The rise of the gangster in popular culture also brought attention to the 'mouthpiece' lawyers that defended them in court, such as New York attorney William Fallon, who charmed juries and charged high fees from racketeer clients like Arnold Rothstein. In producer David O. Selznick's glossy romantic drama For the Defense (1930) the Fallon-like celebrity attorney William Foster (William Powell) believes his legal talent places him above the law. He also takes for granted his sweetheart, glamorous Broadway star Irene Manners (Kay Francis). Unhappy because Foster won't marry her, Irene accidentally runs over a pedestrian in her car and then lies about who was behind the wheel. When the trial goes badly Foster loses his self-confidence. His attempt to bribe a juror backfires, placing him at the mercy of a justice system he boasted could never touch him. William Powell often played a slick villain in silent films, but when sound arrived his smooth line delivery made him a sought-after leading man. He and Kay Francis make an exceedingly attractive screen couple. To avoid the claustrophobia of early talkies director John Cromwell finds ingenious ways to use voiceovers, and stages dialogue scenes before rear-projected city exteriors. But the available recording equipment was still primitive: voice levels fluctuate whenever actors do anything but speak directly into the microphones.

By Glenn Erickson