The People Against O'Hara

Though I saw this as part of a noir festival at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, "The People Against O'Hara" doesn't feel like much of a noir. There are bookend scenes drenched in noirish atmosphere, but other than that this is a straight up courtroom drama that finds Spencer Tracy defending a man accused of murder who has an alibi but is reluctant to share it for fear that it will endanger his life. It's a slick film, anchored by Tracy's gravelly resolve.

The film is a bit refreshing in its unpredictability, especially where Tracy's character is concerned. You might think that Tracy, being Tracy, will eventually triumph in the courtroom, perhaps with a snag or two along the way. But that doesn't happen. He's an alcoholic, you see, and his disease gets in his way. He botches the defense and loses the case, and still redeems the accused but in a way we're not expecting. The movie's treatment of alcoholism indeed is one of the things that sets it apart as a memorable little product of 1951, and in fact I think it's more notable for that than it is as an addition to the noir canon.

Grade: B+

***SPOILERS*** Courtroom drama in and out of the halls of justice with former high profile defense attorney James Curtayne, Spencer Tracy,handling a murder case for the first time in years. As Curtayne finds out that he just doesn't have it anymore in defending the accused. With his boss Bill Sheffield shot down in front of his building young Johnny O'Hara, James Arness,is picked up going to his parents apartment the next morning and arraigned for Sheffield's murder.

With his car identified at the murder scene and Johnny having no alibi to were he was at the time things don't look too good for the ex-con and WWII vet. Fingered by one of the notorious Korvac brothers Frankie (William Campball), who's fingerprints were found in the car, as the hit-man made Johnny's conviction for the murder of Sheiffeld a lead pipe cinch. Defense attorney Curtayne nonetheless took up the case for Johnny, pro Bono, because he knew him all his life and felt that he was innocent.

Having been away from dealing with criminal cases for years put a tremendous strain on the once brilliant defense attorney. Curtayne once successfully defended 18 murder cases in a row getting his clients off. Turning to the bottle and being drunk while handling Johnny's defense Curtayne lost his grip on the case and had assistant D.A Louis Barra ,John Hodiak, run circles around him in the courtroom and easily had Johnny convicted of murder.

Johnny himself didn't help his case at all by not revealing that he was with his girlfriend Catrina, Vetta Duguay, at the time of the Sheffield killing since she's married to big time mobster Sol "Knockles" Lanzetta,Eduardo Ciannelli. That revelation would mean curtains for both Johnn & Catrina of them if "Knockles" ever found out.

Curtayne desperately trying to get his client off the hook even went so far as to pay off a witness local stevedore Sven Norson, J.C Flippen, to change his testimony with a $500.00 personal check no less! This not only would get him disbarred but thrown behind bars. Convicted and waiting for a sentence that may well strap him into the electric chair Johnny still didn't want to bring out the fact that he was with Catrina when Sheffield was shot and killed; even when she came forward herself willing to be a witness for his defense.

It was later in the movie that Catrina unknowingly brought out the real reason for the Seffield murder and it was something that was right in front of both D.A Barra, in fact he was photographed with it. Curtayne all during the trial would not only identify the killer, or killers since by revealing it would bring them out in the open and put her life in danger.

A bit confusing at times "The People Against O'Hara" does hold together pretty well with James Curtayne risking his life in the end to save Johnny O'Hara from being executed by the state for a murder that he didn't commit. Attorney Curtayne having himself "wired" to get the goods on the real murderers had him make up for all the mistakes he made in the movie by putting his life on the line to do it.

It's a shame this movie never lives up to the dark promise of its opening images: Night in a run-down quarter of the city; an all-night coffee shop, like Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks"; an old Swedish salt stumbling around. In deep background, a door opens, flooding a stairway with light. Then, shots ring out. What it's all about is a young man framed for a murder, whose impoverished parents coax "retired" defense attorney Spencer Tracy to exonerate him; Tracy plays half Clarence Darrow and half gumshoe. Despite the obligatory falling-off-the-wagon scene (where he succumbs to ethical temptation) it's a solid job. The noir influence goes beyond the camerawork; the ending is darker than you might be led to expect.

An excellent performance by Spencer Tracy in "The People Against O'Hara" lifts this all too familiar plot line to a different level. Tracy is an alcoholic who, for the sake of his health and sobriety, becomes a civil attorney, only to be drawn back into criminal work when neighborhood friends need him to defend their son. The son is played by a pre-Gunsmoke, blond James Arness, and it was a pleasure to see him do something besides the one-note Matt Dillon. Diana Lynn does an excellent job as Tracy's protective daughter, and a pathetically young Richard Anderson is her patient fiancé.

Tracy's performance drives the film, which is really just an excuse for a character study, and who better to essay it. He beautifully shows the man's torment and loss of abilities. The ending is tense and suspenseful.

There is a fine cast, including the above, Pat O'Brien John Hodiak, Eduardo Cianelli, and William Campbell (who in real life was for a time married to Judith Exner, the woman who went public with her affair with JFK).

I think Spencer Tracy is always worth watching, and this film is no exception.

Spencer Tracy's only venture into the noir genre finds him playing James P. Curtayne, an alcoholic criminal lawyer who is living with daughter Diana Lynn. She's essentially put her life on hold to take care of her father.

Friends from his old neighborhood ask him to defend their son, James Arness, who is being charged with a homicide during the course of a what we would now call a home invasion.

Tracy's not up to it, he's past his prime and unable to break down the perjured testimony of William Campbell who says Arness was the trigger man in the crime. He's got a sharp District Attorney in John Hodiak going against him. And he's got a client who's lying about his real whereabouts to shield someone else.

When the verdict of guilty is read against Arness in The People Against O'Hara it should be over. But not quite.

I liked John Hodiak as the District Attorney. He's good in anything he does and his role here is as an honest lawyer who's more interested in finding out the truth than scoring another prosecutorial notch on his belt. That in itself is very refreshing.

Given Spencer Tracy's own alcholism this must have been a part way too close to home for him. But he also is determined to serve his client to the best of his abilities which are sharply impaired when he makes a bad error in judgment in bribing witness Jay C. Flippen. Usually Flippen plays upright characters so this portrayal of a witness willing to sell his testimony to the highest bidder is against type and good.

Other good performances of note are Eduardo Ciannelli as the mob boss of the Fulton Fish Market, Pat O'Brien as Tracy's long time friend and homicide cop, and in a bit role in the end Ann Doran as a policewoman who puts herself on the line in the final confrontation scene.

Both Tracy and Hodiak in this film are two of the best portrayals of the legal profession on the screen. Even Tracy's ethical lapses are done with the best of intentions.

The People Against O'Hara is a great example of film noir at it's best and one of the screen's finest players in his only venture in noir.