Pun Salad

Part one of a double-feature DVD from Netflix.

We sometimes gripe about movie remakes; can't Hollywood come up with some new ideas? It's not a new phenomenon: This 1956 movie was actually a second remake. Previous incarnations were The Mouthpiece in 1932 and The Man Who Talked Too Much in 1940. (Arguably better titles than the hopelessly generic Illegal.) And all based on a stage play by Frank J. Collins.

So quit your bitching about The Karate Kid and Ghostbusters, OK? Recycling is a venerable Hollywood tradition.

Here, Edward G. Robinson plays Victor Scott, hotshot District Attorney, who specializes in hustling defendants off to the chair. All is well, until one day he prosecutes DeForest Kelley (yes, Bones McCoy himself). Unfortunately, Bones has a very small part, as Victor learns just a wee bit too late that he's innocent. Bzzzzt!

This causes a professional life crisis for Victor, who had fancied himself running for Governor. He quits, turns to drink, and his life bottoms out. A chance encounter in a drunk tank allows him to straighten out, as he latches onto a fellow inmate accused of murder, represents him in court, and gets him acquitted via a hilarious stunt (which in real life would probably get him disbarred or jailed, but…)

And all that's just in the first 15 minutes or so. Were this a French film, we'd be two hours in. The main plot revolves around Victor's involvement with his protégé, Ellen (played by Nina Foch), and a mob kingpin (Albert Dekker).

Fun stuff: Jayne Mansfield's first movie. Ellen Corby, Grandma Walton herself, plays Victor's loyal, tough, and cynical secretary. And Edward Platt plays the replacement D. A.! I found it amusing that his staff called him "Chief". (Nobody, however, said "Sorry about that, Chief.")