Juzgado criminal

"Criminal Court" proves that just because a film is a B-movie (with a small budget and brief running time) that is can STILL be a heck of a good film. Due to really good writing and acting, it works and is worth your time.

The film begins with Steve Barnes running for District Attorney (Tom Conway) on a true platform to clean up the government. He and a group of his colleagues have done a lot to investigate graft--and they've finally got the evidence to make heads roll. However, a local mobster (Robert Armstrong) is not about to let his organization be brought down without a fight. And, during a confrontation between the two men, the hood draws a gun Steve and tries to kill him. Barnes is able to get the gun away from him and when it falls, it goes off--killing the gangster! This is a bit difficult to believe, I know but stick with the film. Where it all goes next kept surprising me. Time and again, little twists came that took the film in directions I hadn't anticipated--which is rare, as B-movies are often very predictable. I would say more but just don't to spoil the film.

Other reviews have mentioned this, but Conway was George Sanders' brother. Both were incredibly erudite and spoke with a glorious accent--and brought a nice sophistication to even the simplest of roles. Exciting and worth your time--this is yet another one of Conway's B performances that elevated the material to a slightly better level.

Over the years I have enjoyed all the films that Tom Conway has performed in, such as the "Falcon" Series, "Voodoo Woman",'57 and many other "B" films. Also the fact that he was the brother of famous actor, George Sanders. In this film Conway plays Steve Barnes, who is a lawyer and also running for political office and gets involved with Robert Armstrong (Vic Wright),"Mighty Joe Young",'49, who is the owner of CLUB CIRCLE and has gangster connections. Steve's girlfriend, Martha O'Driscoll,(Georgia Gale),"Carnegie Hall",'47 gets involved with a murder and Steve comes to her aid. The court room proceedings will make you laugh and you can clearly see that this is a very CLASSIC B FILM from the 1940's but very enjoyable and entertaining!

Tom Conway is a defense attorney running for the office of District Attorney on a platform of cleaning up corruption. This puts him at odds with mobster Robert Armstrong, who tries to blackmail into dropping his crusade. They tussle and Conway accidentally kills Armstrong. With no witnesses, he opts to sneak away, but unluckily for him, his girlfriend Martha O'Driscoll, who works in Armstrong's nightclub, discovers the body and is blamed for the murder. Conway tries to confess, but nobody believes him leaving him to defend O'Driscoll in court for a murder he committed.

Robert Wise's first foray into film noir is an extremely tight little B film (it runs a couple of minutes over an hour) with a truly ludicrous plot, but a lot of really fun moments and a good lead performance from Conway to carry you through.

Steve Barnes (Tom Conway) is a brilliant lawyer who is skilled at playing the court. He is running against corrupt District Attorney Gordon who is all too willing to use lies to win. He is concerned that his girlfriend Georgia Gale (Martha O'Driscoll) starts working for gangster nightclub owner Vic Wright. Steve's campaign uncovers Vic's brother Frankie doing payoffs. Vic confronts Steve. When Vic pulls out a gun, Steve fights back and kills Vic in self-defense. Steve decides to run away. Georgia finds the body and screams which brings Frankie. Immediately, Frankie accuses Georgia and she gets arrested. Steve tries telling the truth, but everybody thinks that it's one of his courtroom plays.

I love the premise. The best is when nobody believes him as he tells the truth. I do not like the ending. It is too clean and neat. It is too desperate for the Hollywood ending. It defeats the premise and the noir sensibilities of the movie. If they remake this, they definitely need to change the ending.

Lawyer Tom Conway (Steve) is on a campaign to become elected DA at the same time as battling court cases against the local criminal gang. He finds himself having to defend his girlfriend Martha O'Driscoll on a charge of murdering one of the top bad guys Robert Armstrong (Vic). O'Driscoll is innocent but things don't look good for her. Conway has one chance of saving her from being guilty - he has to find the one witness to the crime that can save her.

The cast are all good and Tom Conway is very easy to relate to with his relaxed approach. It's a standard crime story that's easy to follow and keeps you watching to see how lawyer Tom Conway is going to swing things in his favour. Nothing special going on but still entertaining.