John Alton's wonderfully noirish cinematography almost makes you forget that this movie was largely made on the back lot (probably woulda been completely ersatz if not for the presence of its star) and Tracy's portrayal of a vain, guilt ridden, ethically challenged and aging attorney (kind of an early 50s F. Lee Bailey) makes you wish he'd essayed more bad guy roles (I can only think of three; "Jekyll/Hyde", "Edward My Son" and this one, maybe four if you count "Sea Of Grass") but otherwise this is fairly pallid stuff. John Monks' screenplay has a major story hole...namely, why would a DA as careful and savvy as the one John Hodiak plays here allow his star witness to run around NYC unsupervised when he's gone to the trouble of putting him up at a hotel, under guard?...and it really flattens out after the funeral scene for Toby The Honest Lawyer, with rather unsuspenseful scenes of Curtayne trying to redeem himself by wearing a wire. And the performances beyond Tracy are, with the notable exception of William Campbell as an overly talky, arrogant street thug, unmemorable, except that is for Jay C Flippen's Swedish accent which has to be the worst I've ever heard (guess John Qualen wasn't available). Give it a generous C plus for Spence and Alton. PS...Really disconcerting to see Jim Arness out of Dodge in a suit and tie, no less.
Review of The People Against O'Hara
