Criminal Court (1946)

Did you people see the same film I saw?

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This is a good noir-ish courtroom drama that is well acted and nicely paced, directed by Robert Wise. It is a b- movie but is very solidly made and it will hold your attention.Tom Conway stars as a criminal defense lawyer with a flamboyant courtroom style. In one particularly long courtroom scene early in the film Conway delivers a stunning performance. Anyone who has any doubts about Conway's acting abilities should view that one scene and they will change their mind. Little known Martha O'Driscoll is very beautiful in this, her nightclub scenes are well staged and her overall performance is first rate. Many fine performers such as Robert Armstrong and the great Addison Richards round out the cast.If you want to see courtroom dramatics and cunning legal maneuvers in a mid-1940's film-noir setting, "Criminal Court" is recommended for you.

Tom Conway stars in Criminal Court, a 1946 B movie also starring Martha O'Driscoll, and June Clayworth. Conway plays Steve Barnes, a lawyer with a great reputation who is going to run for DA. When his girlfriend (O'Driscoll, who in real life married big money and got out of Dodge) is accused of the murder of the gangster whose club she worked in, he defends her. It was an accidental shooting, and he actually did it. There is an eye witness, if only he can find out who it is -- and there is a lot of resistance to him finding out.This is a very light noir without much suspense, mildly entertaining. I always enjoy Tom Conway, and I wasn't that familiar with O'Driscoll, so I found it enjoyable.

Criminal Court (1946) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Robert Wise directed this RKO noir about lawyer Steve Barnes (Tom Conway) who accidentally kills a gangster (Robert Armstrong) but he's thrown for a loop when his girlfriend (Martha O'Driscoll) is accused of the crime because she worked at his nightclub. The lawyer, who just happens to be running for D.A., tries to confess to the crime but no one believes him so he must find another way to prove her innocence. CRIMINAL COURT is a "B" movie that is so far-fetched that at times you really have to laugh wondering if the screenwriter wasn't just making things up as the filming went along. I say that because there are so many twists and turns in this film yet every single one of them are ones that you'll see coming from a mile away. It certainly doesn't help that all of them perfectly fit in place not because they're smart but because they're just so obvious. As far as a mystery goes, this thing is about as simple as they come but none of this completely kills the film thanks in large part to some fine direction by Wise and some fun performances. Conway is completely believable in his role as the hot shot lawyer who will stop at nothing to win a case. Montgomery only appears in half the film but he was a lot of fun as well. Both O'Driscoll and June Clayworth are good in their parts even though both of their characters are probably the weakest in the film. CRIMINIAL COURT certainly isn't going to win any awards but at just 63-minutes the thing moves along well enough that fans of the genre should enjoy it.

Although always in his brother's shadow - he even took over the Falcon series that his brother (George Sanders) had originated - Tom Conway improved every film that he appeared in. A lot more light hearted in his acting than his brother, who often portrayed the world weary cynic. In this early directorial effort of Robert Wise, he plays Steve Barnes, a lawyer, who just finds out that his girlfriend Georgia has secured a singing spot at the Club Circle, run by the notorious Vic Wright (Robert Armstrong, looking great and always good to watch). Georgia is played by Martha O'Driscoll, a beautiful, under-rated actress who retired way too early. In this film she gets to sing 2 popular songs - "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" and "This is a Lovely Way to Spend an Evening" and she puts them over really well.Wright is involved in a shooting and has bribed one of his dumb henchmen to identify an innocent man as the murderer. By producing a gun in court and causing a sensation Barnes proves the man is lying. Meanwhile photos have been taken of Vic's brother Frank (Steve Brodie) making a payment to an ex vice cop. Vic calls Steve to offer him money for his campaign (Steve is running for District Attorney) on condition that he doesn't show the pictures to the police. When Steve is summoned to Vic's office a scuffle breaks out and Vic is accidentally shot. Georgia calls into his office after her song and is then accused of murder.The rest of the film deals with Steve and his efforts to get people to believe his confession. Georgia comes to him for help and he promises to represent her. His secretary, Jane, was in reality, in the pay of Vic and had been feeding him information about Steve. She saw the whole thing from a panel in the door and confesses to the big crime boss (Robert Warwick) that it was wholly accidental but is told to keep quiet. Steve then has to prove that he is the guilty one and enlists his secretary to leave no stone unturned to find the lone witness to the event (Steve still has no idea that Jane had been working for Vic). Jane is played by June Clayworth, who made her film debut as a talentless singer in a Lee Morse musical short "The Music Racket"(1930).At only an hour this film really moves along and is recommended.