Young attorney David Mitchell (Richard Chamberlain) gets a big surprise when he learns he's got to defend a man accused of first-degree murder of a popular rancher. He finds this out with less than 2 days before the trial begins, and that his aging mentor (played by Claude Rains, in his penultimate film role) put him up to it.
The trial has the feel of pre-determined outcome. All the jurors seem to be business associates of the deceased, and when Mitchell tries to have one disqualified, the judge simply overrules his concerns. Likewise, there are several times once the trial starts where Mitchell's objections to questions or motions the prosecution files are brushed aside with not debate or opportunity. And I don't know how old Chamberlain was at this time, but he looks really young, that he's not so much clean-shaven as unable to grow facial hair. He leans forward in his chair during the trial, looking as though he's bending under the pressure.
It especially contrasts with the special prosecutor (played by James Gregory.) Gregory's noticeably older, and he sits leaning back into his chair, confident he has this thing on lock. His bow tie is also always crooked, which could be a signal to how much sketchy stuff he's done to tilt this trial in his favor, but could just be a sign he's such a jerk nobody likes him enough to mention he looks like a goober.
Mitchell's defense is that New Mexico apparently had a law that exonerates a man if he kills someone his wife is having an affair with. And Ben Brown doesn't deny he killed the man, only that he found him in bed with his wife (Joey Heatherton.) Which the prosecution doesn't deny either, except they say Brown had his wife seduce the other man. And they have signed confessions (two of them) from Brown, though how they got those confessions is a matter of some dispute.
The courtroom is set up to be a pressure cooker. The defense and prosecution sit across from each other at the same table, which enables them to whisper and play mind games with each other. And in most scenes, when we see Chamberlain seated at the table, you can see the crowd behind him, watching. He's under the microscope, and it gets to him a few times. He gets suckered into calling Brown's wife, who had the charges dropped against her but still can't be called as a witness by the prosecution, only the defense. And it happens because Gregory can just lean across the table and whisper that Chamberlain is basically Rains' puppet.
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