The lead obscenity defense lawyer did not even know the film’s title.

Evidence

The case People of the State of New York v. Kenneth Jacobs, Florence Karpf and Jonas Mekas was taken by the prominent civil rights lawyer Emile Zola Berman, who, according to newspaper accounts, thought he was representing the exhibitors of a film entitled “Crimson Creatures.” Berman believed that New York v. Jacobs had the potential to go to the US Supreme Court, which it did, in a fashion, four years later. Before that, however, it went before a three-judge Criminal Court panel, which included former New York City mayor Vincent Impellitteri. — J. Hoberman, Everything Is Now, 522

Categorization

• SHARE: A lawyer defending Flaming Creatures thinking it was called ‘Crimson Creatures’ is a narrow, delightful detail for someone into film history or legal history.