.~~JPG~~
	\| caption = Cover of 1999 DVD version		\| caption = Cover of 1999 DVD version
	\| producer = [[Dimitri de Grunwald]]		\| producer = [[Dimitri de Grunwald]]
Line 80:		Line 76:
	*{{IMDb title\|id=0055916\|title=The Dock Brief, aka Trial and Error (USA)}}		*{{IMDb title\|id=0055916\|title=The Dock Brief, aka Trial and Error (USA)}}
	*{{cite web\|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/478812/index.html\|title=Mortimer, Sir John (1923-2009), British Film Institute}}		*{{cite web\|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/478812/index.html\|title=Mortimer, Sir John (1923-2009), British Film Institute}}
	*~~[https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/~~4ce2b6a8f0b15 The Dock Brief~~] at BFI~~		*{{BFI\|4ce2b6a8f0b15\|The Dock Brief}}
	{{James Hill}}		{{James Hill}}
	{{John Mortimer}}		{{John Mortimer}}
Line 94:		Line 90:
	[[Category:Films produced by Dimitri de Grunwald]]		[[Category:Films produced by Dimitri de Grunwald]]
	[[Category:1960s English-language films]]		[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
			[[Category:British comedy films]]

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2023-03-12T15:55:22Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 10:55, 12 March 2023
(No difference)

en>Sc2353: removed Category:English-language films using HotCat

2022-08-02T21:04:17Z

removed Category:English-language films using HotCat

New page

{{Short description|1962 film by James Hill}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Dock Brief
| image = Trial and error dvd cover.JPG
| caption = Cover of 1999 DVD version
| producer = [[Dimitri de Grunwald]]
| director = [[James Hill (British director)|James Hill]]
| writer = Pierre Rouve
|based_on = the [[The Dock Brief (play)|play ''The Dock Brief'']] by [[John Mortimer]]
| starring = [[Peter Sellers]] [[Richard Attenborough]] [[Beryl Reid]] [[David Lodge (actor)|David Lodge]] [[Frank Pettingell]]
| cinematography = [[Edward Scaife]]
| music = [[Ron Grainer]]
| studio = Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studio
| distributor = [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] (USA/UK)
| released = {{Film date|1962|09|20|UK|df=y}}
| country = United Kingdom
| runtime = 88 minutes 77 minutes (DVD)
| language = English
| budget =
}}
'''''The Dock Brief''''' (US title '''''Trial and Error''''') is a 1962 black-and-white [[UK|British]] legal satire directed by [[James Hill (British director)|James Hill]], starring [[Peter Sellers]] and [[Richard Attenborough]], and based on the play of the same name written by [[John Mortimer]] (creator of [[Horace Rumpole]]).

The film had its world premiere on 20 September 1962 at the Plaza Theatre in London's [[West End theatre|West End]].<ref>The Times online archive 20/9/1962 page 2</ref>

Richard Attenborough was nominated for the 1963 [[BAFTA]] Award for best British actor for his role.

==Plot==
In a cell under the [[Old Bailey]], two men meet. One is Wilfred Morgenhall, a single [[barrister]] who never gets any cases and is overjoyed to have won this ''dock brief'', the defence of an accused individual with no lawyer (at public expense). The other is his client Herbert Fowle, an insignificant man who just wants to plead guilty to murdering his wife and get it all over.

Flashbacks show that the wife was impossible to live with and Fowle, who avoided her as much as possible, hatched a plot to get rid of her by taking in a male lodger. The lodger found her amusing and attractive, until one day he went too far and Mrs Fowle threw him out of the house. In despair at his plot having failed, Fowle killed her.

Morgenhall role plays various defences, in the process raising Fowle's will to fight. But when the case is called, he botches it and Fowle is found guilty. Morgenhall goes to visit him in prison, where he learns that Fowle has been reprieved because his defence was so poor. The two leave together, two lonely and inadequate men who have become friends.

==Cast==
* [[Peter Sellers]] as Wilfred Morgenhall, barrister
* [[Richard Attenborough]] as Herbert Fowle, the accused murderer
* [[Beryl Reid]] as Doris Fowle, his late wife
* [[David Lodge (actor)|David Lodge]] as Frank Bateson, the lodger
* [[Frank Pettingell]] as Tuppy Morgan, solicitor
* Audrey Nicholson as Morgenhall's girl (in flashback)
* Tristram Jellinek as Mr. Perkins, the prosecutor
* [[Eric Woodburn]] as Judge Banter
* John Waite as clerk of the court
* [[Patrick Newell]] as 1st warder
* Henry Kay as 2nd warder
* [[Frank Thornton]] as photographer at the Fowle wedding
* [[Eric Dodson]] as examiner

==Production==
Pierre Rouve wrote the script. He opened up the play for cinema by using flashbacks.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/KineWeekly2843/page/n33/mode/1up?q=%22dock+brief%22|magazine=Kine Weekly|first=John|last=Champ|title=Production|date=29 March 1962|page=16}}</ref>

Filming took place in March and April 1962 at Shepperton Studios in London.<ref>SELLERS DUE HERE TO PROMOTE FILM:
By HOWARD THOMPSON. New York Times 13 Apr 1962: 28.</ref> John Mortimer said that Peter Sellers wanted to play the role in a north county accent and the director James Hill had to coax him back "to what I felt were undoubtedly... southern origins" of his character.<ref>{{cite book|first=John|last=Mortimer|title=Clinging to the Wreckage|page=189|publisher=Penguin}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Box Office===
According to MGM records, the film made a profit of $141,000.<ref name="Mannix">{{Citation | title = The Eddie Mannix Ledger | publisher = Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study | place = Los Angeles}}.</ref>

===Critical===
The MFB called it "refreshingly original".<ref>DOCK BRIEF, The
Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 29, Iss. 336, (Jan 1, 1962): 135.</ref>

The ''Guardian'' called it "excellent".<ref>Sellers as a barrister: Sympathetic failure at the Bar
The Guardian (1959-2003); London (UK) [London (UK)]03 Dec 1962: 14</ref>

The ''new York Times'' called it "a good second hand excursion into the realm of character comedy."<ref>Screen: 'Trial and Error' at Beekman: Sellers Plays Lawyer in British Comedy Attenborough Portrays Cheerful-Wife Killer
By BOSLEY CROWTHER. New York Times 17 Nov 1962: 17.</ref>

==Quotes==
Morgenhall: "Now you're the only case I've got, and the most difficult."

''The New York Times'': "Charming, comic...robustly amusing." (quoted from the DVD cover)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|id=0055916|title=The Dock Brief, aka Trial and Error (USA)}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/478812/index.html|title=Mortimer, Sir John (1923-2009), British Film Institute}}
*[https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a8f0b15 The Dock Brief] at BFI
{{James Hill}}
{{John Mortimer}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dock Brief}}
[[Category:1962 films]]
[[Category:British black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films set in London]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films]]
[[Category:1962 comedy films]]
[[Category:Works by John Mortimer]]
[[Category:Films directed by James Hill (British director)]]
[[Category:Films produced by Dimitri de Grunwald]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]

The Dock Brief - Revision history

Kurt: /* External links */

Kurt at 16:31, 12 March 2023

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Sc2353: removed Category:English-language films using HotCat