The Public Defender

I had eschewed watching "The Public Defender" for years because I incorrectly assumed it would be a creaky and stuffy courtroom drama. Wow, I must stand corrected! This is a smart, sophisticated, and beautifully-filmed movie about the defense of the public in general by a team of good guys working anonymously under the radar, not a criminal on trial by jury. The acting is superb thanks in large part to the direction J. Walter Ruben and the fluid camera work. Richard Dix proves himself once again to be a master technician in the acting world; his easy execution with a sprinkling of effortless "bits of business" is on fascinating display.

There is nothing creaky or old or stodgy about this film, seeming as it does to be five or more years ahead of its time in terms of all film making parameters, including the story's screenwriting. As one would expect from early in 1931 there is nearly no music involved in the exposition, which only serves to make this mystery adventure all the more compelling. This is a fine film that should not be passed over for decades, as it was in my case. Don't let this happen to you!

"The Reckoner", a vigilante of sorts, does the things that the police won't do - he brings lying stealing greedy banksters to justice. Considering what's been going on in the country the last three years as I'm writing this, the plot itself should win this one lots of fans.

It's a shame that if Richard Dix is remembered at all it's often for his part in Best Picture winner Cimarron - his hammiest performance - rather than gems like this one. Here Richard Dix plays millionaire Pike Winslow, heir to a large fortune who, though well liked among the wealthy crowd, seems to be a bit of an idler. However, the truth of the matter is that he is "The Reckoner" who - along with two faithful assistants - steals incriminating documents from perpetrators of financial fraud and then does some financial forensic analysis to shine a spotlight on their crimes. The amusing thing here is that Pike's forensic analyst, "The Professor", is played by Boris Karloff. He pulls off the role of the erudite man of letters devoted to the cause of The Reckoner quite well.

I couldn't help seeing the parallels between The Reckoner and Batman here. It would have been nice if, back when Warner Brothers was building deluxe DVD sets, they had put this movie as an extra to one of their Batman DVD releases - Warner Brothers owns the RKO library and therefore this film - plus this movie is unusual for early RKO properties in that it is in a very watchable state already. Highly recommended for anyone who likes an old thriller.

I watched this movie recently because I like Richard Dix. I expected it to be another 1931 courtroom crime drama but while it did concern crime, it was quite different. I concluded this had to be the blueprint for the Mission Impossible series and was pleasantly surprised by a tightly written caper movie that could have come right out of the today's plot lines. Richard Dix is a home grown crime fighter, has a willing crew and pulls off some very precisely timed insertions and escapes collecting information to put the bad guys away. If you are into old movies and want one not in the mold of anything else at the time, this is it. Well worth watching.

1931's "The Public Defender" was a superior follow up to Richard Dix's previous teaming with future Monster Boris Karloff, an opportunity for the screenwriter of "Young Donovan's Kid" to get his feet wet as a first time director, J. Walter Ruben. George Goodchild's 1930 novel "The Splendid Crime" was adapted by Bernard Schubert into the prototype of the Batman origin story, Dix the crime fighting millionaire acting the fool in public as Pike Winslow, secretly working undercover as "The Reckoner" (the original working title, as well as "The Million Dollar Swindle"), with Karloff's studious Professor gathering all the evidence from a huge file base, Paul Hurst's chauffer Doc supplying the brawn in a pinch. In a nod to the recent stock market crash, we see here the Central Realty Trust Company throwing its most trusted member overboard for embezzlement despite his pleas of innocence, his three guilt ridden accusers failing to reckon with the expertise of The Reckoner, who leaves a calling card indicating the scales of justice. Pike Winslow and his two associates meticulously plan ahead to the exact second, whether it's robbing a safe to obtain valuable documents, or even having to solve a shocking murder planting evidence to implicate The Reckoner. The only thing missing is the background on how these three came to become partners in crime solving, apart from the fact that they were all veterans of WW1, apparently conducting business in the guise of The Reckoner well before the picture begins (the final title makes it sound like the saga of a district attorney). The year's Best Actor nominee for Best Picture Oscar winner "Cimarron," Richard Dix enjoyed another triumph with this tale of vigilante justice during the Great Depression, making one wonder if Batman creators Bob Kane or Bill Finger may have recalled this film before debuting the Caped Crusader in 1939. The May shooting schedule must have been a favorable one for Boris Karloff, his most prolific year yet in Hollywood even before being cast three months later as The Monster in James Whale's "Frankenstein," a sturdy 10 minutes screen time (the same size as the part in Universal's upcoming "Graft") in what amounts to playing Alfred the Butler, entering at the 17 minute mark. Leading lady Shirley Grey made her feature debut as Pike's love interest, eventually leaving Hollywood behind with her final role opposite Bela Lugosi in the 1935 British production "Mystery of the Mary Celeste."

If you saw the title "The Public Defender" and thought like I did that the movie is about a government-hired attorney who defends indigent people on trial, then you were as wrong as I was. It's about a vigilante of sorts called "The Reckoner" who steals the incriminating documents of the guilty in order to exonerate the innocent.

The Reckoner is Pike Winslow (Richard Dix) and it's not a secret. He's sorta like Batman without the cape or the fighting and he always leaves a calling card which simply says "The Reckoner" right above the scales of justice.

We learn very early that he works with The Professor (Boris Karloff) and Doc (Paul Hurst) to pull off his jobs. His current job is to find the evidence to clear the name of Eugene Gerry (Emmett King), the secretary and treasurer of Central Realty and Trust Company. He was made the fall guy for the company's failure and he went to prison for it. Pike had a personal interest in this case as Eugene was the father of Barbara (Shirley Grey), a woman Pike was sweet on.

A lot of movies in the 30's dealt with wealthy socialites--their romances, murders, and musings. In "The Public Defender" the Gerry family was a high society family that was dealt a raw deal and went bankrupt. At one point we are shown Barbara Gerry and her Aunt Matilda (Nella Walker) weeping as their family belongings were being sold at auction. Maybe I have a heart of stone, but I could not bring myself to feel an iota of pity for this rich family that was now feeling the constraints of not being rich. They weren't poor, they just didn't have the abundance of wealth they once had, which to me is not pitiable. They didn't deserve what happened to them, but trying to make a rich family the object of sympathy was going to take more than seeing some old items being sold at auction.

Poor rich people aside, I liked the movie. It involved mystery, suspense, and cleverness not unlike a heist movie.

Free on Odnoklassniki.