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Storyline
When a hot young prosecutor learns that a man he got convicted and executed was in fact innocent, he quits his DA job and becomes a defense attorney. He grows rich and powerful defending guilty racketeers, but eventually sees the errors of his ways. Written by
John Oswalt <jao@jao.com>
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Certificate:
Unrated
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The Vince Day character is very loosely based on Bill "The Great Mouthpiece" Fallon, one of the great criminal defense attorneys of the 1920s, who successfully defended gambler Arnold Rothstein in the "Black Sox" Fix of the 1919 World Series.
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Goofs
Just as Vince's car drives off after picking up Celia during her last day, a lighting stand can be seen briefly across a doorstep.
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Soundtracks
"Frankie and Johnny"
(uncredited)
Music by
Bert Leighton
Played when Vince is at the later party
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A disillusioned Assistant DA becomes THE MOUTHPIECE for a scurvy assortment of crooks & criminals. His new public persona is mirrored by his shady, lustful private life. Can the influence of two very different women save him before it's too late?
Warren William drives this very entertaining, albeit forgotten courtroom melodrama. With its rapid-fire plot & smart aleck dialogue, the film is a perfect representation of its era.
William was ideal at this kind of role; indeed, he played several others in the early 1930's which were almost mirror images of Vincent Day, the shyster lawyer he gives life to here. With his patrician bearing & interesting bass voice, William's characters were always worth watching. In this film, his courtroom scenes are especially engrossing as he engages in histrionics & sly subterfuge to sway the juries. It is to Hollywood's discredit that this very fine actor is virtually unknown today.
Aline MacMahon gives another of her splendid performances, here as William's world-weary, tough-as-nails secretary who secretly loves him. Sidney Fox is very good as the innocent Southern girl who's smart enough to recognize William's wicked ways.
Guy Kibbee has the small role of a sympathetic bartender. Movie mavens will spot an uncredited Charles Lane as a hotel clerk.