The Verdict is a 1982 film directed by Sidney Lumet from a screenplay by David Mamet, based on Barry Reed’s 1980 novel. Frank Galvin (Paul Newman) is an alcoholic ambulance-chaser in Boston, reduced to trolling hospital obituaries for clients. His former mentor, Mickey Morrissey (Jack Warden), throws him a medical malpractice case: a young woman in a permanent vegetative state after receiving anesthesia at a Catholic hospital. The case is a layup — the archdiocese wants to settle for $210,000, and all Galvin has to do is sign the papers and take his cut.
Instead, Galvin visits the woman in the hospital, sees her lying there, and refuses to settle. The decision makes no rational sense — Galvin has no money, no staff, no reputation, and the defendants have hired one of Boston’s most powerful law firms. Mamet’s screenplay strips away the novel’s subplots and secondary characters to focus on the central moral drama: a man who has spent years doing the easy, cynical thing discovers that he cannot do it one more time.
The courtroom sequences are Mamet at his most disciplined — the language is spare, the revelations are timed for maximum impact, and the climactic closing argument (which Newman reportedly delivered in a single take) is a masterpiece of theatrical compression. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Collecting The Verdict
Mamet’s screenplay was not published as a standalone book in the traditional sense. The film’s collectibility centers on original screenplays and production materials.
Market values:
- Original shooting script: $200–$500
- Published screenplay editions: $15–$40