Night Court (1932)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

W.S. Van Dyke

Writers:

Charles Beahan (play)
Lenore J. Coffee (writer)

Release Date:

4 June 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Its Frankness Will Thrill You---Its Truth Hold You Breathless---

Plot:

Judge Moffett is as crooked as they come and the Board of Judicial Corruption is after him. So he hides out in the poor part of town...

Plot Keywords:

Judge | Confession | Baby | Robbery | Social Worker

Cast

Phillips Holmes	...	Mike Thomas
Walter Huston	...	Judge Andrew J. Moffett
Anita Page	...	Mary Thomas
Lewis Stone	...	Judge William 'Will' Osgood
Mary Carlisle	...	Elizabeth Osgood
John Miljan	...	Henry Crawford
Jean Hersholt	...	Herman (janitor)
Tully Marshall	...	Grogan
Noel Francis	...	Miss Lillian 'Lil' Baker

Also Known As:

Justice for Sale (UK)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1932) | USA:Approved

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Soundtrack:

Happy Days Are Here Again

Unexpectedly harrowing

Odd what one sees in these old crime dramas. This one is pretty good, with star Walter Huston in particularly villianous form as a corrupt judge and the long- forgotten Phillips Holmes as the cab driver who brings the hammer of justice down on the jurist. But what sticks in my mind now is the harrowing situation of an innocent young family torn apart by the judge's efforts to elude a special prosecutor, resulting in mom Anita Page framed for prostitution and their baby wailing in an orphanage. Still watchable. We should all look this good at seventy-plus.