Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Paper Chase

Play trailer Poster for The Paper Chase PG 1973 1h 51m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
78% Tomatometer 32 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
As a first-year law student at Harvard, James Hart (Timothy Bottoms) knows he's got his work cut out for him. But things get harder than he anticipated when he runs afoul of the school's dreaded contracts professor, Charles W. Kingsfield Jr. (John Houseman). Wry and imposing, Kingsfield drives many of the lesser students to drop out, but James endures and, as if begging for more trouble, begins dating the professor's daughter, Susan (Lindsay Wagner).
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

The Paper Chase

Critics Reviews

View More
Pauline Kael The New Yorker 09/19/2023
The Paper Chase isn't a terrible movie, but its preconceptions are all wrong: it's about an un-situation and un-people. Go to Full Review Variety Staff Variety 07/24/2008
The Paper Chase has some great performances, literate screenwriting, sensitive direction and handsome production. Go to Full Review Time Out 02/09/2006
A muddled and slick 'youth' film. Go to Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Feb 6
5/10
The pacing is a touch too slow, dawdling here and there with minor matters (including an absurd showdown with a hotel manager) that may intermittently aid in realism but simultaneously stretch out the runtime. Go to Full Review Rob Aldam Backseat Mafia 06/13/2022
An impressive American drama which delves into the competitive and stressful world of academia. Go to Full Review John Simon Esquire Magazine 07/23/2020
Back in 1926, Virginia Woolf wrote that at the movies, "as smoke pours from Vesuvius, we should be able to see thought in its wildness, in its beauty, in its oddity..." The Paper Chase fails to make thought visible. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
steve m 10/18/2022 I remember this from my college days, didn't think it was all that then, still don't. The guy does everything he can to get a good grade, then realizes it's not that important. So what is important? See more 03/12/2022 Another "product of its time" movie that I might have enjoyed viewing when I was 20 in 1973, but it seems pretty pointless now. Critics lauded Houseman's performance and he cashed in on it for at least a decade after - KaChing! Somewhat interesting to see the portrayals of how people lived and behaved half a century ago - the daughter of a Harvard Law School professor driving a Chevy Vega, a perennial candidate for "Worst Detroit Product Evah!" Overall, pretty slow moving especially the scene where our protagonist loiters in the empty lecture hall; poor editing IMO. Rather implausible ending and I don't just mean at the credits; the hotel scene is utterly ludicrous. I watched it only b/c I hadn't seen it Back in the Day and everybody raved about it then. Now, it's strictly a time-filler. See more 02/08/2021 Follows a class at HLS and the dynamics within. I love this film. The narrative is totally relatable (bar the HLS bit - I am not so smart), and the character growth is good and who can't relate to grade anxiety. See more 12/31/2020 Well written & acted See more 11/12/2020 Required viewing in law school, with some accurate portrayals and important points made. See more dave s 09/09/2020 Early in The Paper Chase, Professor Kingsfield (John Houseman) tells his first-year law students that "you come here with a skull full of mush and you leave here thinking like a lawyer." Using the Socratic Method of teaching, he terrorizes, educates, and molds the malleable minds of his students. First year law student Hart (Timothy Bottoms) first sees Kingsfield as his nemesis before coming to understand the value of the professor's approach. Lindsay Wagner plays Susan, Hart's girlfriend, and serves as a sounding board for the frustrated and stressed Hart. Their relationship eventually becomes a distraction and unnecessary plot point when it is revealed that Susan is Kingsfield's daughter. Despite this, The Paper Chase is a smart film with engaging characters, highlighted by Houseman's Oscar-winning performance. See more Read all reviews
The Paper Chase

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

James Bridges

Director

Timothy Bottoms

James T. Hart

John Houseman

Charles W. Kingsfield Jr.

Lindsay Wagner

Susan Fields

Graham Beckel

Franklin Ford III

Edward Herrmann

Thomas Craig Anderson

More Like This

View All
Claudine 67% 91% Claudine Watchlist Little Murders 71% 81% Little Murders Watchlist Breaking Away 95% 88% Breaking Away Watchlist Butterflies Are Free 69% 80% Butterflies Are Free Watchlist Kotch 75% 67% Kotch Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

The Paper Chase

The Paper Chase (1973) The Paper Chase (1973) The Paper Chase (1973) The Paper Chase (1973) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis As a first-year law student at Harvard, James Hart (Timothy Bottoms) knows he's got his work cut out for him. But things get harder than he anticipated when he runs afoul of the school's dreaded contracts professor, Charles W. Kingsfield Jr. (John Houseman). Wry and imposing, Kingsfield drives many of the lesser students to drop out, but James endures and, as if begging for more trouble, begins dating the professor's daughter, Susan (Lindsay Wagner).
Director
James Bridges
Producer
Robert C. Thompson, Roderick Paul
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Twentieth Century Fox
Rating
PG
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 16, 1973, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2013
Runtime
1h 51m
Most Popular at Home Now