**SPOILERS** Very penetrating study of an amoral and sleazy defense lawyer who suddenly got religious when he found out that his equally sleazy wife was cheating on him as well as the similarities he had in life with one of his clients.
From the files of the honorable Judge Allan J. Brooks, Jonathan Hale, we get to see the story of Attorney Martin Strang, Milburn Stone, and the life he lead that in the end made him realize what a low down rotten swine he really was. Strang had gotten off accused murderer James Tilton, Norman Budd, on a technically the year before only to have him murder a young violinist Tony, Al Rosman, and his pet dog. Tilton murdered Tony, a crippled 11 year old boy, because was was driving him, his next door neighbor, crazy with his violin playing.
Called by Tilton to be his defense attorney Strang who tried to get Tilton off on an insanity defense was stymied when the court psychiatrist Dr. James Anderson, Stanley Waxman, determined that Tilton was perfectly sane when he murdered Tony. What really struck Strang was the fact that Tilton had a brother whom he greatly disliked like he himself did. This was the same situation a young Attorney Strang found himself in with his younger brother whom he, after having him disbarred from practicing law, drove to commit suicide!
It was later when Strang secretly caught his wife Lucille, Katherine DeMill, having an affair with the court psychiatrist Dr. Anderson that he got the idea to reform himself from his life of legalized crime and repent to all those, the victims of the people he got off in court, he hurt over the years! Planning to both cut his wife completely out of his will and set up her lover Dr. Anderson in a future murder that he so meticulously orchestrated Strang was going to right all the wrongs he committed, in getting murderers off, over the years.
***SPOILER ALERT*** The plan that Strang put into motion ended up working to perfection with the biggest surprise, to everyone involved including the movie audience, being in him, attorney Strang, ending up as the murder victim!
Very complicated story about one's redemption at the price of his own life. Strange's shoddy past had finally caught up with him in both the murder of Tony by a client of his, James Tilton, whom he got off on a previous murder charge and his sanctimonious wife cheating on him. But what I feel was the real tipping point in Strang's sudden conversion was his kid brother that he drove to kill himself years before. It was Strang's brothers tragic death coupled with the fact of him realizing how many lives he destroyed in his sleazy tactics in court that finally made him see the light!
P.S In a last act of contrition Strang left his entire estate, valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars, to the families of the victims of the defendants he so skillfully and dishonestly got off.
From the files of the honorable Judge Allan J. Brooks, Jonathan Hale, we get to see the story of Attorney Martin Strang, Milburn Stone, and the life he lead that in the end made him realize what a low down rotten swine he really was. Strang had gotten off accused murderer James Tilton, Norman Budd, on a technically the year before only to have him murder a young violinist Tony, Al Rosman, and his pet dog. Tilton murdered Tony, a crippled 11 year old boy, because was was driving him, his next door neighbor, crazy with his violin playing.
Called by Tilton to be his defense attorney Strang who tried to get Tilton off on an insanity defense was stymied when the court psychiatrist Dr. James Anderson, Stanley Waxman, determined that Tilton was perfectly sane when he murdered Tony. What really struck Strang was the fact that Tilton had a brother whom he greatly disliked like he himself did. This was the same situation a young Attorney Strang found himself in with his younger brother whom he, after having him disbarred from practicing law, drove to commit suicide!
It was later when Strang secretly caught his wife Lucille, Katherine DeMill, having an affair with the court psychiatrist Dr. Anderson that he got the idea to reform himself from his life of legalized crime and repent to all those, the victims of the people he got off in court, he hurt over the years! Planning to both cut his wife completely out of his will and set up her lover Dr. Anderson in a future murder that he so meticulously orchestrated Strang was going to right all the wrongs he committed, in getting murderers off, over the years.
***SPOILER ALERT*** The plan that Strang put into motion ended up working to perfection with the biggest surprise, to everyone involved including the movie audience, being in him, attorney Strang, ending up as the murder victim!
Very complicated story about one's redemption at the price of his own life. Strange's shoddy past had finally caught up with him in both the murder of Tony by a client of his, James Tilton, whom he got off on a previous murder charge and his sanctimonious wife cheating on him. But what I feel was the real tipping point in Strang's sudden conversion was his kid brother that he drove to kill himself years before. It was Strang's brothers tragic death coupled with the fact of him realizing how many lives he destroyed in his sleazy tactics in court that finally made him see the light!
P.S In a last act of contrition Strang left his entire estate, valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars, to the families of the victims of the defendants he so skillfully and dishonestly got off.