secondtake Illegal (1955)If a little creaky on the edges, the core of this minor movie is solid as it gets: Edward G. Robinson as a troubled lawyer. It starts fast, gets faster, has some spectacular twists (in the courtroom, apparently based on real legal cases), and ends up being redemptive.The support cast is the biggest problem here (and probably the direction that is trying to get the most out of them). The story is slightly sensational, and has some clichéd parts (the bad mobster, the crooked D.A., the woman caught in the middle) but it's a lot of fun at the same time. Director Lewis Allen is obscure, and possibly over his head in a fairly complicated movie. The only big name behind the scenes is the impeccable Max Steiner, so the score is terrific. And Robinson shows how much he can act, again. It's worth it just for him.

zardoz-13 This innocuous black & white 1955 juristic crime melodrama is more entertaining than realistic. Edward G. Robinson plays a district attorney with political aspirations who sends the wrong man to the electric chair and never recovers from the experience. Clearly, the message here is that the death penalty is flawed. "Illegal" is the second remake of "The Mouthpiece" (1932) with Warren William originating the role of the aggressive district attorney that Robinson would play. The first remake was "The Man Who Talked Too Much" (1940) with George Brent and Brenda Marshall. Our ambitious protagonist, Victor Scott (Edward G. Robinson of "Little Caesar") turns into a lush and then recovers and goes to work for a crime syndicate boss. As it turns out, someone is acting as a pipeline out of the District Attorney's office, and D.A. Ralph Ford (Edward Platt of "Rebel Without a Cause") suspects that the guilty party may be none other than Ellen Miles (Nina Foch of "Prison Ship"), a woman who works in the office. It doesn't help matters that Ellen shot and killed her husband Ray Borden (Hugh Marlowe of "Birdman of Alcatraz") and accuses him of leaking information.Naturally, Ford believes that she is defaming the reputation of her murdered husband to keep herself from frying in the chair. Victor Scott (Edward G. Robinson of "Little Caesar") decides to defend Ellen because he put her through school and got her a job in the D.A.'s office. Scott is as shrewd as they come and doesn't mind stooping to pull a trick or two to keep his clients out of stir. The best scene involves a poisoning case that gets thrown out because Scott gulps some of the poison and survives. Of course, in a real situation, this desperate bid for victory would be challenged by somebody, but remember this is a movie. Our hero fends off too many questions and goes into hiding where a nurse and doctor are prepared to administer an antidote. Another good has Robinson confronting his successor in the D.A.'s Office and pointing out that every idea that Ford has is an idea that Scott has already had. Albert Dekker is satisfactory as a mobster chieftain and Jayne Mansfield makes her cinematic debut as one of the mobster's gals who answers the phone for him. Jan Merlin is terrific as a skull-faced gunsel who knocks off people for Dekker. The W.R. Burnett & James Webb screenplay contains several memorable lines of dialogue. "Desert Fury" director Lewis Allen keeps the action moving along rather nicely despite its formulaic plotting. "Waltons'" grandmother Ellen Corby plays Scott's secretary. Oh, yes, the poor schmuck who burns in the chair is none other than Deforest Kelly.

MartinHafer Considering that this film stars Edward G. Robinson, it's of course worth watching. Heck, I'd watch him in any film. However, I must admit that this is one of his weaker films--especially because it ended in a very clichéd manner.The film begins with Robinson working as a prosecuting attorney. He has just done a masterful job and sent a man (DeForest Kelley) to the death house. However, in a twist, they discover another man was the murderer and Robinson tries, in vain, to stop the execution. Having him call only a second or two too late was a good way to build tension but it was also a cliché--you just KNEW it would be too late and this lacked realism.As a result of this, Robinson has a breakdown and spends the next few scenes drinking, getting in fights and quitting his job. He just can't stand the idea of prosecuting another innocent man. But, in an odd twist and through a strange series of events, he soon finds himself defending mobsters--and manipulating the law and ethics as much as he possibly can to get these obviously guilty men off. So, you are expected to believe that Robinson went from crusading prosecutor to a sleazy shyster in such a short amount of time--an interesting idea but one that is hard to believe.By the end of the film, however, the mob is trying to convict an old lady friend of Robinson. He tries, in vain, to get the mob to relent, but when they won't Robinson springs to her defense--and incurs the wrath of the mob bosses for which he used to work. The final scenes, with Robinson being shot and yet convincing the court and then dying right there was once again exciting to watch but very contrived.Overall, there were just too many situations in which the impossible occurred. Credibility is strained to the breaking point by the end of the film. Exciting and worth watching, but also tough--very tough-- to believe.By the way, Jayne Mansfield appears here in her first film. Yet despite it being a very small role, I noticed she was very prominently displayed on the DVD case (I'm actually surprised they could fit her on it considering her ample...assets). The same thing has been done with many early Marilyn Monroe films--she barely appears in it at all but is front and center on the DVD art.UPDATE: I finally got to see the original version, "The Mouthpiece". It's significantly better...and a lot racier!

ZenVortex 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.