By Violet LeVoit
Attorney for the Defense
Brief Synopsis
A ruthless attorney tries to make amends for convicting an innocent man.
Cast & Crew
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Irving Cummings
Director
Edmund Lowe
[William J.] Burton
Evelyn Brent
Val Lorraine
Constance Cummings
Ruth Barry
Donald Dilloway
Paul Wallace
Douglas Haig
Paul Wallace [as a boy]
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Release Date
May
21,
1932
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Columbia Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Columbia Pictures Corp.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 10m
Film Length
7 reels
Synopsis
James Wallace is sentenced to death as he swears his innocence and shouts accusations at district attorney William J. Burton. Bill's stenographer, Ruth Barry, berates him for getting a conviction based on circumstantial evidence. Bill goes to the apartment of his mistress, Val Lorraine, but finding her with a small-time crook, Nick Quinn, he leaves her for good and promises to get even with Nick. Later, the newspapers condemn Bill when a confession clears Wallace, who has already been executed, and he resigns to become a defense attorney. Bill feels responsible for Wallace's death and so he goes to the Wallace home and offers the family financial assistance. At first, Wallace's son Paul is angry, but his mother persuades him to accept the assistance, and he decides to attend Jefferson Law College. Bill makes Nick the object of a citizen's reform committee, and Nick believes that Val can convince Bill to let him off the hook. After Val unsuccessfully threatens Bill, Nick suggests that she approach Paul, who now works for Bill, and use him to force Bill to drop the investigation. Meanwhile, Bill has dinner with Mrs. Wallace, and is shocked to learn that Paul is with Val. Paul refuses Bill's order to stop seeing Val because he hopes to marry her. Later, Val gets Paul drunk and telephones Bill to come get him. Bill arrives to find Val dead, and Paul, who does not remember what happened, standing nearby. Bill sends Paul home and confesses to Val's murder. Ruth tries to hire celebrated attorney Abe Steiner for Bill's defense, but none of Bill's friends will loan her money for his services. At the prison, Ruth urges Bill to defend himself and confesses that she loves him. During the trial, Bill calls Val's servant, Jefferson Q. Leffingwell, to the stand. Jefferson testifies that Nick also visited Val that night and then bribed him to keep the visit a secret. On the stand, Nick's ring is shown to match an imprint on the dead woman, which proves that Nick murdered her. Bill is found innocent, and he and Ruth are married at last.
Director
Irving Cummings
Director
Cast
Edmund Lowe
[William J.] Burton
Evelyn Brent
Val Lorraine
Constance Cummings
Ruth Barry
Donald Dilloway
Paul Wallace
Douglas Haig
Paul Wallace [as a boy]
Dorothy Peterson
Mrs. Wallace
Bradley Page
Nick Quinn [also known as Kramer]
Nat Pendleton
Mugg [Malone]
Dwight Frye
[James] Wallace
Wallis Clark
[James A.] Crowell
Clarence Muse
Jeff [Jefferson Q. Leffingwell]
Crew
Videos
Movie Clip
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Release Date
May
21,
1932
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Columbia Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Columbia Pictures Corp.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 10m
Film Length
7 reels
Articles
Attorney For The Defense
The easy way for an ambitious district attorney to climb the legal ladder is to rack up convictions, and that's exactly what Bill Burton (Edmund Lowe) does when he sends an innocent man to the electric chair on circumstantial evidence. But when a confession after the execution casts doubt on the case, Burton has a crisis of conscience, vowing to undo what he's done to the dead man's widow (Dorothy Peterson) and son (Don Dillaway), only to find out how his unscrupulous girlfriend (Evelyn Brent) connects him to an underworld that could bring all his efforts down. A courtroom drama that's got the flavor of, if not all the ingredients, of an early film noir, this early legal drama from Columbia Studios encapsulates the talents of Edmund Lowe, an actor whose range veered from suave and continental to tough and gritty. Rarely did he get to work both sides of the fence as he does in this role. And speaking of noir, don't miss the dark and sultry Evelyn Brent doing what she does best as an amoral moll.
By Violet LeVoit
By Violet LeVoit
Attorney For The Defense
The easy way for an ambitious district attorney to climb the legal ladder is to rack up convictions, and that's exactly what Bill Burton (Edmund Lowe) does when he sends an innocent man to the electric chair on circumstantial evidence. But when a confession after the execution casts doubt on the case, Burton has a crisis of conscience, vowing to undo what he's done to the dead man's widow (Dorothy Peterson) and son (Don Dillaway), only to find out how his unscrupulous girlfriend (Evelyn Brent) connects him to an underworld that could bring all his efforts down. A courtroom drama that's got the flavor of, if not all the ingredients, of an early film noir, this early legal drama from Columbia Studios encapsulates the talents of Edmund Lowe, an actor whose range veered from suave and continental to tough and gritty. Rarely did he get to work both sides of the fence as he does in this role. And speaking of noir, don't miss the dark and sultry Evelyn Brent doing what she does best as an amoral moll.
By Violet LeVoit
