Behind the Green Lights
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Christy Cabanne
Norman Foster
Judith Allen
Sidney Blackmer
Purnell Pratt
Theodore Von Eltz
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Dave Britten, a bright young detective in the police force, captures one of J. C. Owen's henchmen and charges him with robbery. Owen then hires Raymond Cortell, a crooked lawyer, to act as the criminal's defense. Cortell not only keeps crooks and gunmen out of jail by manipulating legal technicalities, but spurs them to more crime by demanding large fees for his legal services. Cortell assigns the case to one of his unwary younger partners, Mary Kennedy, who is the daughter of police captain Jim Kennedy. Mary wins an acquittal by utilizing the tricks Cortell suggests, becoming adept at serving as a criminal "mouthpiece." Dave, Mary's fiancé, is dismayed by her action, and the two quarrel, but they make up, and she agrees to quit her job and marry Dave when he is promoted to lieutenant. Dave soon investigates a jewel robbery at Owen's office, and aided by the eye-witness account of a janitor and his own deductions, he charges Owen with murdering a diamond salesman and accuses him of carrying out the crime in a way in which no suspicion would fall on him. Mary is again the defense attorney for Owen, and by confusing the janitor on the witness stand with questions pertaining to the moonlight on the night of the murder and comparing his answer to an almanac, she obtains an acquittal. Mary becomes famous, but Dave and her father are angry at the tactics she has used. In order to pay Cortell, Owen robs a jewelry store and shoots Jim in the process. Mary at last realizes the error of her ways. The wounded Jim identifies Owen, and with Mary's help, Dave is able to capture him and to arrest Cortell for receiving stolen property. Jim is on his way to recovery, and Mary and Dave are reunited.
Director
Christy Cabanne
Cast
Norman Foster
Judith Allen
Sidney Blackmer
Purnell Pratt
Theodore Von Eltz
Edward Gargan
Kenneth Thomson
Ford Sterling
Jane Meredith
John Davidson
Hooper Atchley
Lloyd Whitlock
J. Carroll Naish
Marc Loebell
Fern Emmett
John Ince
Ralph Lewis
Edward Hearn
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
This film is presumed lost. Please check your attic.
Notes
According to reviews, Captain Cornelius W. Willemse was a twenty-year veteran of the New York City Police Department's homicide squad. In its review, Motion Picture Herald incorrectly spells Willemse's name as Williams. Although a Hollywood Reporter news item announced that Willemse was going to "collaborate on the screenplay," he is not credited in reviews in that capacity.
