| First Monday in October | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ronald Neame |
| Produced by | Paul M. Heller Martha Scott |
| Based on | First Monday in October by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee |
| Starring | Walter Matthau Jill Clayburgh Barnard Hughes |
| Distributed by | Paramount |
| Release date(s) | August 21, 1981 |
| Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
First Monday in October is a 1981 American film based on the play of the same name by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, and directed by Ronald Neame. Walter Matthau and Jill Clayburgh (for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical) performed the principal roles.
In her review, Janet Maslin noted several narrative discontinuities in the film, as well as the casting of James Stephens in a role very similar to his role in the television series The Paper Chase.[1]
The film was destined for a February 1982 release; President Ronald Reagan's appointment of Sandra Day O'Connor as the first female Supreme Court justice on July 7, 1981 forced the film's release a month after the presidential nomination.
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At the start of the story, the death of Associate Justice Stanley Moorehead has created a vacancy on the United States Supreme Court. The new appointee turns out to be Ruth Loomis, a staunch conservative, who is confirmed as the first female US Supreme Court Justice. She and Associate Justice Daniel Snow, a committed liberal and many years older than Loomis, clash intellectually on just about every judicial issue before them. One case involves a pornographic film and arguments about freedom of speech. With time, the two characters develop a liking and respect for each other.
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