Oliver Wendell Holmes is probably only on your radar if you pay a lot of attention to the Supreme Court. I had heard about him occasionally, but not being a scholar of law, I didn't know specifically what he was famous for. "The Magnificent Yankee" (based on a play which was itself based on a novel about Holmes) looks at the man's years as an associate justice. Basically, Holmes was known for casting dissenting votes, along with his colleague Louis Brandeis.
Louis Calhern - whom you may remember as the conniving ambassador in "Duck Soup" - received an Oscar nod for his portrayal of Holmes, depicting him as an avuncular type who did what he thought was right. He was inclined to generally be at odds with most of his colleagues, but never bowed to peer pressure. It's a fine performance in a fine movie. Not the greatest one ever made, but it would make a good double feature with "On the Basis of Sex" (about Ruth Bader Ginsburg's early judicial career). I'd now like to see a movie about Brandeis; maybe we could learn why Wilson appointed him when Brandeis was so anti-corporate and Wilson was so pro-corporate.
Watch for early appearances of Herbert Anderson (the dad on "Dennis the Menace") and Hayden Rorke (Dr. Bellows on "I Dream of Jeannie").
Louis Calhern - whom you may remember as the conniving ambassador in "Duck Soup" - received an Oscar nod for his portrayal of Holmes, depicting him as an avuncular type who did what he thought was right. He was inclined to generally be at odds with most of his colleagues, but never bowed to peer pressure. It's a fine performance in a fine movie. Not the greatest one ever made, but it would make a good double feature with "On the Basis of Sex" (about Ruth Bader Ginsburg's early judicial career). I'd now like to see a movie about Brandeis; maybe we could learn why Wilson appointed him when Brandeis was so anti-corporate and Wilson was so pro-corporate.
Watch for early appearances of Herbert Anderson (the dad on "Dennis the Menace") and Hayden Rorke (Dr. Bellows on "I Dream of Jeannie").