“He really is the most corrupt-looking man in the world. [He’s] diabolical, with the black eyebrows and the white hair. We didn’t do anything about him, that’s the way Milo looks!” Sidney Lumet on casting Milo O’Shea

When director Sidney Lumet was casting The Verdict, Milo O’Shea was already renowned on both sides of the Atlantic.

He had made his name in the Abbey Theatre. From there, he appeared in television shows like Out of the Unknown, Me Mammy and Jackanory. His film credits included Ulysses (1967) and Barbarella (1968).

From the early sixties, O’Shea started working on Broadway. He was highly regarded – twice being nominated for a Tony Award – and this is where Lumet became aware of him.

Lumet needed an authoritative figure to play the biased Judge Hoyle, particularly as he would be sparring with two screen icons in Paul Newman and James Mason.

Newman took the main role of Frank Galvin. Galvin is a disgraced lawyer who has taken to the bottle as his career meanders toward its end. His associate Mickey (Jack Warden), gives him a sure fire winner, a medical malpractice suit involving two doctors and a bed-stricken patient.

All parties want to settle the case but Galvin needs more than money, he wants redemption.

Spurred on by fresh purpose, Galvin takes the case to trial. There he faces the unscrupulous defence attorney, Ed Concannon (Mason). Concannon is powerful, backed by an army of legal assistants. Galvin is penniless, and struggling to find definitive evidence and expert witnesses.

When you add in O’Shea’s prejudiced Judge Hoyle, the personal salvation that Galvin seeks seems unlikely.

Adapted from Barry Reed’s novel, The Verdict is one of those rare pictures where all the participants are at their best. The writing, acting and directing are all pitch perfect.  

By this stage, Lumet had directed a fair number of classics - 12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon and Network – and The Verdict sits easily amongst that list. Lumet’s attention to detail is impressive. He used an Autumnal colour scheme as a metaphor for Galvin’s haunted past. The director even insisted on an unusually sparse score, so as not to compromise on the realistic feel.  

Lumet wanted to make a powerful film, and in this regard he was certainly helped by the screenwriter, David Mamet. The dialogue is direct, sometimes gritty and always believable. Sentimentality is in short supply, if evident at all. The characters, main and supporting, are fully realised and convincing.

These elements would be nothing without capable actors and the cast of The Verdict are collectively excellent.

Newman is perfect as Galvin. He somehow pulls of being sleazy, charming, pathetic and noble. None of it forced, all completely natural. Mason is pompous and sleazy but not without morals, as revealed later on. And of course O’Shea is brilliant, in an almost comically devious turn.

Special mention should go to Lindsay Crouse, who plays a nurse present at the incident. According to Lumet, her performance during the courtroom scene was so astonishing that her fellow actors stopped to applaud.

The Verdict is a stunning film. It’s a career highlight for all involved none more so than for the late, great Milo O’Shea.