Guilty as Sin

Synopsis: A man accused of murdering his wife approaches a hotshot female criminal attorney to take his case. The man is a self-professed womaniser, and his alleged motive would be the large sum of money his wife left him. The attorney begins to have second thoughts about representing him when he starts making it look like they're having an affair and tells her things she can't reveal because of lawyer/client privilege, so she starts her own investigation of him, which threatens her career and the safety of her friends and herself.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Director(s): Sidney Lumet
Production: Buena Vista
 
IMDB:
5.6
Rotten Tomatoes:
40%
R
Year:
1993
107 min
127 Views


Sustained.

Proceed, Mr Schiff.

when you entered that

Suite 405 of the Holiday lnn.

Mr Lombardo was alone in

the room with Richard Colbert,

a deputy director of the

lnternal Revenue Service,

who was kneeling beside a coffee table

counting out stacks of $100 bills.

And will you tell the jury

how you knew of this...

Therefore, with probable cause,

you applied for a warrant?

- Yes, sir.

- Which Federal Judge Griffen granted.

Thank you. Your witness.

Agent Powell, as you know,

my client, Ed Lombardo,

- is charged with extortion.

- Yes, ma'am.

Did you observe Richard Colbert

when he first entered the hotel?

- Yes, ma'am.

- Was he carrying anything?

- No, ma'am.

- Why not?

We didn't want him to know

that we were there.

So Richard Colbert

could have conceivably brought

the $125,000 in with him.

He could or he could not have.

Your agency has a well-deserved

reputation for thoroughness.

Did you also investigate

Richard Colbert's background...

to ascertain why he might have

been carrying such a large sum?

- The man gambled.

- l'm sorry. l didn't hear that.

that Colbert came there

that night to place a bet?

Agent Powell, hadn't a division

of your task force been trying

to link Mr Lombardo...

- We have.

- And in those circles,

$125,000 would not be considered

an unusually large wager.

- Am l correct?

- l heard of bets like that.

And wasn't your arrest made just

two days before the Super Bowl?

- Yes.

- Agent Powell, did you--

- l've got everything l need.

- You're sensational, Counsellor.

- What would it take

to keep you on retainer?

- A lot.

Here's the situation:

The FBl had a Title lll wiretap

authorization, all right,

but it expired five days

before the arrest.

No, no, they followed the rules.

They pulled the tap.

Well, then how'd they find out

about a meeting that was planned

just the day before?

An FBl guy working inside

the Lombardo organization.

They're not gonna risk blowing his cover

to get a simple bribery conviction.

Don't worry. You won't.

No matter what l need,

you're always there for me.

Count on it. You know, if your mother

hadn't turned me down nine times,

l-l'd be your father.

ls it unethical for me to ask

just how you got your information?

Well, there's a secretary

over at the Justice Department.

And there is nothing

a 62-year-old woman won't do...

for a date with a six--

72-year-old man.

Goddam it! lt took us two and a half

years to get this man into position.

lt'll take them no time

to finger him and kill him!

My job is to get Ed Lombardo

off, not to aid and abet...

in exposing a federal

undercover agent.

My client knows nothing

about this conversation.

-Well, how can l rely

on you to keep quiet?

-Because l'm giving you my word!

l'll leave it to you two

to figure a way out of this.

- Got it here as fast as l could.

- Oh, thanks.

By the way,

your fan is back again.

He's been here every day.

l mean, he's gorgeous.

He can't take his eyes off you.

You want me to find out

what he wants?

- l know what he wants.

- All rise!

Your Honour, might l ask the court

to examine this document, please?

Well, Mr Schiff, what do you

have to say about this?

maintained the taps

until the date of arrest.

- Yes, it appears so.

- Your Honour, on that basis,

l'd like to move...

for a directed verdict

of not guilty.

l have no choice

but to grant the motion.

The defendant is released from custody.

These proceedings are adjourned.

Yes!

Couldn't you have found something

a little more official?

lt's my favourite

Chinese joint.

Not bad for a night school lawyer.

See you next time, Counsellor.

Not necessarily.

Ladies and gentlemen,

first of all l'd like to thank...

my brilliant attorney,

Jennifer Haines.

She knew l was an innocent man.

of American justice.

Thank you very much.

How are you tonight,

Miss Haines?

Very well.

ls there anything better than winning?

Hope your day was as good as mine.

- lt was pretty good, in fact.

- Really?

Does this mean

it's time to go home?

You'll never make it

to the parking lot.

- What about the cleaning crew?

- Mmm, they don't get here

'til about midnight.

Should be done with you by then.

You know, sometimes l wonder why

we both even bother to pay rent.

We both have kitchens;

we eat out every night.

We have bedrooms,

but we only sleep in them.

You think there's

something wrong with us?

Think we should be more conventional?

Check into a seedy motel?

l don't have to get up tomorrow.

Well, l do.

Well, our flight to Aspen

isn't 'til 6:
00.

Jen, you better get yourself

a good criminal attorney.

- Why?

- Because you're gonna murder me.

- Why?

- Because this damned acquisition...

gets more complicated every day.

- l'll make it up to you.

- l've heard this before.

Hey! You, of all people,

should understand.

l can't help it. lt's work.

So is this relationship.

- Way to go, Jennifer!

- Hey, hey.

Have you seen the morning paper?

Get a load of the picture

on page three.

Hope they didn't catch me with my eyes

closed and my mouth open, as usual.

lt's not you. They claim he threw her

out the window last Friday.

You'd think he'd

still be in mourning.

The police are looking all over

for him, he has the nerve...

to walk into a Superior Court

and watch a trial? Thanks.

Chutzpah.

- Yeah?

- There's a gentleman here

who says you're expecting him.

- A Mr Greenhill?

- So he wasn't just watching the trial.

- He was watching you.

- Tell him l'm in a meeting.

l can't see him.

Didn't anyone ever say

no to you before?

Yes. My wife said no,

just before l threw her out the window.

You find it amusing

being charged with murder?

Of course not. lt did get your

attention though, didn't it?

ls that why you showed up at the

Lombardo trial? To get my attention?

Absolutely.

l want you to defend me.

They tell me you're the best there is,

that you're smart and tough.

Couldn't hazard a guess.

who used to take her

to trials after school...

- Where'd you hear that?

- Uh, some old bailiff

down at the courthouse.

l see the little girl who,

at the ripe age of 14,

jumped up in the middle

of a murder trial and said, ''Objection!''

And the judge took you

back to his chambers...

and you ended up clerking

for that judge ten years later.

And l really delve into

anything that interests me.

Uh-huh. And did this interest

develop before or after...

you threw your wife

out the window?

We need to get

one thing very clear.

l did not murder anybody.

Come on, Counsellor.

You're experienced enough...

to recognize a set-up

when you see one.

- Who set you up?

- My wife.

She throws herself out the window

and makes it look like you did it?

You don't know how crazy

some women can behave.

- l'm sure you do.

- Yes, l do.

l've lived off of women

all my life.

That's all l'm good at.

lt's my talent--

Getting women to do

what l want them to do.

Then you must have

wanted her dead.

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Larry Cohen

Lawrence G. "Larry" Cohen (born July 15, 1941) is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is best known as a B-Movie auteur of horror and science fiction films – often containing a police procedural element – during the 1970s and 1980s. He has since concentrated mainly on screenwriting including the Joel Schumacher thriller Phone Booth (2002), Cellular (2004) and Captivity (2007). In 2006 Cohen returned to the directing chair for Mick Garris' Masters of Horror TV series (2006); he directed the episode "Pick Me Up". more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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