The Paper Chase (film)
Encyclopedia
The Paper Chase is a 1973 film starring Timothy Bottoms
, Lindsay Wagner
, and John Houseman
and directed by James Bridges
. Based on John Jay Osborn, Jr.
's 1970 novel, The Paper Chase, the film tells the story of Hart, a first-year law
student at Harvard Law School
, and his experiences with Professor Charles Kingsfield (played by John Houseman), the brilliant, demanding contracts instructor whom he both idolizes and finds incredibly intimidating.
, a serious, hard-working student named James Hart (Timothy Bottoms
), a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota
, finds himself the fearful adversary of the school's most imperious, sardonic contracts professor, Charles W. Kingsfield Jr. (John Houseman
). Their relationship grows even more complex when the young man discovers that the woman he is dating is the professor's daughter (Lindsay Wagner
). Graham Beckel
, Edward Herrmann
, and James Naughton
co-star as other law students.
The film is an extremely faithful adaptation of the novel, but it adds two revelations not in the book: Hart's first name and middle initial (James T.), and the final grade that Hart got in Contract Law. In both the novel and the film, Hart makes a paper airplane out of his final report card, and sends it sailing into the Atlantic Ocean
without looking at it.
Kingsfield's words of advice to his class: "You teach yourselves the law, but I train your minds. You come in here with a skull full of mush; you leave thinking like a lawyer."
was cast as Professor Kingsfield only after director James Bridges
tried and failed to interest Melvyn Douglas
, John Gielgud
, James Mason
, Edward G. Robinson
, and Paul Scofield
.
were filmed on the Harvard campus; all interiors were shot on stages in Toronto
; in a 1999 interview, Gordon Willis
said production designer George Jenkins
"reproduced the Harvard Law School
in The Paper Chase beautifully." The hotel scene was filmed at the Windsor Arms Hotel
.
Willis shot The Paper Chase in anamorphic format
due to the "schoolroom and the graphics in the film"; he also commented on the cinematography
, noting that the composition
of the scenes with John Houseman
and Timothy Bottoms
"related to who had command of the situation. We used huge close-up
s of John, and demeaning shots of Timothy. Then as the movie goes along and Timothy begins to get on top of it, you'll notice the shot sizes begin to diminish on John and begin to get a little bit bigger on Timothy—until finally they are equal partners shooting back and forth.
wrote the film "goes slowly soft like a waxwork on a hot day, losing the shape and substance that at the beginning have rightfully engaged our attention"; he concludes "it takes a long while for The Paper Chase to disintegrate, and there are some funny, intelligent sequences along the way, but by the end it has melted into a blob of cliché
s." Jay Cocks
called it a movie of "some incidental pleasures and insights and a great deal of silliness":
John Houseman
was awarded Best Supporting Actor at the 46th Academy Awards
and the same award from the National Board of Review
. Bridges was nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, losing to William Peter Blatty
, who won for adapting his novel into the screenplay for The Exorcist
. Donald O. Mitchell
and Larry Jost
received a Academy Award nomination for Best Sound. In spite of Houseman's awards, the University of Chicago Law School
calls his rendition of the Socratic method
"over-the-top", telling prospective students:
Over three decades later, the American Film Institute included the film in—though near the bottom of—its AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers list.
Timothy Bottoms
-Early life:Bottoms was born in Santa Barbara, California, the eldest son of Betty and James "Bud" Bottoms, who is a sculptor and art teacher. He is the brother of actors Joseph Bottoms , Sam Bottoms and Ben Bottoms . In 1967, Bottoms toured Europe as part of the Santa Barbara Madrigal...
, Lindsay Wagner
Lindsay Wagner
Lindsay Jean Wagner is an American actress. She is probably best known for her portrayal of Jaime Sommers in the 1970s television series The Bionic Woman , though she has maintained a lengthy career in a variety of other film and television productions since.-Early life:Wagner was born in Los...
, and John Houseman
John Houseman
John Houseman was a Romanian-born British-American actor and film producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane...
and directed by James Bridges
James Bridges
James Bridges was an American screenwriter and film director.Bridges was born in Paris, Arkansas. He got his start as a writer for Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and one of his episodes, "An Unlocked Window", earned him a 1966 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Episode in a TV...
