LAWYER, THE (1970)

Barry Newman (Vanishing Point) is Tony Petrocelli, an Italian-American, Harvard-educated, root-beer-swilling courtroom cowboy in the rich Southwestern cattle town of Baker. Tony takes on the defense of a physician accused of murdering his wife who insists that the killing was committed by an unknown assailant—even though the evidence is questionable. With “a man is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt” as his motto, the hotshot young lawyer crusades against a star state prosecutor (Harold Gould, The Big Bus) in this crackerjack courtroom drama co-starring Diana Muldaur (McQ) and directed by the mighty Sidney J. Furie (The Ipcress File). Loosely based on the infamous Sam Sheppard murder case, The Lawyer later spawned the hit TV series Petrocelli (1974-’76), also starring Newman in his iconic role.