"The People Against O'Hara" brings together two veteran performers and personal friend Spencer Tracy and Pat O'Brien and neither is the "O'Hara" of the title. And, it was an early effort from director John Sturges.
One dark and dreary night a man is shot down on the steps of his home. A Swedish seaman Sven Norson (J.C. Flippen - complete with Swedish accent) witnesses the crime but does not immediately come forth. Finger prints identify Frank Korvac (William Campbell) as one of the felons. He in turn names Johnny O'Hara (James Arness) as his accomplice. O'Hara had been with Katrina Langzetti (Yvette Duguay) the wife of a local mobster "Knuckles" Langzetti (Eduardo Ciannelli) at the time. O'Hara is attested by Detective Vincent Ricks (O'Brien) and charged with the murder. Fearful of reprisal from the mobster, O'Hara is fearful of implicating his lover.
O'Hara's parents (Arthur Shields, Louise Lorimer) go to lawyer James Curtayne (Tracy) for help. Curtayne is a recovering alcoholic who has left criminal law to practice civil law due to his drinking problem. The O'Haras plead with him to take the case and reluctantly agrees. District Attorney Louis Barra (John Hodiak) will prosecute the case. Although Curtayne believes Johnny to be innocent, he feels that the boy is withholding something from him.
In the court room Curtayne begins the trial full of confidence. However, due to a lying witness, Korvac and an un-cooperating client he begins to lose his confidence having lapses in memory and using poor judgement in his defense. Sven Norson has been identified as an eye witness to the crime and plays the two lawyers against each other in attempt to gain payment for his testimony. Curtayne makes the mistake of paying Sven $500 for his testimony but the swede double crosses him on the stand. A disgraced Curtayne loses the case and returns to the bottle.
Curtayne's daughter Ginny (Diana Lynn) has been looking out for her father during his struggles. When he discovers O'Hara's relationship with Katrina he vows to prove that some one other than Johnny committed the murder. The police, D.A. and Curtayne set up an elaborate plan to have the real killer reveal himself but...............................................................................................................
I'm not sure but I think that this was Tracy and O'Brien's only film together. Iy was sure great to see them together being a big fan of both. Tracy is magnificent in the lead as always. O'Brien's role takes us back to the 30s when he was playing such roles at Warner Bros. Others in the cast include Henry O'Neill as the Judge, Ann Doran as a police woman, Emile Meyer as Capt. Mulvaney, Richard Anderson as Lynn's fiancé Jeff Chapman, Regis Toomey as a police monitor Richard Bartlett as Tony Korvac and from the blink or you'll miss him Dept., Charles Bronson as one of the Korvac brothers.
I guess that you could class this picture as a film noire as there are several night scenes but alas no femme fatale.
One dark and dreary night a man is shot down on the steps of his home. A Swedish seaman Sven Norson (J.C. Flippen - complete with Swedish accent) witnesses the crime but does not immediately come forth. Finger prints identify Frank Korvac (William Campbell) as one of the felons. He in turn names Johnny O'Hara (James Arness) as his accomplice. O'Hara had been with Katrina Langzetti (Yvette Duguay) the wife of a local mobster "Knuckles" Langzetti (Eduardo Ciannelli) at the time. O'Hara is attested by Detective Vincent Ricks (O'Brien) and charged with the murder. Fearful of reprisal from the mobster, O'Hara is fearful of implicating his lover.
O'Hara's parents (Arthur Shields, Louise Lorimer) go to lawyer James Curtayne (Tracy) for help. Curtayne is a recovering alcoholic who has left criminal law to practice civil law due to his drinking problem. The O'Haras plead with him to take the case and reluctantly agrees. District Attorney Louis Barra (John Hodiak) will prosecute the case. Although Curtayne believes Johnny to be innocent, he feels that the boy is withholding something from him.
In the court room Curtayne begins the trial full of confidence. However, due to a lying witness, Korvac and an un-cooperating client he begins to lose his confidence having lapses in memory and using poor judgement in his defense. Sven Norson has been identified as an eye witness to the crime and plays the two lawyers against each other in attempt to gain payment for his testimony. Curtayne makes the mistake of paying Sven $500 for his testimony but the swede double crosses him on the stand. A disgraced Curtayne loses the case and returns to the bottle.
Curtayne's daughter Ginny (Diana Lynn) has been looking out for her father during his struggles. When he discovers O'Hara's relationship with Katrina he vows to prove that some one other than Johnny committed the murder. The police, D.A. and Curtayne set up an elaborate plan to have the real killer reveal himself but...............................................................................................................
I'm not sure but I think that this was Tracy and O'Brien's only film together. Iy was sure great to see them together being a big fan of both. Tracy is magnificent in the lead as always. O'Brien's role takes us back to the 30s when he was playing such roles at Warner Bros. Others in the cast include Henry O'Neill as the Judge, Ann Doran as a police woman, Emile Meyer as Capt. Mulvaney, Richard Anderson as Lynn's fiancé Jeff Chapman, Regis Toomey as a police monitor Richard Bartlett as Tony Korvac and from the blink or you'll miss him Dept., Charles Bronson as one of the Korvac brothers.
I guess that you could class this picture as a film noire as there are several night scenes but alas no femme fatale.