Timothy Bottoms battles through his first year at Harvard Law School, attempting to stay one step ahead of his no-nonsense professor, but inadvertently falling for the instructor's comely daughter (Lindsay Wagner, pre-"Bionic Woman"). Director/screenwriter James Bridges adapted the script from John Jay Osborn, Jr.'s book, and does a pretty good job realizing the many pressures of academia. Bridges was the perfect director to work in 1970s cinema, and, with Gordon Willis' cinematography, he brings a gritty yet unshowy style to the movie that looks good without ever seeming pretentious. On the other hand, there's nothing very colorful about lectures or study groups no matter how polished the handling. Certainly worth-seeing for the acting alone, with John Houseman giving an Oscar-winning supporting performance (he was later tapped to star in the television spin-off). **1/2 from ****
Review of The Paper Chase
