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Counsellor at Law

  • 1933
  • Passed
  • 1h 22m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
1.4K
YOUR RATING
John Barrymore in Counsellor at Law (1933)
ComedyDrama

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

  • Director
    • William Wyler
  • Writer
    • Elmer Rice
  • Stars
    • John Barrymore
    • Bebe Daniels
    • Doris Kenyon
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    1.4K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • William Wyler
    • Writer
      • Elmer Rice
    • Stars
      • John Barrymore
      • Bebe Daniels
      • Doris Kenyon
    • 36User reviews
    • 22Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos51

    John Barrymore in Counsellor at Law (1933)
    Counsellor at Law (1933)
    John Barrymore and Malka Kornstein in Counsellor at Law (1933)
    Bebe Daniels in Counsellor at Law (1933)
    Bebe Daniels in Counsellor at Law (1933)
    Isabel Jewell and Thelma Todd in Counsellor at Law (1933)
    John Barrymore and Doris Kenyon in Counsellor at Law (1933)
    Counsellor at Law (1933)
    Thelma Todd in Counsellor at Law (1933)
    John Barrymore and John Qualen in Counsellor at Law (1933)
    John Barrymore in Counsellor at Law (1933)
    Melvyn Douglas in Counsellor at Law (1933)

    Top cast

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    John Barrymore
    John Barrymore
    • George Simon
    Bebe Daniels
    Bebe Daniels
    • Rexy Gordon
    Doris Kenyon
    Doris Kenyon
    • Cora Simon
    Isabel Jewell
    Isabel Jewell
    • Bessie Green
    Melvyn Douglas
    Melvyn Douglas
    • Roy Darwin
    Onslow Stevens
    Onslow Stevens
    • John Tedesco
    Thelma Todd
    Thelma Todd
    • Lillian La Rue
    Clara Langsner
    • Lena Simon
    John Hammond Dailey
    • Charlie McFadden
    • (as J.Hammond Dailey)
    Mayo Methot
    Mayo Methot
    • Zedorah Chapman
    Robert Gordon
    • Henry Susskind
    • (as Bobby Gordon)
    Malka Kornstein
    • Sarah Becker
    Vincent Sherman
    Vincent Sherman
    • Harry Becker
    Marvin Kline
    • Herbert Weinberg
    T.H. Manning
    T.H. Manning
    • Pete Malone
    • (as T. H.Manning)
    John Qualen
    John Qualen
    • Johan Breitstein
    Angela Jacobs
    • Goldie Rindskopf
    Richard Quine
    Richard Quine
    • Richard Dwight Jr.
    • Director
      • William Wyler
    • Writer
      • Elmer Rice
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Although this film is frank about some matters, the Production Code of the Hays Office - i.e., censorship - was still in effect. In one 16mm print there is a curious moment of dead air at the end of Lillian Larue's parting speech to George Simon. She says (approximately), "Well, for God's sake, what do they expect for ten thousand dollars?" John Barrymore keeps looking at Larue (Thelma Todd) as if she is still speaking, and she must be, but there is no sound. Her last words in the text of the play are, "A virgin?"
    • Quotes

      Bessie Green: Who's calling, please? Mr. McKey? K as in kitty?

    • Crazy credits
      The opening credits cast list has the heading "The Players" preceding a list solely of the actors' names. "A Good Cast Is Worth Repeating... The Players" is the heading of end credits, which solely lists the same actors' names in the same order as the opening credits.
    • Connections
      Featured in American Masters: Directed by William Wyler (1986)

    User reviews36

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    Mind-blowing
    'Counsellor at Law' is guaranteed to take your breath away, even if you're a child of the so-called MTV revolution of ultra-fast editing and relentless energy. It is more than 70 years old now, and it feels so new and invigorating.

    John Barrymore, in the role of a lifetime, plays the brisk and matter-of-fact lawyer who came to his prestige, fortune and society-wife the hard way, cutting corners along the way, meddling in gray areas and doing a bit of shady business on the side. "I'm no golf player", he says, and right he is. In the course of a work-day, the same day that his wife and his two overbearing step-children are on their way to Europe, he is accused of corruption and his whole world collapses around him, as he tries to evade his destiny.

    No synopsis of 'Counsellor at Law' can do the film justice. It is a manic, mind-blowing depiction of a breakdown, stressful and paranoiac. Barrymore's character is completely alienated from his own family, because he originates from the working-class, the son a Jewish-German baker. During this one morning at work, before things start crashing down, Barrymore has a visit from a woman who wants him to defend her son who was arrested in Union Square in the middle of an inflammatory Communist speech. And it is not even lunch-time yet.

    Rent this movie, even better: Buy it. You will want to watch it more than once. It is a bona fide masterpiece, filmed in William Wyler's usual brilliantly organic style.
    helpful•31
    4
    • mik-19
    • Jan 6, 2005

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 25, 1933 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Italian
      • Yiddish
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Der Staranwalt von Manhattan
    • Filming locations
      • Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Universal Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 22 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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