Presumed Innocent (film)

Producers Sydney Pollack and Mark Rosenberg acquired the rights in December 1986 and hired Pierson to write the script.

After an unsuccessful pre-production development at United Artists, the project moved to Warner Bros., and Pakula was brought in to rewrite the script with Pierson before signing on as the film's director in January 1989.

Filming took place on locations in Detroit, Windsor, Ontario, and New Jersey, and on soundstages at Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York.

When his colleague Carolyn Polhemus is found raped and murdered in her apartment, Raymond insists that Rusty take charge of the investigation.

With the election for District Attorney approaching, Tommy Molto, the acting head of the homicide division, has left to join the rival campaign of Nico Della Guardia.

Upon being confronted by Rusty and Lipranzer, Wells confesses that he paid Judge Lyttle $1,500 to have criminal charges against him dropped, with Carolyn acting as a facilitator.

Based on the disappearance of the beer glass, the lack of motive, and the fact that the fluid sample was rendered meaningless, Judge Lyttle dismisses the charges.

Lipranzer meets with Rusty and reveals the missing beer glass, explaining that he never returned it to evidence when the investigation was turned over to Della Guardia and Molto.

In a voice-over, Rusty explains that Carolyn's murder remains unsolved as trying two people for the same crime is "a practical impossibility" and he could never take the mother away from his son even if it were possible to prosecute her.

[3] After Pollack and Rosenberg acquired the rights in December 1986,[6] United Artists negotiated with the producers to finance and distribute the film.

[2] In July 1988, the project moved to Warner Bros.[2] Pollack and Rosenberg sent the script to Alan J. Pakula,[2][7] who felt that it needed improvement and spent a year rewriting it with Pierson.

[11][12] When he was hired to direct the film, Pakula only offered the role to Harrison Ford,[3] believing that the actor possessed an "Everyman quality" that best suited the character.

[15] Ford observed murder trials with Pakula at the Recorder's Court in Detroit and viewed training footage from the Michigan Prosecutors' Association.

[10] Greta Scacchi, who plays Carolyn Polhemus, observed Linda Fairstein, head of the Manhattan District Attorney's sex crimes unit.

[3][16] Paul Winfield lobbied for the role of Judge Larren Lyttle upon reading the novel and learning that the adaptation was to be directed by Pakula.

[17] Winfield met with New York Supreme Court judge Bruce M. Wright, who insisted that he wear a judiciary robe and observe several cases.

The Essex County Veterans Courthouse was used for a brief courtroom sequence, and Newark's city morgue was used to depict the medical office of Dr. Kumagai.

A suburban house on East Orchard Street was used to film exterior and interior scenes set in the Sabich family home.

[22] Released to a total of 1,349 theaters in the United States and Canada, the film grossed $11,718,981 on its first weekend, securing the number one position at the box office.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Thanks to an outstanding script, focused direction by Alan Pakula, and a riveting performance from Harrison Ford, Presumed Innocent is the kind of effective courtroom thriller most others aspire to be.

"[36] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times stated, "Even if you think you know what the solution is, the performances are so clever and the screenplay ... is so subtle that it could well turn out that your expectations are wrong.

"[38] Peter Travers, writing for Rolling Stone, called the film "a smart, passionate, steadily engrossing thriller".

"[42] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune praised the supporting cast, writing, "Raul Julia is excellent as Ford's sinister defense attorney.

John Spencer, Joe Grifasi, Tom Mardirosian and Sab Shimono are each compelling as investigator, political lackey, prosecutor and coroner.

"[44] Dave Kehr, also writing for the Chicago Tribune, stated, "Though it's a handsome film, carefully staged and courageously low-key, the transition to the screen only exaggerates the disposable nature of the material while depriving it of the novel's one stylistic strength, its unreliable narrator.

Based on Turow's 1990 novel, the miniseries focuses on defense attorney Sandy Stern (played by Héctor Elizondo), who investigates his wife's past following her apparent suicide.

Set twenty years after the events of the 1990 film, the story follows Rusty Sabich (Bill Pullman), who is charged with the murder of his wife Barbara (Marcia Gay Harden).

Innocent aired on TNT on November 30, 2011, as part of the network's "Mystery Movie Night", a collection of six made-for-television films based on best-selling novels.

Harrison Ford , who plays Rusty Sabich in the film.