Does anyone remember this movie ? It was one of my favorites because John Houseman reminded me of so many of the arrogant teachers I had going to school.

The Paper Chase is a 1973 film starring Timothy Bottoms, Lindsay Wagner, and John Houseman and directed by James Bridges. Based on John Jay Osborn, Jr.’s 1970 novel, The Paper Chase, the film tells the story of Hart, a first-year law student at Harvard Law School, and his experiences with Professor Charles Kingsfield (played by John Houseman), the brilliant, demanding contracts instructor whom he both idolizes and finds incredibly intimidating.

Expecting only the basic pressures of attending Harvard Law School, a serious, hard-working student named Hart (Timothy Bottoms) finds himself the fearful adversary of the school’s most imperious, sarcastic Contract Law professor, Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr. (John Houseman). Their relationship grows even more complex when the young man discovers that the woman he is dating is the professor’s daughter (Lindsay Wagner). Edward Herrmann and James Naughton co-star as other law students. The film is an extremely faithful adaptation of the novel, but it adds to revelations not in the book: Hart’s first name and middle inital (James T.), and the final grade that Hart got in Contract Law: an A (in both the novel and the film, Hart makes a paper airplane out of his final report card, and sends it sailing into the Atlantic Ocean without looking at it; in the film, a scene shows Kingsfield grading Hart’s paper and awarding him an A).

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The Paper Chase

deletereply instrumentalpavilion wrote on Sep 3, ’08 Excellent film and television series. Good post.

deletereply philsgal7759 wrote on Sep 3, ’08 This is an awesome film liked it and the show by the same name in fact wish they would run it

deletereply tulipsinspring wrote on Sep 3, ’08 I know this movie, love it! Scary teacher!

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Sep 3, ’08 I had many teachers like that, Cathy.

deletereply starfishred wrote on Sep 4, ’08 I had a fw of these to great film.

deletereply slohomeles wrote on Sep 4, ’08 The Paper Chase was an excellent film… although I didn’t see it when it first came out (I was still a spring chicken at the time), I was able to see it as part of a “double header” matinee in the early 80’s. I, too, had a professor who was just as “snooty” as John Housman’s character… except my professor for some reason referred to me as an “intensive character”

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Sep 4, ’08 It was teachers like John Houseman’s character that made me hate school. I had many of those. They should not be teaching.