The Verdict

I wrote about Where the Money Is the other day starring Paul Newman. Then two nights later I’m watching an episode of Better Call Saul. Kim Wexler’s sitting across the desk from a judge who’s trying to pull the wool over her eyes.

The judge is going to give her some inside dope on a case she might be interested in, then he goes in depth laying out the details of a medical malpractice case.

You can see the wheels turning in her brain as she sees through his bullshit and declares, “That’s the plot for The Verdict.”

Get it?

I just wrote about Paul Newman in Where the Money Is and now Kim Wexler mentions The Verdict – a 1982 blockbuster starring Paul Newman.

Paul Newman plays a lawyer who’s down on his luck, running out of time, and hitting the sauce. He lucks into a malpractice suit. The hospital knows it fucked up, so they retain a high-powered legal firm to represent them and offer to settle out of court for $200,000 – a lot more back then.

But Newman decides to fight big odds and go for the gusto. It’s a good movie. In addition to Paul Newman, there’s Jack Warden (Fifty bucks never killed anybody) – James Mason and Charlotte Rampling.

She’s a Brit with 129 acting credits but I found her miscast. To me, they were trying to ram her down my throat as this sultry sex-kitten – but I didn’t buy her that way at all.

But, then again, my standards were always somewhat lofty.

I’m America’s Best Crime Writer – Barry Bowe – & I approve this message.

My first book – Born to Be Wild – was published in 1992 and is still selling on Amazon & Kindle. it’s a true story about certain members of the Warlocks motorcycle gang.

The story took 21 years to play out with many twists & turns. It’s an amalgam of Sons of Anarchy and Breaking Bad – but these outlaw bikers make the Sons look like Cub Scouts.