March 27 - Heavens Fall

Today’s movie is a courtroom drama with a scene on March 27. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.

HEAVENS FALL            

Samuel Leibowitz, a prominent New York attorney is asked by several radical groups to represent the Scottsboro boys in their retrial that has been ordered by the United States Supreme Court. His wife fears for his personal safety if he takes the case. He takes the case anyway and travels to Alabama, as does William Lee, a reporter for a Black Chicago newspaper. On March 27, 1933 [30:58 to 36:27] Leibowitz makes a motion to quash the indictment on the grounds that African-Americans were excluded from the jury pool, but the motion is denied.  Victoria Price testifies that she was raped by nine African-Americans while traveling with Ruby Bates on freight train, but on cross exam, Liebowitz shows she was convicted of adultery. The other “victim”, Ruby Bates vanishes. The doctor called by the state says Victoria Price had sex at least 24 hours before the time of the alleged assault.  Lester Carter, a white man who has traveling on the train with Victoria and Ruby says he saw no assault. A lynch mob gathers, but Thomas E. Knight, Jr., the prosecuting attorney disperses them. Haywood Patterson testifies that he did not assault anyone. The defense calls Ruby Bates as a surprise witness. She testifies that there was a fight between the “Scottsboro” boys who were riding on the train and White riders. Ruby testifies the Victoria was afraid of being arrested as a vagrant, so she persuaded her to claim rape. She denies that they were attacked even after the prosecutor points out that she has testified that she had been attacked at the first trial. Patterson is convicted and sentenced to death. Judge Horton orders a new trial.

This is a good movie. It is a compelling story of racial prejudice and injustice. However it’s only a slice of the story and a middle slice at that. 

Stories of Scottsboro by James Goodman (Pantheon Books, NY, 1994) at page 120

Producers - Anna Marie Crovetti, Wade Danielson and Gloria Everett

Director - Terry Green

Screenplay - Terry Green

Released – July 20, 2006

Runtime – 1 hour 45 minutes

Starring –       

Timothy Hutton as Samuel Leibowitz

David Strathairn as Judge James E. Horton

Leelee Sobieski as Victoria Price

Anthony Mackie as William Lee

Bill Sage as Thomas E. Knight, Jr.

Azura Skye as Ruby Bates

James Tolkan as Thomas Knight, Sr.

Bill Smitrovich as George Chamlee

Copyright by Ivan Walters 2014.