The Sunday Morning Movie Presents: The Incident (1990) Run Time 1H 37M

Welcome gentle readers to another installment of the Sunday Morning Movie. Today’s feature is The Incident starring Walter Matthau.

Reviews:

A reviewer at letterboxd writes:

And the movie’s OK. It’s directed with meat and potatoes flair by Joseph Sargent (THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE) and its unhurried pace didn’t really bother me. It’s a bit too glossy for my tastes but the period details all look impeccable and Matthau’s collection of vintage ties would be the envy of every Gen X hipster with a Cherry Poppin’ Daddies fixation. Matthau, of course, is always watchable, though he was never able to sell his catchphrase “Holee Chi-ca-go” to me. He’s at his best in the courtroom. Morgan is surprisingly little-used but is in fully gruffed, nostril-flaring form, radiating the distinct vibe of a man who doesn’t get enough fiber in his diet.

Deseret writes:

In “The Incident” Matthau plays a man who is torn between his personal and professional ethics and the anti-Nazi sentiment that gripped America during World War II. Matthau clearly understands both sides of the coin. His strong sense of right and wrong professionally has led to a reputation of being somewhat “difficult” to work with (“I used to have lots of fights with directors,” he admitted. “But now I’ve gone the other way. Actually, I’m quite pleasant to work with.”).

And his personal history includes a number of relatives – cousins, uncles and aunts – who were killed by Nazis. So he has a sense of how Cobb must feel when he must defend a German soldier while mourning the death of his own son at the hands of the Germans. And he finds great satisfaction in believing that he accurately portraying how Cobb reacted to the situation – and how he would have reacted under similar circumstances.

“I’ve asked myself if I would have been able to do this,” he said. “I like to think I would have.”

Pretty heroic stuff coming from a man who says of himself: “I like to take the path of least resistance.”

I really enjoyed The Incident. Matthau is as good as I remember him as a kid, totally believable in his role as a small town lawyer with a sense of honor. The atmosphere is from another era in American history, an America that doesn’t exist anymore. The movie is simple but it deals with complex issues such as the responsibility of a lawyer to his client versus his personal feelings, the importance of a lawyer’s oath to uphold the law, and the use of state power as a cudgel. I finished the film feeling as if I had learned some things as well as being entertained.

Director: Joseph Sargent

Notable actors: Walter Matthau, Harry Morgan

Spoilers!

Synopsis:

“The Incident” is the story of Harmon Cobb (Matthau) who is a small-time attorney in the fictional town of Lincoln Bluff, Colorado in 1944. At nearby US Army Camp Bremen, which houses German prisoners of war, the town’s only doctor is murdered. A German sergeant is accused of the crime. Cobb is called upon to defend the soldier, against his wartime and personal inclinations. He refuses as first but it heavily pressured by Judge Bell (Harry Morgan) to take up the case. Cobb half-heartedly begins his work but his client is unwilling to cooperate. The German wishes to protect his fellow soldiers from retribution and also alludes to a pattern of nefarious behavior in the camp. Cobb’s reluctance to defend the sergeant is strengthened when he learns his own son has died in the war overseas and his family is facing backlash from the townsfolk for him taking on the case. But things begin to change when a letter from the doctor surfaces that supports the notion that there is more going on in the camp than meets the eye.

Cobb begins to investigate the incident in earnest but Judge Bell warns him that the trial is only a farce and that he intends to execute the German sergeant accused of the crime. Cobb was picked because he was expected to lose. His desire to distance himself from the case quickly becomes overshadowed by his sense of honor as a lawyer as well as his curiosity to find out exactly what is going on at the camp.

Cobb and a companion manage to sneak into the camp with the complicity of the gate guard. Unwilling to help at first, the guard not only gives them permission to enter but reveals that the camp’s commander allows gangs of German soldiers to terrorize other prisoners. After being reassured of his safety, the guard agrees to provide testimony to support the accused’s innocence.

When Cobb attempts to provide evidence to the court in that vein, he is taken aside by the judge. The prosecutor demands to be included in the conversation. The judge reveals that he plans on handing out a death sentence to the accused as a way of making a deal with the German government to release three captured US servicemembers who are facing execution in Germany. Both Cobb and the prosecutor are shocked at this scheme and the prosecutor threatens to bring about a mistrial if the evidence isn’t admitted. Cobb goes on to successfully argue that the camp’s commander and the doctor were conspiring with certain German prisoners to murder other prisoners. The accused is found innocent and sent back to the camp.

Bonus video: I came across this short video of color film footage of Frida Kalo and Diego Rivera at home in Coyoacán, Mexico sometime in the 1940’s. The voiceover is of a love letter Kalo wrote to Rivera which was found in her diary. Enjoy!