Underplayed Gems
The whole movie catalogue

Films and series, searchable by what they are

← Back to the shop

First Monday in October (1981)

First Monday in October poster
Directed by
Ronald Neame
Genre
comedy drama, trial film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 38m
Rated
R
Rating
6.2 of 10 from 29 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb

How it feels

A conservative Supreme Court justice clashes with the first woman appointed to the court. Their arguments on the bench spark a personal and professional relationship that changes them both.

wittyamusinglight-heartedbrisk-pacedslightly datedcleverwarmintelligent

What happens

First Monday in October is a 1981 American comedy drama film from Paramount Pictures, produced by Paul M. Heller and Martha Scott, directed by Ronald Neame, that is based on the 1978 play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee. The film stars Walter Matthau (for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy) and Jill Clayburgh (for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy). The cast also co-stars Jan Sterling in her final feature film role. Paramount Pictures originally scheduled First Monday in October for release in February 1982, but President Ronald Reagan's nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor as the first female Supreme Court justice on July 7, 1981, forced the film's release a month after her nomination, in August 1981. The film's title refers to the day that the Supreme Court commences its annual term, which continues until June or early July of the following year. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? Tell the Catbot what you feel like watching and it picks from the whole catalogue, or browse by genre, country and year.

Lists: Korean thrillers worth the evening · Anime films beyond Studio Ghibli · Slow films for a rainy night · Horror that unsettles instead of startling · Series you can finish in a weekend · Nordic crime worth the subtitles · Good films that end in under 90 minutes · Documentaries that play like thrillers

Loading movies…

What should I watch?