. Based on John Jay Osborn, Jr.
John Jay Osborn, Jr.
John Jay Osborn, Jr. is the author of the bestselling novel, The Paper Chase, a fictional account of one Harvard Law School student's battles with the imperious Professor Charles Kingsfield. The book was made into a movie starring John Houseman and Timothy Bottoms. Houseman won an Oscar for his...
's 1970 novel, The Paper Chase, the film tells the story of Hart, a first-year law
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
student at Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, and his experiences with Professor Charles Kingsfield (played by John Houseman), the brilliant, demanding contracts instructor whom he both idolizes and finds incredibly intimidating.
Cast
- Timothy BottomsTimothy Bottoms-Early life:Bottoms was born in Santa Barbara, California, the eldest son of Betty and James "Bud" Bottoms, who is a sculptor and art teacher. He is the brother of actors Joseph Bottoms , Sam Bottoms and Ben Bottoms . In 1967, Bottoms toured Europe as part of the Santa Barbara Madrigal...
as James T. Hart - Lindsay WagnerLindsay WagnerLindsay Jean Wagner is an American actress. She is probably best known for her portrayal of Jaime Sommers in the 1970s television series The Bionic Woman , though she has maintained a lengthy career in a variety of other film and television productions since.-Early life:Wagner was born in Los...
as Susan Fields - John HousemanJohn HousemanJohn Houseman was a Romanian-born British-American actor and film producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane...
as Charles W. Kingsfield Jr. - Graham BeckelGraham BeckelGraham S. Beckel is an American character actor. He is known for his prolific guest appearances on television but has had prominent roles in several major films as well. Most recently he played Jack Fisk on Battlestar Galactica and Hal Sanders on Heroes...
as Franklin Ford III - James NaughtonJames NaughtonJames Naughton is an American director, theater, film and television actor.-Early life:Naughton was born in Middletown, Connecticut, the son of Rosemary and Joseph Naughton, both of whom were teachers He is the brother of actor David Naughton.-Career:Naughton graduated from Brown University and...
as Kevin Brooks - Edward HerrmannEdward HerrmannEdward Kirk Herrmann is a U.S. television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D...
as Thomas Craig Anderson - Craig Richard NelsonCraig Richard NelsonCraig Richard Nelson is an American theater, film and television character actor.- Acting career :Nelson was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and studied acting at the University of Utah and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts...
as Willis Bell - Robert Lydiard as O'Connor (as Bob Lydiard)
- Lenny BakerLenny BakerLeonard Joel “Lenny” Baker was an American actor of stage and film and screen best known for his Tony Award-winning performance in I Love My Wife in 1977.-Early life:...
as William Moss, Tutor - David ClennonDavid ClennonDavid Clennon is an American actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of Miles Drentel in the ABC series Thirtysomething, a role he reprised on Once and Again....
as Toombs - Regina BaffRegina BaffRegina Baff is an actress, who was nominated for a Tony in 1974 for Veronica's Room.-Career:Regina Baff appeared in The West Side Waltz with Katharine Hepburn...
as Asheley Brooks
Plot
Expecting only the basic pressures of attending Harvard Law SchoolHarvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, a serious, hard-working student named James Hart (Timothy Bottoms
Timothy Bottoms
-Early life:Bottoms was born in Santa Barbara, California, the eldest son of Betty and James "Bud" Bottoms, who is a sculptor and art teacher. He is the brother of actors Joseph Bottoms , Sam Bottoms and Ben Bottoms . In 1967, Bottoms toured Europe as part of the Santa Barbara Madrigal...
), a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, finds himself the fearful adversary of the school's most imperious, sardonic contracts professor, Charles W. Kingsfield Jr. (John Houseman
John Houseman
John Houseman was a Romanian-born British-American actor and film producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane...
