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To me, this movie is perfection.

hyped garbage

How sad is this?

Good movie but grossly overrated

Has anyone else noticed that some of the best underrated or little known movie gems of the Forties and Fifties have only one word titles? I'm thinking of films like Bogart's "Conflict (1945), "Detour (1945) and "Impact" (1949). All of these turned out to be nifty noir thrillers, and although "Illegal" may not totally fit the noir definition, it still packs a decent punch with it's compelling story line.This one also has Edgar G. Robinson as a less than scrupulous prosecuting attorney who switches sides after a man who's convicted of murder turns out to be innocent, but winds up in the electric chair right before Victor Scott (Robinson) can make the save. You know, there was something odd about that courtroom scene when Edward Clary (DeForest Kelley) was found guilty. The jury delivered their guilty charge immediately after Scott's closing argument, so why wouldn't they have deliberated on a verdict? Somebody goofed big time on that one.Now I'm not familiar enough with courtroom proceedings to know if Scott's antics could ever fly in a court of law, but they certainly livened up this story. How about Scott decking Henry Kulky coming off the witness stand to prove a point? Or downing the vial of poison with a narrow forty five minute window to get his stomach pumped? I think Robinson's character probably stretched the legal definition of being out of order to the max with those stunts, but the judge and the opposing attorneys in those cases didn't seem that fazed by it, so who am I to say? In hindsight, this film has an eclectic cast of supporting actors on hand, with folks like Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe, Ellen Corby and Ed Platt appearing in the story, and if you keep your eye on Jayne Mansfield (and who wouldn't?), you'll notice that she lent new meaning to the definition of hourglass figure when she appeared as a witness in the final courtroom scene. Not bad for one of her very first screen appearances.

. . . (or double Scotch, to be perfectly accurate) just because he learns that he's fried a totally innocent man, "Edward Clary." Without Scott's ludicrous over-reaction to his everyday American occurrence, and his subsequent life-altering decisions, ILLEGAL would lose its plot. But polls consistently have shown since the early 1800s that Death Penalty Blue State voters willingly accept a 10% margin of error on Capital Punishment (as long as the innocent victims are NOT immediate family members), with the Confederate State residents perfectly fine with up to 30% of Death Row being in actuality Not Guilty (relatives or not). The prevailing logic among all Death Staters is that nearly 100% of those fried are either mentally ill, or they sport I.Q.s under 100 (with many of those knocked off by the government falling into BOTH of these categories). So all those folks who gather at the Death Prison gates for their recurring thrill of seeing the lights going dim (which elicits their loud "Hurrahs!") could care less whether or not a random innocent has been railroaded into a coerced "confession," since another murder case has been "cleared" with "closure," and Society needs to get rid of as many of these patsy leeches as it can, anyway. That's why there's not a peep of protest against the Death Penalty nowadays, even as Project Innocence exonerated its 417th Death Row inmate yesterday. Squeamish Victor Scott must think he's living in Sweden or something.

Edward G. Robinson plays a disgraced D.A. who starts working for the very people he tried to put away in "Illegal," a 1955 film also starring Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe, Albert Dekker, Jayne Mansfield, and Ellen Corby.When he is unable to stop the death row execution of an innocent man in time, Victor Scott (Robinson) sinks to the depths, turning to alcohol, until he realizes that he can have a lucrative career as a defense attorney for the mob. This is a disappointment to his protégé Ellen (Foch), who worked as his legal assistant and is still in the D.A.'s office along with her new husband (Marlowe). When someone from that office is suspected of leaking information to Scott, Ellen becomes a suspect.This was not a huge budget film. Instead, director Lewis Allen uses a real building interior and the streets of LA for some scenes, which really adds to the atmosphere.Robinson really dominates this film -- for a short man, he was a towering presence. I loved the scene where he admires the mobster's art collection -- it was actually loaned to the studio by Robinson. Besides Corby, future TV series stars DeForest Kelly and Edward Platt appear in smaller roles. Jayne Mansfield has a good part in her film debut, that of a singer/girlfriend of a mob boss. Nina Foch hands in a strong performance as the disillusioned Ellen.I had one small problem with the denouement of this film. Everything hinged on a phone call, but couldn't one access phone records in 1955? There is no mention of this; instead, there is a scramble for a witness. Odd, but a good film nonetheless.

Edward G. Robinson stars in this remake of "The Mouthpiece," with Warren William. Edward is a d.a. who has a way with his juries and is very showy in a courtroom and dramatic in his closing arguments, making him very effective in getting his point across and "getting his man" behind bars. But, he finds out he has sent an innocent man to the death penalty, a minute too late. When he discovers this, he quits, only to use his tactics in being a defense lawyer. He always seems to find a loophole in the system that would allow him to get his man off.Enter Albert Dekker, who needs his help, but Albert is a rich bad guy and Edward tries to convince him he's not for sale. Nina Foch is very good as an assistant in the d.a.'s office who has always loved Edward, but when he tells her it's no soap and tells her to marry good friend Hugh Marlowe, she does.All these plots come together in this tight, well-acted, engrossing crime drama and courtroom drama. Watch this and you'll see why Edward G. Robinson isn't just remembered for "Rico" in "Little Caesar," but as one of Hollywood's versatile actors. If you've never heard of Edward G. Robinson, you're in for a treat, see.