IMDb RATING
7.6/10
1.4K
YOUR RATING
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.
John Hammond Dailey
- Charlie McFadden
- (as J.Hammond Dailey)
Robert Gordon
- Henry Susskind
- (as Bobby Gordon)
T.H. Manning
- Pete Malone
- (as T. H.Manning)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlthough 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 creditsThe 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.
- ConnectionsFeatured in American Masters: Directed by William Wyler (1986)
Featured review
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.
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•314
- mik-19
- Jan 6, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Der Staranwalt von Manhattan
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 22 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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