). Their relationship grows even more complex when the young man discovers that the woman he is dating is the professor's daughter (Lindsay Wagner
Lindsay Wagner
Lindsay Jean Wagner is an American actress. She is probably best known for her portrayal of Jaime Sommers in the 1970s television series The Bionic Woman , though she has maintained a lengthy career in a variety of other film and television productions since.-Early life:Wagner was born in Los...
). Graham Beckel
Graham Beckel
Graham S. Beckel is an American character actor. He is known for his prolific guest appearances on television but has had prominent roles in several major films as well. Most recently he played Jack Fisk on Battlestar Galactica and Hal Sanders on Heroes...
, Edward Herrmann
Edward Herrmann
Edward Kirk Herrmann is a U.S. television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D...
, and James Naughton
James Naughton
James Naughton is an American director, theater, film and television actor.-Early life:Naughton was born in Middletown, Connecticut, the son of Rosemary and Joseph Naughton, both of whom were teachers He is the brother of actor David Naughton.-Career:Naughton graduated from Brown University and...
co-star as other law students.
The film is an extremely faithful adaptation of the novel, but it adds two revelations not in the book: Hart's first name and middle initial (James T.), and the final grade that Hart got in Contract Law. In both the novel and the film, Hart makes a paper airplane out of his final report card, and sends it sailing into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
without looking at it.
Kingsfield's words of advice to his class: "You teach yourselves the law, but I train your minds. You come in here with a skull full of mush; you leave thinking like a lawyer."
Pre-production
John HousemanJohn Houseman
John Houseman was a Romanian-born British-American actor and film producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane...
was cast as Professor Kingsfield only after director James Bridges
James Bridges
James Bridges was an American screenwriter and film director.Bridges was born in Paris, Arkansas. He got his start as a writer for Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and one of his episodes, "An Unlocked Window", earned him a 1966 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Episode in a TV...
tried and failed to interest Melvyn Douglas
Melvyn Douglas
Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg , better known as Melvyn Douglas, was an American actor.Coming to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man , Douglas later transitioned into more mature and fatherly roles as in his Academy Award-winning performances in Hud...
, John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
, James Mason
James Mason
James Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...
, Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
, and Paul Scofield
Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield, CH, CBE , better known as Paul Scofield, was an English actor of stage and screen...
.
Production
Only the exterior shots of Harvard YardHarvard Yard
Harvard Yard is a grassy area of about , adjacent to Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that constitutes the oldest part and the center of the campus of Harvard University...
were filmed on the Harvard campus; all interiors were shot on stages in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
; in a 1999 interview, Gordon Willis
Gordon Willis
Gordon Willis, ASC, is an American cinematographer best known for his work on Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather series as well as Woody Allen's Annie Hall and Manhattan....
said production designer George Jenkins
George Jenkins
George Clarke Jenkins was an American production designer and three-time Tony Award nominee.Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he studied architecture at University of Pennsylvania before leaving to build sets...
"reproduced the Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in The Paper Chase beautifully." The hotel scene was filmed at the Windsor Arms Hotel
Windsor Arms Hotel
The Windsor Arms is a boutique hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 18 St. Thomas St. in the heart of the Yorkville neighbourhood. The hotel includes Club 22, Court Yard Cafe and a Spa....
.
Willis shot The Paper Chase in anamorphic format
Anamorphic format
Anamorphic format is a term that can be used either for: the cinematography technique of capturing a widescreen picture on standard 35 mm film, or other visual recording media, with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio; or a photographic projection format in which the original image requires an...
due to the "schoolroom and the graphics in the film"; he also commented on the cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
, noting that the composition
Composition (visual arts)
In the visual arts – in particular painting, graphic design, photography and sculpture – composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a work of art or a photograph, as distinct from the subject of a work...
of the scenes with John Houseman
John Houseman
John Houseman was a Romanian-born British-American actor and film producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane...
and Timothy Bottoms
Timothy Bottoms
-Early life:Bottoms was born in Santa Barbara, California, the eldest son of Betty and James "Bud" Bottoms, who is a sculptor and art teacher. He is the brother of actors Joseph Bottoms , Sam Bottoms and Ben Bottoms . In 1967, Bottoms toured Europe as part of the Santa Barbara Madrigal...
