"For the Defense," from 1930, is loosely based on the career of William Fallon, who never met a client he couldn't convince a jury was not guilty.
William Powell plays William Foster, whose specialty is challenging cases, defending some real low-life characters. He always manages to have them found not guilty, and he doesn't rely on any unethical practices to do it.
Foster is seeing Irene Manners, a glamorous dancer (Kay Francis), who wants to get married. Foster, it seems, has some problems with commitment. Irene has another man, Jack Dafoe (Scott Kolk) who is interested in her and wants to marry her. However, she wants to wait until she can explain the situation to Bill, whom she truly loves.
One night, Jack talks her into going for a drive with him. He's plastered, so she drives. The two are arguing when Irene hits a man in the street, who dies. Jack sobers up quickly and tells her to hide. He takes the rap. She in turn begs Bill to defend him. Bill is jealous of Jack and doesn't want to take the case, but when Irene swears there is nothing between them, he accepts.
During court, the prosecutor questions Jack and asks if a woman was with him, which he denies. The prosecutor then tries to submit a ring of Irene's, found in the car, as evidence. When Foster sees it, he knows Irene was lying.
Good movie directed by John Cromwell, which moves quickly and has a wonderful performance from Powell and a good one by Francis. They made a great team. Powell could do drama and comedy with equal facility. You'll see none of the lighthearted Thin Man here.
Certainly worth a look. It doesn't have any of what made pre-code different - this could have been made after the code - but it's still good.
William Powell plays William Foster, whose specialty is challenging cases, defending some real low-life characters. He always manages to have them found not guilty, and he doesn't rely on any unethical practices to do it.
Foster is seeing Irene Manners, a glamorous dancer (Kay Francis), who wants to get married. Foster, it seems, has some problems with commitment. Irene has another man, Jack Dafoe (Scott Kolk) who is interested in her and wants to marry her. However, she wants to wait until she can explain the situation to Bill, whom she truly loves.
One night, Jack talks her into going for a drive with him. He's plastered, so she drives. The two are arguing when Irene hits a man in the street, who dies. Jack sobers up quickly and tells her to hide. He takes the rap. She in turn begs Bill to defend him. Bill is jealous of Jack and doesn't want to take the case, but when Irene swears there is nothing between them, he accepts.
During court, the prosecutor questions Jack and asks if a woman was with him, which he denies. The prosecutor then tries to submit a ring of Irene's, found in the car, as evidence. When Foster sees it, he knows Irene was lying.
Good movie directed by John Cromwell, which moves quickly and has a wonderful performance from Powell and a good one by Francis. They made a great team. Powell could do drama and comedy with equal facility. You'll see none of the lighthearted Thin Man here.
Certainly worth a look. It doesn't have any of what made pre-code different - this could have been made after the code - but it's still good.