I Am the Law (1938)

Law professor John Lindsay is asked by a civic leader to become a special prosecutor to go after the racketeers in town.

Director:

Alexander Hall

Writers:

Fred Allhoff (story), Jo Swerling (screenplay)

Stars:

Edward G. Robinson, Barbara O'Neil, John Beal

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Edward G. Robinson	...	John Lindsay
Barbara O'Neil	...	Jerry Lindsay
John Beal	...	Paul Ferguson
Wendy Barrie	...	Frances 'Frankie' Ballou
Otto Kruger	...	Eugene Ferguson
Arthur Loft	...	Tom Ross
Marc Lawrence	...	Eddie Girard
Douglas Wood	...	District Attorney Bert Beery
Robert Middlemass	...	Moss Kitchell
Ivan Miller	...	Inspector Gleason
Charles Halton	...	George Leander
Louis Jean Heydt	...	J.W. Butler
Fay Helm	...	Mrs. Butler
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert McWade	...	Law Student (as Robert McWade Jr.)

Storyline

Law professor John Lindsay volunteers to clean up the corruption and graft in his town when the authorities seem unable to do so. When the gangsters infiltrate his staff, he recruits his law students to form an army of law enforcers.

---

Plot Keywords:

law | law professor | special prosecutor | gambling | life sentence | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 1939 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Derrocada do Crime

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Existing prints bear 1955 re-release titles, with lettering in the center of the screen so that they would not be cropped in wide screen projection; these restyled opening credits also include an erroneous 1933 (MCMXXXIII), instead of 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) copyright date.

---

Goofs

The good guys plant a movie camera in the wall of the villain's apartment to spy on them. We see the lens barely peeping from the wall behind a china figurine. Yet, when they show the film later as evidence, the camera tilts, pans, and frames all the action from various angles, which would not have been possible given the setup.

---

Connections

Referenced in Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm (1999)

User Reviews

Light-hearted entertainment

I just caught this movie during TCM's Edward G Robinson marathon. It may not be a "classic", but I found this film to be entertaining and well written/directed. It's the sort of gangster movie that is light and simple enough that you don't have to pay much attention to it -- you can be doing other things while you're watching the movie and still be able to follow the plot. Just suspend belief for a while -- some of his tactics wouldn't be exactly tolerated in real life -- he would be disbarred and arrested! Also, I had a hard time buying EGR as a pipe-smoking, ivy-league, absent-minded professor; still, I found his performance engaging and enjoyable. This movie has lots of pretty people, wearing expensive clothes, in opulent settings, so that aspect of it is pleasant to watch. Unlike most "formula" gangster flicks, the ending is especially satisfying and may in fact be the best part of this movie.