Absolvida

Criminal Court (1946)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Robert Wise directed this RKO noir about lawyer Steve Barnes (Tom Conway) who accidentally kills a gangster (Robert Armstrong) but he's thrown for a loop when his girlfriend (Martha O'Driscoll) is accused of the crime because she worked at his nightclub. The lawyer, who just happens to be running for D.A., tries to confess to the crime but no one believes him so he must find another way to prove her innocence. CRIMINAL COURT is a "B" movie that is so far-fetched that at times you really have to laugh wondering if the screenwriter wasn't just making things up as the filming went along. I say that because there are so many twists and turns in this film yet every single one of them are ones that you'll see coming from a mile away. It certainly doesn't help that all of them perfectly fit in place not because they're smart but because they're just so obvious. As far as a mystery goes, this thing is about as simple as they come but none of this completely kills the film thanks in large part to some fine direction by Wise and some fun performances. Conway is completely believable in his role as the hot shot lawyer who will stop at nothing to win a case. Montgomery only appears in half the film but he was a lot of fun as well. Both O'Driscoll and June Clayworth are good in their parts even though both of their characters are probably the weakest in the film. CRIMINIAL COURT certainly isn't going to win any awards but at just 63-minutes the thing moves along well enough that fans of the genre should enjoy it.

This is a good noir-ish courtroom drama that is well acted and nicely paced, directed by Robert Wise. It is a b- movie but is very solidly made and it will hold your attention.

Tom Conway stars as a criminal defense lawyer with a flamboyant courtroom style. In one particularly long courtroom scene early in the film Conway delivers a stunning performance. Anyone who has any doubts about Conway's acting abilities should view that one scene and they will change their mind. Little known Martha O'Driscoll is very beautiful in this, her nightclub scenes are well staged and her overall performance is first rate. Many fine performers such as Robert Armstrong and the great Addison Richards round out the cast.

If you want to see courtroom dramatics and cunning legal maneuvers in a mid-1940's film-noir setting, "Criminal Court" is recommended for you.

"Criminal Court" proves that just because a film is a B-movie (with a small budget and brief running time) that is can STILL be a heck of a good film. Due to really good writing and acting, it works and is worth your time.

The film begins with Steve Barnes running for District Attorney (Tom Conway) on a true platform to clean up the government. He and a group of his colleagues have done a lot to investigate graft--and they've finally got the evidence to make heads roll. However, a local mobster (Robert Armstrong) is not about to let his organization be brought down without a fight. And, during a confrontation between the two men, the hood draws a gun Steve and tries to kill him. Barnes is able to get the gun away from him and when it falls, it goes off--killing the gangster! This is a bit difficult to believe, I know but stick with the film. Where it all goes next kept surprising me. Time and again, little twists came that took the film in directions I hadn't anticipated--which is rare, as B-movies are often very predictable. I would say more but just don't to spoil the film.

Other reviews have mentioned this, but Conway was George Sanders' brother. Both were incredibly erudite and spoke with a glorious accent--and brought a nice sophistication to even the simplest of roles. Exciting and worth your time--this is yet another one of Conway's B performances that elevated the material to a slightly better level.

Tom Conway is a defense attorney running for the office of District Attorney on a platform of cleaning up corruption. This puts him at odds with mobster Robert Armstrong, who tries to blackmail into dropping his crusade. They tussle and Conway accidentally kills Armstrong. With no witnesses, he opts to sneak away, but unluckily for him, his girlfriend Martha O'Driscoll, who works in Armstrong's nightclub, discovers the body and is blamed for the murder. Conway tries to confess, but nobody believes him leaving him to defend O'Driscoll in court for a murder he committed.

Robert Wise's first foray into film noir is an extremely tight little B film (it runs a couple of minutes over an hour) with a truly ludicrous plot, but a lot of really fun moments and a good lead performance from Conway to carry you through.

Steve Barnes (Tom Conway) is a dapper defense attorney campaigning for the office of district attorney against incumbent DA Gordon. He's running as a reformer, and there is apparently tons to reform, with lots of city officials on the take from the mob.

Barnes has a reputation as a showboat, and early in the film you get a taste of that. While cross examining a witness on the stand who claims - falsely as coached by the mob - that he saw Barnes's client commit the crime, Barnes pretends to get angry and produces a gun like he's going to shoot the witness, just to prove that the witness was a coward and did not just stand there with nerves of steel when Barnes's client allegedly drew a gun. Forget the fact that in reality Barnes would be disbarred for such a stunt, and just appreciate he did get his client acquitted.

Then one night, Barnes and mobster Vic Wright have a confrontation in Wright's office over the evidence Barnes has collected against him. A desperate Wright pulls a gun, there's a struggle, and the gun goes off and kills Wright. Barnes, normally a smart cookie, does a not smart thing and just leaves the scene. But then his girlfriend, who is working as a singer at the club, walks in on the aftermath, picks up the gun, is seen by the dead mobster's brother, and she also does a not smart thing and leaves the scene. She's picked up later and arrested for the crime. And even though Barnes does the right thing at this point and confesses his role, nobody believes him because of his showboat reputation! Complications ensue.

Now there's some stuff I'm not telling you, but just let it suffice there's lots of neat little twists, turns, and touches in this very short but effective little B. As for the direction, it always seemed to be true of Robert Wise that if you gave him a cast of not well-known actors and a small budget, he could produce some real gems. But give him a large budget and large cast and he could be a windy bore. This is the former case.

Note Tony Barrett as one of the reporters in an uncredited role. For some reason the reporters have a "reporter's table" in the courtroom, and at first I thought Barrett was one of the mobsters with his post-war jive talk and mannerisms. He also pops up as Lawrence Tierney's first victim in the classic "Born To Kill" of the following year, also directed by Robert Wise. And what is it with the old trope of criminals thinking it's a good idea to shoot a witness who is getting ready to blow a case wide open? Whatever damage the witness does do, it can't be as bad as being caught red handed committing murder in a courtroom full of witnesses and police officers.