Review of Illegal (1955) by Art S — 22 Feb 2016

With his charisma alone, Edward G. Robinson holds this film together despite the presence of a few familiar faces (Jayne Mansfield, Edward Platt, Albert Dekker). Apparently he was on the B-List after his run-in with HUAC and therefore relegated to some florid fare.

Nevertheless, the film is pretty enjoyable, as Robinson turns from the winningest D. A. in history to mob mouthpiece after accidentally convicting an innocent man. He resorts to some excellent shock tactics in the courtroom.

But of course, things eventually turn sour and he's stuck in the middle when his ex-aide is arrested for murder and the only way to save her is to betray the gang. Not the cream of the noir crop but it ain't bad either.