Magnificent Yankee, The

When 61-year-old Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. arrives in Washington DC in 1902 to take his seat on the Supreme Court, he worries that he may be to old to achieve much. But his wife Fanny will hear no such nonsense: "It's never too late for those who love a good fight, for those who keep on looking ahead!" Fanny is right. Holmes will remain on the Court for 30 years, helping bring about momentous changes in the law of free speech, labor relations and other vital issues. But one thing would never change -- the bedrock devotion Holmes and Fanny shared. Louis Calhern reprises his famed Broadway role (earning a 1950 Best Actor Oscar nomination) as the Great Dissenter in this moving, lively and often humorous biography of The Magnificent Yankee.

• biography
• drama