I think this is a fine movie, with a tremendous performance by Humphrey Bogart.
A lawyer -- Bogart -- defends Nick Romano (John Derek), a good boy that turned into a juvenile delinquent when his childhood went bad when his father died...in part due to his lawyer's negligence (Bogart). The older Nick got, the more of a thug he became, although for a while, after he married a sweet girl, it seemed as if things were turning around for him. Eventually, Nick goes on trial for viciously killing a policeman. Bogart's legal strategy is to argue that the slums bred Nick into a criminal. Bogart has a field day in the courtroom scenes...one his strongest performances...in a film produced by his own production company.
Reviewer Bosley Crowther called the film "a pretentious social melodrama". Well, it is a social melodrama...a rather liberal one, though I'm not sure why Crowther called it "pretentious".
While Bogart's performance is dominant, John Derek's debut is very strong. Unfortunately, I'm not sure Derek ever lived up to this early promise. As he was nicknamed in this film, he was a pretty boy, and as Bogart reportedly told him, that would not be enough.
A fine film that might belong on your DVD shelf.
A lawyer -- Bogart -- defends Nick Romano (John Derek), a good boy that turned into a juvenile delinquent when his childhood went bad when his father died...in part due to his lawyer's negligence (Bogart). The older Nick got, the more of a thug he became, although for a while, after he married a sweet girl, it seemed as if things were turning around for him. Eventually, Nick goes on trial for viciously killing a policeman. Bogart's legal strategy is to argue that the slums bred Nick into a criminal. Bogart has a field day in the courtroom scenes...one his strongest performances...in a film produced by his own production company.
Reviewer Bosley Crowther called the film "a pretentious social melodrama". Well, it is a social melodrama...a rather liberal one, though I'm not sure why Crowther called it "pretentious".
While Bogart's performance is dominant, John Derek's debut is very strong. Unfortunately, I'm not sure Derek ever lived up to this early promise. As he was nicknamed in this film, he was a pretty boy, and as Bogart reportedly told him, that would not be enough.
A fine film that might belong on your DVD shelf.