“Live fast, die young, and have a good-looking corpse. ” – Nick Romano
Number of Times Seen – 1 (1 Feb 2023)
Brief Synopsis – A lawyer is tasked with defending a kid from the wrong side of town after he is accused of murder.
My Take on it – Interesting idea that works better than I had expected. Humphrey Bogart isn’t someone I would have expected to play so well in a courtroom drama, yet he does. The story uses flashbacks effectively to help explain why it is so important for this character to defend the accused. The film has some great dialogue and the closing argument is quite powerful in delivering the final punch.
Recommended!
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – When Humphrey Bogart was told that director Nicholas Ray wanted to film the entire ‘sentencing statement for the defense’ sequence in a single take, Bogart was concerned because he had never delivered such a long speech without cuts and feared he couldn’t do it. Ray calmed Bogart down, suggested several rehearsals, and much to Bogart’s surprise, Ray rolled during the rehearsals filming most of what has become the famous and well-played sentencing sequence. (From IMDB)
Rating – Globe Worthy (7/10)
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