Counsellor at Law (1933)

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Elmer Rice (play)
Elmer Rice (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 December 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Successful attorney has his Jewish heritage and poverty-stricken background brought home to him when he learns his wife has been unfaithful.

Plot Keywords:

Jewish | Lawyer | Secretary | Mixed Marriage | Socialite

Cast

John Barrymore	...	George Simon
Bebe Daniels	...	Regina 'Rexy' Gordon
Doris Kenyon	...	Cora Simon
Isabel Jewell	...	Bessie Green
Melvyn Douglas	...	Roy Darwin
Onslow Stevens	...	John P. Tedesco
Thelma Todd	...	Lillian La Rue
Clara Langsner	...	Lena Simon
John Hammond Dailey	...	Charlie McFadden (as J. Hammond Dailey)
Mayo Methot	...	Zedorah Chapman
Robert Gordon	...	Henry Susskind (as Bobby Gordon)
Malka Kornstein	...	Sarah Becker
Vincent Sherman	...	Harry Becker
Marvin Kline	...	Herbert Howard Weinberg
T.H. Manning	...	Peter J. Malone

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian | Yiddish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #4104-R, 5 February 1938 for re-release) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Paul Muni was the first choice for the lead, but refused to play a Jewish role.

Quotes:

Bessie Green: [answering a call] I thought you were dead and buried. Well sure I missed you, like Booth missed Lincoln. What do you think I've been doing, sitting around the house embroidering doilies?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Directed by William Wyler (1986)

a wonderful "lost" film

While not technically lost, I call it this because very very few people have heard of it and it is not usually mentioned in discussions of John Barrymore's work. I only sought out the video after I saw it listed in the front of my Leonard Maltin guide in his list of 50 seldom-seen but great films. While his list is too heavily influenced by modern movies (more than half the list are movies just made within the last few years), this one one of the few older films listed. And, since I have adore older Hollywood films, I ran out to find a copy ASAP.

What did I like about the film? Well, first I have always loved John Barrymore films (apart from a few turkeys he made just before he died) and he is as good as you'll ever see him. Second, I really liked the film's moral compass. While Barrymore is the hero of the story, he is far from perfect and offers a more 3-dimensional sort of leading man. While he does so much of his work to help the poor and down-trodden, he is not averse to lying, insider stock trading or making a fast buck. Third, the supporting cast was very strong and full of unusual characters (aside from what I felt was an annoyingly written character, the receptionist). My favorite old films always feature a good ensemble cast for support. Fourth, it dares to be different. This lawyer is NOT Perry Mason (Warren Williams' series was very popular at the time this film was made) or like any one I have seen on film. Fifth, while the film COULD have been stagy given that all the action takes place in the building where the law firm is, its brisk pace keeps it from falling flat.

While I loved the pacing, this also brings me to about the only negative in the film. While the action is brisk, sometimes the dialog is a little TOO BRISK. Occasionally I found myself struggling to keep up with the rapid-fire dialog at the beginning of the film! Be sure to turn on your television's Closed Captioning!