"related to who had command of the situation. We used huge close-up
Close-up
In filmmaking, television production, still photography and the comic strip medium a close-up tightly frames a person or an object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium shots and long shots . Close-ups display the most detail, but they do not include the broader scene...
s of John, and demeaning shots of Timothy. Then as the movie goes along and Timothy begins to get on top of it, you'll notice the shot sizes begin to diminish on John and begin to get a little bit bigger on Timothy—until finally they are equal partners shooting back and forth.
Reception
Vincent CanbyVincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
wrote the film "goes slowly soft like a waxwork on a hot day, losing the shape and substance that at the beginning have rightfully engaged our attention"; he concludes "it takes a long while for The Paper Chase to disintegrate, and there are some funny, intelligent sequences along the way, but by the end it has melted into a blob of cliché
Cliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
s." Jay Cocks
Jay Cocks
Jay Cocks is a film critic and motion picture screenwriter.He is a graduate of Kenyon College. He was a critic for Time, Newsweek, and Rolling Stone, among other magazines, before moving into film writing....
called it a movie of "some incidental pleasures and insights and a great deal of silliness":
- "What [writer/director] Bridges catches best is the peculiar tension of the classroom, the cool terror that can be instilled by an academic skilled in psychological warfare. His Ivy League Olympian is Kingsfield, a professor of contract law who passes along scholarship with finely tempered disdain. In an original bit of casting, Kingsfield is played by veteran theater and film producer John Houseman. It is a forbidding, superb performance, catching not only the coldness of such a man but the patricianPatricianThe term patrician originally referred to a group of elite families in ancient Rome, including both their natural and adopted members. In the late Roman Empire, the class was broadened to include high council officials, and after the fall of the Western Empire it remained a high honorary title in...
crustiness that conceals deep and raging contempt."
John Houseman
John Houseman
John Houseman was a Romanian-born British-American actor and film producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane...
was awarded Best Supporting Actor at the 46th Academy Awards
46th Academy Awards
The 46th Academy Awards were presented April 2, 1974 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by John Huston, Diana Ross, Burt Reynolds, David Niven....
and the same award from the National Board of Review
National Board of Review Awards 1973
- Top Ten Films :#The Sting#Paper Moon#Bang the Drum Slowly#Serpico#O Lucky Man!#The Last American Hero#The Hireling#The Day of the Dolphin#The Way We Were- Top Foreign Films :#Cries and Whispers#Day for Night...
. Bridges was nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, losing to William Peter Blatty
William Peter Blatty
William Peter Blatty is an American writer and filmmaker. The novel The Exorcist, written in 1971, is his magnum opus; he also penned the subsequent screenplay version of the film, for which he won an Academy Award....
, who won for adapting his novel into the screenplay for The Exorcist
The Exorcist (film)
The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
. Donald O. Mitchell
Donald O. Mitchell
Donald O. Mitchell is an American sound engineer. He won an Academy Award for Best Sound and was nominated for thirteen more in the same category...
and Larry Jost
Larry Jost
Larry Jost was an American sound engineer. He was nominated for three Academy Awards in the category Best Sound. He worked on over 45 films between 1961 and 1984.-Selected filmography:* The Day of the Dolphin...
received a Academy Award nomination for Best Sound. In spite of Houseman's awards, the University of Chicago Law School
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
calls his rendition of the Socratic method
Socratic method
The Socratic method , named after the classical Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas...
"over-the-top", telling prospective students:
- "John Houseman may have won an Oscar for his impressive performance, but if anyone ever did teach a law school class like his Professor Kingsfield, no one at Chicago does today. Instead, our students discover quickly that the Socratic Method is a tool and a good one at that used to engage a large group of students in a discussion, while using probing questions to get at the heart of the subject matter. The Socratic Method is not used at Chicago to intimidate, nor to "break down" new law students, but instead for the very reason Socrates developed it: to develop critical thinking skills in students and enable them to approach the law as intellectuals."
Over three decades later, the American Film Institute included the film in—though near the bottom of—its AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers list.