Richard Chamberlain, then-hot from TV's "Dr. Kildare", plays a green defense attorney who takes on a supposedly-unwinnable murder case in court, aided by creaking legal legend Claude Rains. Adaptation of Al Dewlen's novel plays like a junior-league variation of "Anatomy of a Murder"...one without the necessary bold, unflinching talent up-front to make even a mild impression. Rains certainly helps, and slithering Joey Heatherton has a silly but standout supporting role; otherwise, Chamberlain is inherently too soft to carry such a scenario, and the screenplay, dotted with sexual details delivered with whacking emphasis, is (almost amusingly) overripe. *1/2 from ****