Lawyer Man

"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.

Despite two very winning star players, this picture is all surface: a trite story with no depth of characterization whatsoever, constructed of an unusually large number of very brief scenes which move the plot along but are not sufficiently developed to generate any feeling for the characters. The potential "meat" of the story concerns a presumed crisis of conscience for William Powell as a very capable but too ambitious attorney, along with his relationship with radiant Joan Blondell as the secretary/Girl Friday he takes for granted. Lots of potential here, all of it sacrificed to keep the plot moving.

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.

Lawyer Man casts William Powell as an attorney with a storefront practice on the Lower East Side of New York where he makes a living of sorts defending indigent or close to indigent clients for meager fees. But he's got talent and white shoe lawyer Alan Dinehart invites him into his firm even though Powell has gotten on the wrong side of political boss David Landau. Helen Vinson who is Dinehart's sister also takes a shine to Powell.

But Powell also has actress Claire Dodd doing a number as well on him with a phony breach of promise suit that lands Powell in one big jackpot. Only faithful secretary Joan Blondell stands by him.

This to me was obviously a film that was meant for James Cagney and Cagney probably turned it down. Powell was a guy who did belong on the Upper East Side with the white shoe firm, Cagney would have been perfect casting as the fish out of water.

Joan Blondell is always good and there's a nice performance by Allen Jenkins as a hood who Powell defends and who later comes through for him in an hour of need.

Despite miscasting Lawyer Man is still a decent film though it will never be on the top ten list of films of William Powell.

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.