The Paper Chase
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The Paper Chase was a 1970 novel, as well as a 1973 movie based on the novel and a television series based on the movie.
Written by John Jay Osborn, Jr., a 1970 graduate of Harvard Law School, the book tells the story of Hart, a first-year law student at Harvard, and his experiences with Professor Kingsfield, the brilliant, demanding contracts instructor whom he both idolizes and by whom he is incredibly intimidated.
The 1973 movie, based "almost word for word" on the novel according to Osborn, starred John Houseman as Kingsfield and Timothy Bottoms as Hart.
The CBS television network aired a one-hour drama series in the 1978-1979 season based on the movie. John Houseman reprised his movie role, and James Stephens played Hart. Canceled after one year, PBS subsequently rebroadcast all of the episodes. In 1983, pay-cable network Showtime brought back the show with both Houseman and Stephens. At the end of three seasons on Showtime, Hart finally graduated law school.
The character of the film and the TV series was different in several ways. The film was self-contained, of course, and Kingsfield was a remote, almost god-like figure. He became somewhat more accessible in the TV series.
Quotation
- "You teach yourselves the law. I train your minds. You come in here with a skull full of mush, and if you survive, you'll leave thinking like a lawyer." -- Professor Kingsfield
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