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Very disappointing...

Fantastic!

Expected more

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

This one was Predictable going in, an Overrated Director, John Sturges, and an Actor, when commenting on, becomes Blasphemous to call Overrated, but a case could be made, Spencer Tracy, always seemed to be Old On Screen even in the Early Days and although He could be Commanding and Intense, the Range was Small and He Rarely Played anything other than Spencer Tracy. But He is much Beloved.MGM was Late to Film-Noir and Never seemed to Get it quite Right and this is another Excellent Example of the Studio Trying but Coming Up Short. John Alton's Cinematography in the First Act and the Third Act give the Film a Distinctive Urban-Crime Feel and the Ending is Surprising considering the Studio.But the Film is Clunky at times and Tracy Struggles to show the Difference between His Drunk and Non Drunk Scenes. James Arness as the one on Trial is Miscast and pretty Stiff. The Rest of the Familiar Cast go through the Motions Without Much Flare, even the Flamboyant Criminals.Overall, it is Highly Melodramatic and Not a lot of it Works that Well. But it is Worth a Watch for Spencer Tracy Fans, John Alton's Noir-ish Look and to See Director Sturgess before He Became completely Formulaic and a Mainstream Hack that Delivered Popcorn Pictures Masquerading as Artful Cinema like "The Great Escape" (1963) and "The Magnificent Seven" (1960).

I should begin by saying that I'm a tremendous fan of Spencer Tracy...second only to Cary Grant. But even having said that, I think this is a very fine film noir which interestingly combines courtroom drama with back alley thugs.Spencer Tracy plays a criminal defense lawyer who demoted himself to civil law after alcoholism took its toll. But then a family he has long known pleads with him to take their son's (a young James Arness) murder case. Tracy starts out strong in court, but his inner doubts soon begin to take their toll and he begins to romance liquor again...and looses the case. But he won't stop, and ultimately proves his client innocent, but at the cost of his life as he is gunned down on a dark street. You'll almost certainly see that coming, but there is a high degree of suspense here.The acting in this film is quite good. Tracy is dependable as he almost always was, and this must have been a difficult film for him, considering his own problems with alcoholism. Maybe that's why he plays it so convincingly. Pat O'Brien plays a cop friend just about the way you'd expect him to. John Hodiak is very good as the District Attorney...too bad his life as an actor was cut short. Diana Lynn, who never really made it big, is very convincing here as the daughter concerned with the pressure her father will be under during the trail, as well as the alcoholism problem.One for the DVD shelf? Yes, if you're a Tracy fan! Maybe, even if you're not.

The People Against O'Hara was enjoyable to watch mainly because of the great list of actors. Spencer Tracy will always be good to see in any role, from Bad Day to Mohicians to this movie. They don't make actors like Tracy and Bogart any more. It was nice to see an old favorite, James Arness at such a young age of 29. For a huge man of 6'7" he does a commendable job of not appearing out of place and acting the necessary age of his character. Throw in all time favorite, Charles Buchinski, better known as the Pennsylvania coal mine, better known as Charles Bronson, and one has a decent film devoid of modern-day vulgar language. If you have a chance to see this movie you should do so. sit back and enjoy acting as it should be done.

Spencer Tracy's only venture into the noir genre finds him playing James P. Curtayne, an alcoholic criminal lawyer who is living with daughter Diana Lynn. She's essentially put her life on hold to take care of her father.Friends from his old neighborhood ask him to defend their son, James Arness, who is being charged with a homicide during the course of a what we would now call a home invasion. Tracy's not up to it, he's past his prime and unable to break down the perjured testimony of William Campbell who says Arness was the trigger man in the crime. He's got a sharp District Attorney in John Hodiak going against him. And he's got a client who's lying about his real whereabouts to shield someone else. When the verdict of guilty is read against Arness in The People Against O'Hara it should be over. But not quite.I liked John Hodiak as the District Attorney. He's good in anything he does and his role here is as an honest lawyer who's more interested in finding out the truth than scoring another prosecutorial notch on his belt. That in itself is very refreshing.Given Spencer Tracy's own alcholism this must have been a part way too close to home for him. But he also is determined to serve his client to the best of his abilities which are sharply impaired when he makes a bad error in judgment in bribing witness Jay C. Flippen. Usually Flippen plays upright characters so this portrayal of a witness willing to sell his testimony to the highest bidder is against type and good.Other good performances of note are Eduardo Ciannelli as the mob boss of the Fulton Fish Market, Pat O'Brien as Tracy's long time friend and homicide cop, and in a bit role in the end Ann Doran as a policewoman who puts herself on the line in the final confrontation scene.Both Tracy and Hodiak in this film are two of the best portrayals of the legal profession on the screen. Even Tracy's ethical lapses are done with the best of intentions.The People Against O'Hara is a great example of film noir at it's best and one of the screen's finest players in his only venture in noir.