Made by Santana Productions, the company of Humphrey Bogart, although Bogart isn't in this one there's clearly a role for him - the lawyer played by J Lee Cobb whose son John Derek commits a murder. Derek leapt to fame in a Sanata film with Bogart, Knock on Any Door. Cobb had made Sirocco fot Santana.
The set up is interesting. Derek has accidentally killed a friend and confesses to Cobb. Dad reckons he should come clean, mum reckons he should be quiet especially after an innocent man is arrested for the crime.
The thing with this sort of material is it has a strong dramatic situation - family love, murder - but it needs to go dark. Cobb is so strong and self righteous there's no drama there. He just sort of hangs around and waits for Derek to confess. The mother is very "don't confess" then her role sort of vanishes.
Instead we get Derek feeling bad. There's some scenes that feel real like him drinking and hitting on the secretary who likes him (Jody Lawrance, good value again) - she likes him but knows he's drunk and pushes him away.
I went with his for a bit but when Cobb actually defends an innocent man I started to hate the characters. Cobb isn't even that much of a defence lawyer.
So many scenes happen off camera - the opening killing (Derek could have killed him in cold blood, incidentally, we only have his word for it that he didn't), the heart attack death of the innocently accused.
Derek does better than can be expected, as the Variety review said. His weakness works here as does his looks. You beleive him as a spoilt rich kid even though this is more evident in dialogue than seen on screen. The film does have a through line... it's about Derek being a spoilt brat who is forced to stand on his own feet. It's thrown by Cobb who is the dad and is clearly so decent and principled. Really the film should be Derek redeemed by the love of Lawrence with Cobb/mother going "cover it up cover it up".
Henry Levin directs sluggishly.
You know something? This would've been better as a western. Outlaw justice - Cobb could've been tougher. Shoot outs. All that stuff.
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