Lawyer Man

Lawyer Man (1932)

*** (out of 4)

Nice little "B" movie from Warner about lawyer Anton Adam (William Powell) who moves up the ladder once he shows he's not afraid to take on a crooked political man (David Landau). At first Adam is riding high but he's double-crossed by an actress (Claire Dodd) secretly working for the political man and soon he loses everything but he's got one shot at redemption. LAWYER MAN isn't anything ground-breaking and you're certainly not going to spot it on any lists of the greatest films ever made but if you're a fan of the cast then there's quite a bit here to enjoy. I think the best thing going for the picture is the performance by Powell who once again comes off very believable in the part. He certainly comes across smart enough to where you can believe he's this intelligent lawyer but he also got a certain charm that makes you like him and there's just a dignity that the actor brings to the role. He's surrounding with a great supporting cast including Joan Blondell who plays his secretary who also has a crush on him. Landau nearly walks away with the film as only he can. That certain toughness that he brings the character but he isn't tough in the same way Cagney or Bogart was. Instead, he's more laid back and quiet about the whole thing. Dodd is nice and sexy in her few scenes in the picture and Allen Jenkins is his usual fun self playing a tough guy. The screenplay itself really doesn't offer us anything we haven't seen before but I think it builds up a nice character with the main lawyer. There's a certain integrity that the character turns out to have and this here really makes it all the more fun to see the events play out.

William Powell plays an ambitious bush league lawyer who goes to work for a high-class law firm, taking along his trusted secretary Joan Blondell. It isn't long before Powell's clashing with a corrupt political boss and getting involved with the wrong women. When things come crashing down for him, Powell vows to become successful no matter what tactics he has to use.

Enjoyable Pre-Coder from Warner Bros with nice work from Powell and the always dynamite Joan Blondell. She's great here, throwing in one snappy rejoinder after another. Kinda hard to believe anybody would look twice at another woman if they had sexy young Blondell as an option, but perhaps that's more my personal taste. The supporting cast is nice. The script is fun, though nothing groundbreaking. It's all pretty simple and familiar stuff but well-done and entertaining.

"Lawyer Man" pairs William Powell and Joan Blondell. That, in itself, is enough reason to see this film about a downtown attorney, Anton "Tony" Adam, who aspires to something bigger, but is unfocused about exactly what he wants. Joan Blondell, in one of the ten film releases of 1932 that list her in its credits, is a real joy as Olga, the secretary who tries to keep Tony on track and out of mischief. She has her hands full, because Tony has an eye for the skirts and a good left hook.

When Tony's natural talents as an attorney land him in an uptown office, he still struggles to keep his nose clean. And he never notices Olga's personal feelings for him.

In 1932, Blondell was not married yet, but only four years away from her second marriage, to Dick Powell. Seeing her in this pre-Code film is a real treat, though she could have used more on-screen time.

This film moves too fast for introspective angst or art design to be an issue, so if you want that go watch an MGM or Paramount film of the period. Instead the film focuses on rapid fire dialog and keeping the plot moving. What makes this one a cut above most films of the early 30's are the players, in particular the dapper and charming William Powell as East Side lawyer Tony Adam and brassy Joan Blondell as Olga, his secretary who wants things to be more than they are between herself and Tony. Sparks do fly from time to time, and when they do it just doesn't quite work on the romantic level - rather like picturing James Cagney and Myrna Loy as romantic leads in a film.

When the film opens Tony is a lawyer with a hole in the wall office on the East Side of New York City. He's defending neighborhood hoods and ripped off struggling businessmen, but he wants more - he wants to be a big shot. He gets what he wants and then some and the film shows his trek through the ups and downs of an uptown practice, his run-ins with the corrupt political boss of the city that can't decide if he wants to hire Tony or rub him out, and the high society ladies who use him and lose him along the way.

The final speech by Tony as he makes a crucial career decision will have you going huh?? where did that come from?? as there has been no indication that Tony is learning anything from any of this up to the last two minutes. Still it's enjoyable to see darts flying from Joan Blondell's eyes and William Powell unruffled in the the face of bullets, ballots, or blackmail. I'd recommend this one to anyone who enjoys the precodes, and in particular the fast moving WB precodes.

Really liked 'Lawyer Man's' premise and thought to myself quickly that this had potential to be a great film. Have loved Joan Blondell and especially William Powell in other films and was interested to see how Powell would fare in a role quite different for him. William Dieterle wasn't one of the greatest directors in my view and some films were better (much better in a few cases) than others, but his best work was absolutely great.

'Lawyer Man' was not quite great. Two thirds of it actually to me was great and extremely entertaining, one third not so much when things got less plausible. Dieterle did do better, as well as worse, films but 'Lawyer Man' is a solid representation of him. Same goes for Blondell, who was nearly always was a bright spot in her work, and for Powell, who always gave it one hundred percent and had a commanding presence in everything he did.

Both Powell and Blondell are great here. Especially Powell, whose suave charisma, easy-going charm and intensity really shines in a type of role that people wouldn't usually associate him typically with. Blondell is pert, lovely to watch and has a good deal of energy. They gel very well together. The supporting cast are solid too, although generally the supporting characters themselves could have been better fleshed out. David Landau plays his crook with a heart sort of character without over-playing or looking bored. Dieterle makes sure that the energy and intrigue doesn't slip.

It has a slick, professional look and much of 'Lawyer Man' goes at a lively pace, having a good deal of content without cluttering and it doesn't feel padded. Two thirds of the story is hugely compelling with lots of tension and intrigue and little obviousness, further benefitting from a sharp script with a surprisingly cynical edge on politics and legal ethics handled thoughtfully and not in a preachy way.

Sadly didn't think that the final third was as good, where credibility is pushed and strained to the limit. The pace also didn't feel as tight.

Also felt that the film ends a little too patly and pretty predictably and it is a shame that the supporting characters are not developed enough, most being there as mainly plot devices.

Overall though, well worth seeing for namely Powell. 7/10