Good concept, poorly executed.

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Admirable film.

The attraction here is the superb character actress Edna May Oliver. I have always thought that Oliver was more impressive in significant character roles in A films, and not quite as interesting in starring roles in B films, though she did quite a few of those. I was a tad disappointed here, particularly in the early scenes of the film where she overdid the snooty attitude of a society dame, Later in the film it seemed more reasonable.The story here is, essentially, "Twelve Angry Men", but with humor. The crux of the film, however, is the mostly humorous peccadillo of each member of the jury. Talk about stereotypes...but that's what brings most of the humor to the film.Of note in the cast is Ken Murray. As a kid back in the 1950s, I remember Murray showing his "home movies" of the stars. I thought he was a big blow hard then, and I think so even more after watching him in this film. Hambone. Also in the cast is Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, whom we are more used to seeing in Westerns.Of course, it's politically incorrect now, but the stutterer is quite funny.Although this is a B picture, for 1932 the production values were quite good. The ending is clever, though the film ends just a little too quickly...must have run out of money.Recommended for buffs of the really old films or fans of Edna May Oliver...and to compare it to "Twelve Angry Men". However, if you don't like really old films,this won't be your cup of tea.

A complicated murder trial is argued and decided in record time--just over an hour--in this RKO potboiler, leavened by the presence of Edna May Oliver, harrumphing and lip-pursing with her characteristic panache. But jeez, if this is American justice, I fear for the court system. As the most influential juror, Ms. Oliver decides the defendant (Jill Esmond, then married to Laurence Olivier, and employing a sturdy French accent) is innocent because her "women's intuition" tells her so. And the other jurors--including an annoying Ken Murray as a real estate tycoon, a more annoying Roscoe Ates stuttering, and Cora Witherspoon as a dowdy miss we're supposed to dislike because she wears a man's suit--come around to her side of thinking for the tritest reasons: they like her, or they like each other, or they're offended by something some other opposing juror said, or something about the defendant reminds them of someone they love. I've been on juries, and at least we were a little more analytical than that. The panel finally retires to the scene of the crime, where a highly contrived finish (including a hidden sliding wall, borrowed from RKO's horror department) leads them to the right verdict, uttered over the closing credits. It's a cheap-looking little movie, abundant in juror stereotypes; only Guinn Williams, unbilled, as a blue-collar garage mechanic, creates anything like a real person.

This wonderful character actress could do more with a sniffle or the raise of an eyebrow than practically any actress in Hollywood. What appears at first sight to be a pompous, judgmental and oh-so-uptight woman is anything but. She lights up a room just by walking into it, as she does when she makes her entrance into the courtroom in this predictable but entertaining comedy/mystery. The same year she made her first appearance as the irrepressionable Hildegarde Withers (think Jessica Fletcher as a school marm), she appeared in "Ladies on the Jury", in which she is one of several woman out to either convict or free a young French woman accused of murdering her older husband. Nobody has a chance when Oliver is on screen, and here, she dominates every frame with her delightful presence. Jill Esmond (then the wife of the yet unknown Laurence Olivier) is the woman on trial; Cora Witherspoon is a masculine jury member who is more concerned over the maid's attendance at church and obviously judges Esmond more based on her looks as well as the fact that she was married to a much older man. Her male suit and tie give a hint of lesbianism hid beneath the exterior of pomposity. Roscoe Ates is the annoying stutterer on the jury, while Robert McWade adds some comedy as the perplexed judge who obviously knows Oliver's character socially. Don't expect much for mystery. Just watch for EM's delightful performance. Unfortunately, the conclusion, heard over "The End" credits, is a weak finale to a fairly entertaining film. There were enough changes in the 1937 remake "We're on the Jury" to be able to watch the two films back to back to compare without being bored, even though EMO and her successor, Helen Broderick, are different types.

LADIES OF THE JURY is a little programmer boosted by the performance of leading player EDNA MAY OLIVER as a Bostonian aristocrat who is allowed to ask questions of the woman on trial for her life (JILL ESMOND), accused of murdering her husband.Edna May is the only member of the jury who believes the woman "not guilty" on the first ballot. The balance of the courtroom scenes show how she turns everyone around to thinking differently.Surprisingly, GUINN ("BIG BOY") WILLIAMS, who livens up the proceedings with some characteristic humor and facial expressions, is not even credited in the film's cast. Among the supporting players, he's the one that stands out.Unfortunately, the script is uneven and the treatment is less than routine with the outcome assured. The abrupt ending makes no impact at all even though the last word goes to Miss Oliver.The humor is scanty and it's surprising to see KEN MURRAY cast as a flippant juror whose attempt at comedy is not really successful.