The Paper Chase began as novel, written in 1970 by Harvard Law School graduate John Jay Osborn, Jr. and was later turned into a faithful movie in 1973 starring John Houseman (Ghost Story), Timothy Bottoms (Invaders from Mars), and Lindsay Wagner (The Bionic Woman). Houseman won an Academy Award for his portrayal of contract law professor, Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr. Though Houseman had a long an impressive resume, director James Bridges (The China Syndrome) only offered him the part after he failed to interest James Mason, Edward G. Robinson, Melvyn Douglas, Sir John Gielgud, and Paul Scofield.
Given the success of the film, in 1978, CBS debuted The Paper Chase as a series. John Houseman reprised his role and the series centered on a group of first year law students at a prestigious Ivy League university. Despite a lot of critical acclaim CBS cancelled the series after only one season. After four years of successful reruns on PBS, the then fledgling Showtime cable network brought the series back with John Houseman and much of the original cast, for a successful three year run.
James T. Hart (James Stephens) is a Minnesota farm boy, who longs to be a lawyer instead of following in his father’s footsteps. Though he’s committed to following his dream, James finds life at the big time eastern university tougher than he expected, right from the start. Early on, he decides to join a study group in an effort to make it through the intense coursework. The others in the study group include: Franklin Ford III (Tom Fitzsimmons), a rather arrogant third generation lawyer; Willis Bell (James Keane), the goofball of the group who plans on taking over his father’s vast real estate business someday; Elizabeth Logan (Francine Tacker), an ardent feminist and the only woman in the group; and Tom Anderson (Robert Ginty) a guy who is really the first to befriend Hart and has to be considered the playboy of the group.
While all of the classes are tough, it’s Professor Charles Kingsfield, the world’s leading authority on contract law, who inspired both awe and fear in his students. Kingsfield is not the type of man to hold your hand as you go through the learning process–he expects you to both work hard and earn his respect. As Hart finds out the first day of class, if you are not prepared, he will dig your grave and you’re dead to him for the rest of the semester. Houseman does allow Kingsfield to soften at times but it’s done after respect has obviously been achieved–at least for that moment–this aspect of Houseman’s portrayal gives Professor Kingfield an extra dimension and depth.
The first season of The Paper Chase consists of 22 episodes and the series writers managed to cover a myriad of serious topics; affirmative action, equal rights for women, and sexual harassment. At the same time the show focused on issues specific to academia and the difficulties of balancing romance with school.
If there is one problem the series has, its lack of continuity. Back in the 1970’s (and even into the eighties), having a story arc go beyond one episode was strictly forbidden. Network executives seemed to fear that audiences would turn away in droves if they missed one episode and didn’t get to see every situation resolved. As a result, nothing from one episode was ever carried over to another. Hart has no less than four girlfriends over the first season’s 22 episodes and it’s hard for the audience to care about any of them, know they’ll never be seen again. It’s made even worse by the fact that Hart always starts out the episode in dramatic fashion, like “this girl” is the love of his life.
Despite those minor issues, The Paper Chase is a wonderfully acted drama that was cancelled way too soon. The late John Houseman has total command of his character; Kingsfield is larger-than-life, yet empathetic, his work is wonderful. James Stephens is believable as the dedicated but at times utterly confused Hart The rest of the cast does an admirable job as well, giving a convincing portrayal of first year law students.
As with many shows from the 1970’s The Paper Chase features guest appearances by several established stars and big names of the future. Unlike many series, The Paper Chase actually uses these guest appearances as an opportunity for the actors to truly shine: Kim Cattrall as the wife of a seriously overworked law student, Robert Reed as a rather nasty professor and Glynn Turman as a student in Kingsfield’s class. Other notable guest stars include Marilu Henner as a co-worker at Hart’s part time job, Denise Nicholas, Ken Olin and Judith Chapman.
The Paper Chase is truly a series in which top notch acting takes center stage. For those of you who may only know John Houseman for his role as Ricky Schroeder’s grandfather on Silver Spoons or his commercials for Smith Barney, this series will give you the chance to see why this man is renowned for many things; among them founding The Mercury Theatre with Orson Welles, best remembered for their 1938 radio adaptation of H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds.
Unfortunately the full frame color image leaves a bit to be desired. Originally airing in 1978, the picture looks like it comes from nice unrestored prints. The colors are a bit faded, and the image is generally on the soft side. The show doesn’t look bad, just don’t expect pristine quality.
The mono soundtrack is simply okay, with a few episodes having a problem with distortion in the louder parts. Even those shows that don’t distort have a rather soft sound and aren’t as crisp and clear as they should be. Fortunately, this doesn’t ruin the show as the dialog is easy to make out and the conversations are never too muddled to discern.
Unfortunately, The Paper Chase: Season One has mo special features.
