The Paper Chase (1973) on Netflix
First-year law student James T. Hart faces contract law at Harvard under the Socratic questioning of Professor Charles W. Kingsfield Jr. He joins a study group and meets Susan Fields.
- Netflix3.6/5
- IMDb7.2/109,437 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes83%
Trailer
Plot summary
James T. Hart starts his first year at Harvard Law School, and the pressure to succeed leads some students to form study groups and spend a great many hours studying. His hardest course is contract law, taught by Charles W. Kingsfield Jr., who questions students by the Socratic method and demands accurate, creative answers, often humiliating those who cannot respond. Hart is unprepared when Kingsfield calls on him. He joins a study group of five classmates, each taking one course and writing a synopsis of the notes for the others; Hart chooses contract law. Out for pizza one night, he is asked by Susan Fields to walk her home.
Cast
- Robert Lydiardas O'Connor
- Irma Hurleyas Mrs. Weasal
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Paper Chase (1973)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Director James Bridges wanted James Mason for Professor Kingsfield and also tried Melvyn Douglas, Edward G. Robinson, John Gielgud and Paul Scofield before offering the part to producer John Houseman, whose screen test launched his acting career.
- According to John Houseman, the inspiration for Kingsfield was the crusty professor Edward "Bull" Warren, and Houseman noted that Kingsfield's behavior is actually a toned-down version of Warren's famous classroom rudeness.
- Most of the extras seen in the Harvard Law School scenes were actual Harvard Law students at the time, paid a $25 daily rate by 20th Century Fox.
- Gordon Willis said the composition of the scenes with Houseman and Bottoms "related to who had command of the situation": huge close-ups of John and demeaning shots of Timothy at first, the shot sizes evening out until the two are equal partners.
- For his performance as the professor in The Paper Chase, John Houseman earned the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
