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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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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

Re-released in 1955, as a double-feature with Dead Reckoning.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm (1999)

User Reviews

not bad

i had never heard of this film until i ran across it on turner classic movies one day. It wasn't one of his best or worst films, come to think of it edward g. robinson never really made a bad film. As for the film itself, unless your a big edward g. robinson fan like me you probably shouldn't watch it.