The Trial (aka Le Procès) is based on Der Prozeß (1925), a novel in German by Prague-born writer Franz Kafka (1883-1924). Left unfinished at the time of Kafka's death, The Trial was edited by his friend and literary executor Max Brod and published one year posthumous. The novel was adapted for this movie by American film-maker Orson Welles (1915-1985).