IMDb RATING
6.6/10
4.4K
YOUR RATING
An attorney defends a young hoodlum charged with murdering a policeman using the oppressiveness of his client's upbringing in the slums to appeal to the sympathies of the jury.An attorney defends a young hoodlum charged with murdering a policeman using the oppressiveness of his client's upbringing in the slums to appeal to the sympathies of the jury.An attorney defends a young hoodlum charged with murdering a policeman using the oppressiveness of his client's upbringing in the slums to appeal to the sympathies of the jury.
Candy Toxton
- Adele Morton
- (as Susan Perry)
Florence Auer
- Aunt Lena
- (uncredited)
Vince Barnett
- Carl Swanson
- (uncredited)
Theda Barr
- Girl
- (uncredited)
Richard Bartell
- Reporter
- (uncredited)
Paul Baxley
- Policeman
- (uncredited)
Joan Baxter
- Maria Romano
- (uncredited)
Eddie Borden
- The Chef in Poolroom
- (uncredited)
- …
Hazel Boyne
- Woman
- (uncredited)
Joe Brockman
- Man
- (uncredited)
Argentina Brunetti
- Ma Romano
- (uncredited)
Charles Camp
- Waiter
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Humphrey Bogart was told that director Nicholas Ray wanted to film the entire 'sentencing statement for the defense' sequence in a single take, Bogart was concerned because he had never delivered such a long speech without cuts and feared he couldn't do it. Ray calmed Bogart down, suggested several rehearsals, and much to Bogart's surprise, Ray rolled during the rehearsals filming most of what has become the famous and well-played sentencing sequence.
- GoofsDuring the opening statement made by the district attorney, Morton objects. An opening statement is not an argument or a discussion of the law, but rather tells the jury what the evidence will show and serves as a road map for the jury to follow. Objections by the opposing counsel are not permitted.
- Quotes
Nick Romano: Live fast, die young, and have a good-looking corpse.
- Crazy credits"And introducing John Derek as Nick Romano"
- ConnectionsFeatured in Great Performances: Bacall on Bogart (1988)
Featured review
Bogart class in dated courtroom drama
A film for Bogart aficionados as this great actor once again oozes class as the tough but empathetic lawyer.
The film though doesn't hit the same mark. The script is fairly weak and dated. Similarly the plot is tenuous and as a movie it hangs together as a romantic drama to coming of age drama, to crime drama with noir touches to retrospective character study of a juvenile delinquent turned criminal and finally all under "courtroom drama". It tries to hard to be too many things and doesn't really do justice to any of them - only Bogart and McCready's performances save this movie from being destined to the "forgettable bin".
The pace and direction is generally good and though it was Nicholas Ray's second film, his cinematography and style (using noir tones and angles) is a clear forerunner of his classic noir films including In a Lonely Place (again with Bogart) and On Dangerous Ground.
And so to John Derek, he definitely had the pretty boy looks for the "Pretty Boy Romano" role but his acting is lame and isn't believable - no matter how much Bogart and McCready (who incidentally puts in a solid performance as the DA) try to drag him up to their standard.
All in all, a reasonably interesting and engaging watch despite the flaws. Had Ray cast a better actor than Derek (e.g. Clift, Garfield or Curtis) and developed a more robust plot and less cliched script, this could have been up there as yet another classic in the Bogart canon.
The film though doesn't hit the same mark. The script is fairly weak and dated. Similarly the plot is tenuous and as a movie it hangs together as a romantic drama to coming of age drama, to crime drama with noir touches to retrospective character study of a juvenile delinquent turned criminal and finally all under "courtroom drama". It tries to hard to be too many things and doesn't really do justice to any of them - only Bogart and McCready's performances save this movie from being destined to the "forgettable bin".
The pace and direction is generally good and though it was Nicholas Ray's second film, his cinematography and style (using noir tones and angles) is a clear forerunner of his classic noir films including In a Lonely Place (again with Bogart) and On Dangerous Ground.
And so to John Derek, he definitely had the pretty boy looks for the "Pretty Boy Romano" role but his acting is lame and isn't believable - no matter how much Bogart and McCready (who incidentally puts in a solid performance as the DA) try to drag him up to their standard.
All in all, a reasonably interesting and engaging watch despite the flaws. Had Ray cast a better actor than Derek (e.g. Clift, Garfield or Curtis) and developed a more robust plot and less cliched script, this could have been up there as yet another classic in the Bogart canon.
- James_Take2
- Oct 30, 2021
- Permalink
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $900,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 40 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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