Illegal (1955)

Directed by Lewis Allen. Starring Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, Albert Dekker, Hugh Marlowe, Edward Platt, Howard St. John, Ellen Corby, Jayne Mansfield, Jay Adler, Henry Kulky.

Edward G. Robinson’s disillusioned D.A. becomes a defense attorney and gets tangled up in the affairs of a mobster (Dekker) who wants to control him. Things get even more complicated when he defends a longtime friend (Foch) from a murder charge, the victim being a reputed leak from the D.A.’s office to the crime boss. Robinson’s in capable form, reminiscent of his fast-talking, sardonic roles from the 30s, and it’s a reasonably entertaining show sometimes, but the sensational stunts the flawed hero pulls in court are more laughable than exciting, and it’s hard to ignore so many plot holes as the story tumbles on. Early film role for Jayne Mansfield as a dumb bombshell actress/moll is minor in spite of prominent billing, and her voice belonged to someone else (Bonnie Lou Williams). Story, from a Frank J. Collins play (“The Mouthpiece”), had been told on film twice before, first as a same-named vehicle for Warren William, then as The Man Who Talked Too Much in 1940. DeFoest Kelley appears at the beginning as a wrongly-convicted man.

60/100