For the Defense

Not as Good as The Mouthpiece (1932) this Similar Story of a Shady Defense Attorney whose Clients were the "Poor Souls" (low-lifes and gangsters) that Desperately Needed a Lawyer. For the Most Part He gets Them Off. Loosely Based on Real-Life Attorney William Fallon (who defended Arnold Rothstein).

The Film is Not Without Interest, Mainly the Teaming of William Powell and Kay Francis, it is Nonetheless a Talky Bore at Times and the Pacing is Ponderous. Powell Broods More than Usual and His Drunk is more "Pity Me" than Witty and Whimsical.

The Mood of the Movie is Sombre and Serious and Never Makes Much of an Impact, but it is a Pretty Good Pedestrian Paramount Picture. The Pre-Code Presentations are More Implied than Usual and have Very Little to Offer those Seeking this Out for Sleazy or Edgy Stuff. There is a lot of Drinking, a Few Skanky Characters and a Raccoon Coat for Some Flavor.

Before he was associated with Myrna Loy over at MGM, during his Paramount years William Powell was teamed with Kay Francis for several films in the early sound era. For The Defense was one of them and it holds up very well today.

According to the Citadel Film series book on his films, Powell's character is based on criminal attorney William Fallon who numbered Arnold Rothstein among his clients. Fallon was a Perry Mason type who worked on the dark side and Powell is just that in this film.

Powell is courting actress Kay Francis, but he makes it abundantly clear he's not the marrying kind. So Francis starts seeing young Scott Kelk and while driving him home she hits a man with her car and kills him. Kelk takes the wrap and wouldn't you know it, Powell becomes his defense attorney. That sets in motion a whole series of consequences for all involved.

Powell whom I've mentioned in other reviews apparently instinctively knew how to handle sound from the beginning of the talkies. He has wonderful chemistry with Kay Francis on this and other collaborations.

Some other people to take note of are James Finlayson the great nemesis of Laurel&Hardy playing a bribed juror. Also William B. Davidson as the District Attorney who does something that Hamilton Burger never got to do with Perry Mason. Finally Thomas Jackson who the following year would play the same kind of dogged police detective in Little Caesar.

For The Defense is a great example of William Powell's smooth playing before his glory years at MGM. A definite must for his legion of fans.

In the late teens and through much of the 1920s, defense lawyer William Fallon was unbeatable. In 120 murder cases, NONE of his clients were found guilty! While this might have made him famous in and of itself, his clients were a Who's Who of the scum of the day. Fallon defended mobsters, pimps and other low-lifes! The film "For the Defense" is based, in part, on Fallon's life--as is Warren Williams' film "The Mouthpiece"--which came out just two years later.

This film begins with William Powell playing William Foster--a hot-shot attorney who is known as much for getting off his slimy clients as his courtroom theatrics. However, while he seems like he's on top of the world, he has two serious problems--his drinking (which, in real like killed Fallon when he was still quite young) and his girlfriend, Irene (Kay Francis). The problem with Irene is that she loves Foster but he's unwilling to marry her (and the film STRONGLY implied they have been cohabiting) and she is entertaining a proposal of marriage from another guy!

One night when Irene is stepping out on Foster with this other man, she is driving during a hit and run death. Why she runs is never really believable, as she was neither intoxicated nor at fault as her drunk boyfriend sitting next to her really caused the accident. However, she leaves the scene and the boyfriend stays and takes responsibility-- saying that he was driving. And, since he was drunk, it looks like prison time for the guy. Naturally, Foster is called in to defend the guy--and the case ends up ruining Foster. How and why? See the film.

This movie is, in some ways, typical of many of the Pre-Code films. As I mentioned above, it is implied that Foster and Irene were doing the horizontal hokey-pokey ('sex' for those who prefer the more direct way of saying things). And, the film does glorify Foster (at least to a degree). But, it also shows that eventually evil is punished and Foster gets his comeuppance. Entertaining but a bit of a disappointment, as some might hope for more salacious Pre-Code shenanigans.

But, for that matter, what movie did William Powell and Kay Francis team up in that wasn't a fine example of movie-making? William Powell plays William Foster, a flamboyant and successful defense lawyer that reminds me of Powell's Thin Man character except, unlike Nick Charles, William Foster is an unhappy man at his core. He gets drunk and pretty much stays that way to soothe this unnamed pain, not to add to the edge of a giddily happy life. His long-time lover, Irene Manners (Kay Francis), is the one thing he claims he can depend upon, but whenever he says this you get the feeling that he counts not even on that. Marriage is out of the question from Foster's standpoint, but Kay wants matrimony and finds someone who offers it in a less interesting package than Foster in the person of wealthy Jack Defoe. Jack and Irene meet late one night and take a ride in Jack's car to talk things out about the future - Irene is still unsure about how she wants to proceed. Irene is driving because Jack had been drinking. When Jack gets fresh, he causes the car to swerve and Irene hits a pedestrian. Jack sobers up quickly at this point and tells Irene to run away so he can claim responsibility for the wreck alone as he fears for Irene's reputation whether she is named as the driver or just a passenger. Unfortunately for Jack the pedestrian is dead. Also unfortunately for Jack, he still has the smell of alcohol on his breath when the police arrive.

Now Jack is up for manslaughter. Foster has never liked Defoe because he considers him a spoiled brat, and now Irene is begging Foster to defend Defoe in spite of that, all the time trying to keep from Foster the fact that she was with Jack that night and that they were talking marriage. Defoe is maintaining the same charade as Irene. Meanwhile the district attorney and the police have had just about enough of Foster winning every case he takes and are keeping a close eye on his business practices. Who will go to jail? Will anybody go to jail? Watch and find out.

William Powell and Kay Francis were always great together because they usually played less than perfect people that made the perfect couple. Regardless of how things worked out for them at the end of their films, you just felt their characters were soul mates. This film is a great showcase of their talents when they were at the peak of their popularity in the 30's.

A most entertaining Paramount Picture in which William Powell enacts what was to become a common-place role as a fast-talking lawyer (based on real-life William Fallon), but handles the part with such verve and charisma it still fascinates today.

Cromwell's strikingly forceful direction helps no end, as does the superb acting of Kay Francis in a difficult study of a woman torn between two loves—a role which she handles to perfection. An excellent support cast includes fine studies by William B. Davidson (in his best role ever) and comedian James Finlayson (minus his trademark mustache) in a rare, dramatic part.