Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Shades of the 1930's. It's Robinson and Warner Bros. in b&w, except Eddie's not a thug, instead he's an ex-DA turned gangland lawyer. Seems that as a prosecutor, he got the wrong man electrocuted. Now he's drinking and looking for the big money. Probably, there's an element of self-loathing, explaining why he goes over to the dark side. So, being a Code governed production, some final expiation is in order. On the whole, it's a good script by crime master WR Burnett, though I'm not sure I buy Ray and Ellen's showdown.Even if he's a ripe 62, Robinson's lost none of his trademark self-assurance. He's as masterful here as a shady attorney as he was back in his gangster salad days. Then too, I'm really glad to see Ellen Corbett (Miss Hinkel) get a bigger role than her usual cleaning lady drudge, while underrated Jan Merlin does his icy bit as hit-man Andy. I'm just sorry we don't get close-ups of Merlin who could sneer with the best of them. Add the commanding Albert Dekker as boss Garland, and a warmer-than-usual Nina Foch as conflicted Ellen, and it's a superb lineup of cast principals. And, oh yes, mustn't overlook an exaggerated Mansfield. I guess her busty blonde was the movie's big concession to 50's fads.The film may be a b&w throwback, at a time when the screen was turning wide and to color. Nonetheless, the movie succeeds in a way that I think movies are supposed to, namely, as engrossing entertainment, with a number of plot twists.

Illegal marks the third time Warner Brothers told this tale of a lawyer's downfall and redemption. It was previously filmed as The Mouthpiece and The Man Who Talked Too Much with Warren William and George Brent playing the role that Edward G. Robinson does here. I've not seen the other two films as yet, but it's hard to imagine either of the other players doing it better. In fact both the other guys would certainly play it differently than Robinson.Illegal finds Edward G. Robinson cast as a zealous prosecutor who convicts DeForest Kelley wrongly of murder. There's no last minute pardon from the governor however, no verdict set aside, because the evidence that could clear him comes as the switch is being thrown on the electric chair.Robinson's an ambitious fellow who would like to have been governor or more, but this does set him back on his heels and he takes to drink. But soon enough he realizes he still has the skills so now he can put them to work for the other side.That by the way is the standard way criminal defense attorneys are born, the best training they can receive can be as Assistant District Attorneys. After a nifty bit of legal legerdemain Robinson winds up working for mobster Albert Dekker. In the meantime his former assistant in the DA's office Nina Foch winds up killing her husband Hugh Marlowe when she discovers he's been a mole there for Dekker.The legal legerdemain is by far the best bit in the film. Robinson gets James McCallion out of an embezzlement charge and fixes it so that McCallion's boss Howard St. John is left without a leg to stand on.Jayne Mansfield lends her gravity defying presence to Illegal in one of her earliest films. She plays Dekker's moll and sings Too Marvelous For Words very badly. But as a singer it's not her voice that perks Dekker's interest.In many ways the lead in this story is a dream role for a player. Every actor worth his salt wants a courtroom drama because of the histrionics involved. Robinson has several courtroom scenes on both sides of the fence and convicts and frees clients by some interesting methods.In his memoirs Robinson called from 1949 with All My Sons until 1956 in The Ten Commandments as his B picture period. But I'm here to say that while the films weren't big marquee box office, they were pretty much well done dramas that Robinson brought his sense of professionalism to each role. Illegal is one of the best of them.

This is as good an example of what you might call "character suspense" of any film I can think of from the 50s. Edward G. Robinson keeps the audience wondering about his motives and ethics right down to the end; any time the scenario threatens to get stale, he throws a curve at us just like his character, district attorney turned legal gun-for-hire Victor Scott. Compelled by his obsession with the woman who he helped to raise, Ellen Miles (Nina Foch) and an ego that will not allow him to lose a single case, he seems to careen into one situation after another out of his control only to somehow emerge victorious and heroic.The story is kicked off by a series of events surrounding an innocent man accused of a murder, played by DeForest Kelly. After having convicted and executed an innocent man, Scott loses faith in his ability to prosecute and hits the bottle hard. He finds his edge again in criminal defense after spending a few nights in the tank himself. Some aspects of the story at this point are just a fairly obvious progression towards a redemption moment, but Robinson keeps everything moving forward by inserting his own brand of ambiguity into the character, made up of the small but obvious moments that lend charm to so many of his performances.The film is not really notable in terms of direction. In fact if anything it's notable as an example of good acting triumphing over mediocre direction; there are a lot of scenes like the one when Robinson comes out of the courtroom after drinking the poison and stops to drink at a fountain, that seem to me poorly staged compared to the effect he could have achieved.A movie made very classy by two memorable stars, Robinson as well as Foch. Foch seems unsure of her character at some points, perhaps due to the direction or the often strange script, but she makes something out of her scenes with Robinson and Hugh Marlowe (playing her devious husband). Marlowe seems uncomfortable in the role, if an actor as stiff as Marlowe can ever be said to be un-nerved then he was in some scenes in this film.

This movie reminded me of how great an actor Edward G. Robinson was. His performance is absolutely brilliant as the tough crime-fighting D.A. who sends an innocent man to the electric chair, then drowns his sorrows in the bottle and morphs into an unscrupulous attorney for the Mob.There is some terrific dialog, like when he admonishes the new D.A. with: "When you sit in that chair and have a thought, just remember, I sat there too and had it before you." Although the remainder of the cast deliver good performances, the movie is basically a showcase of Robinson's incredible acting talent. He dominates every scene he is in -- except where the gorgeous Jayne Mansfield is present, who plays the crime boss's classy mistress.Mansfield is poetry-in-motion, a screen goddess, and much better than Marilyn Monroe ever was. This is her film debut and she only appears in a few short scenes - which she totally steals - but is absolutely stunning eye candy. It's worth noting that although Mansfield is portrayed as a dumb blonde, in real life she had an IQ of 163, spoke 5 languages, and was an accomplished pianist - a talent she splendidly shows off in the movie by playing and singing for the crime boss. The direction and cinematography are good. There are some nice plot twists and Robinson finally redeems his character in an unexpected ending. This movie is classic noir and not to be missed.