I am cross-posting this to H-FILM and SCREEN following the original query - apologies to those who read both. Apropos Don Larsson's mention [on the Screen list] of the gangsters' trial of the paedophile in 'M' - in the original German version, restored in the 70s, there is an additional scene at the end in which the mothers of three murdered children are sitting outside a 'legitimate' courtroom as Lorre is tried. I believe this scene was cut before the film was released in the US. Lotte Eisner gives all the details in her biography of Lang. Some of Fritz Lang's American films (do they count as 'foreign'? ) also contain interesting trial sequences, especially 'Beyond a Reasonable Doubt' (1956), which to my knowledge is the earliest feature film which depicts televised court procedings. 'Mission to Moscow' (US 1943, dir. Michael Curtiz) though not it does not fulfil the criterion of 'foreign' as defined by the original enquirer, is certainly worth a look. It has an - interesting, to say the least - version of the Stalin purge trials. The moral of the story is that Stalin's victims were in fact sceret agents in cahoots with the Nazis who he reluctantly admitted had to be got rid of... 'The Manxman' (UK 1929, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) is a drama which features the unique justice system in the Isle of Man (which, incidentally, is to this day the only non-Muslim justice system that still has corporal punishment), including Anny Ondra being tried for attempted suicide, the father of her illegitmate baby being the judge! 'Gandhi' (UK 1981, dir. Richard Attenborough) features some scenes in which Ben Kingsley encounters some pretty dubious British Empire justice. I've a dim recollection of some court scenes in 'Cry Freedom' as well but it's a while since I've seen it. 'Captain Boycott' (UK 1947) and 'Odd Man Out' (ditto) both feature British justice in action in Ireland, the former more sympathetically than the latter (Boycott is cited as an exception which proves the rule of benevolent colonial administration). The Nazi propaganda film 'Ich Klage An' (Germany 1941, dir. Wolfgang Leibeneiner) argues in favour of euthanasia for people suffering from incurable diseases: the final scenes depict the trial for murder of a doctor who has administered a lethal injection to his wife, a multiple sclerosis sufferer. According to Eric Rentschler's book 'The Ministry of Illusion' it is available on video from the following outlets: German Language Video Center Division of Heidelberg Haus Imports 7625 Pendleton Pike Indianapolis, IN, 46226-5298 Tel. 800-252-1957 Fax 317-547-1263 International Historic Films P.O. Box 29035 Chicago IL, 60629 Tel. 312-927-2000 Fax 312-927-9211 Hope this helps Leo ---- For past messages, visit the Screen-L Archives: http://bama.ua.edu/archives/screen-l.html