Often dubbed a "Noir", ILLEGAL is really a straight-forward courtroom drama with a bit of extra gunplay than usual. Edward G. Robinson's brash performance is the main reason to check this one out. He plays Victor Scott, a down on his luck ex-D.A. who once had higher political ambitions but now does whatever he has to do to pay the rent. Nina Foch plays Ellen, his former assistant who he has been involved with as a caretaker+ during most of her life. Hugh Marlowe is another D.A. who falls for her. Edward Platt is the new D.A. who has suspicions about Victor.
The plot meanders a bit before a big time mobster in the form of Frank Garland (Albert Dekker) ties all the loose strands in a noose - for several characters. The main story arc isn't bad, but, W.R. Burnett and James Webb's screenplay gets profoundly over-ripe. Lewis Allen milks it for all the drama he can, but, this over-wrought tale can't be spun into gold, despite a few fine touches. Some of the questionable legal would be tossed out of a Perry Mason story conference as "too much"!!
Beyond those mentioned previously, ILLEGAL also sports familiar faces like DeForest Kelley, Ellen Corby, Jan Merlin and, in her somewhat awkward debut, Jayne Mansfield (re-release posters accentuated her...uh...presence).
ILLEGAL isn't awful, but, without Robinson and the cast, it would be pretty silly stuff. This is the third version of the Frank J. Collins story (THE MOUTHPIECE and MAN WHO TALKED TOO MUCH are the others).
