The People Against O'Hara (1951)

When recovering alcoholic attorney Spencer Tracy returns to criminal practice to defend accused murderer James Arness, he finds himself up against a ruthless machine of racketeering and crime. Arness claims innocence even though his alibi doesn't stand up. But Tracy, who has known him and his family his entire life, delves deep into the bowels of New York City's crime circuit which is lead by a former defendant of his named "Knuckes" (Eduard Cianelli). Tracy looses the case and Arness is sentenced to die, but Tracy is not about to give up, even at the expense of his sobriety, or his life...What could be a gripping crime drama or semi-film noir turns out to be a slightly dull, convoluted misfire. Tracy, predictably, is excellent, and it is ironic to see his character battling demons that Tracy fought in real life. Diana Lynn is his "motherly" daughter, fussing over him with worry every chance he gets, afraid he may resume drinking as a result of the stress over the case. This is disconcerting both to him and to her boyfriend, played by "The Six Million Dollar Man's" Richard Anderson.There's some really gritty shots of downtown Manhattan, under its plethora of bridges and crooked streets. Pat O'Brien, sadly, is totally underused as a police officer involved in the case, even though he has featured billing. The film starts off really promising, sags in the middle with tons of chat, and comes back to life in the last reel. As directed by John Sturges (who also directed Tracy in the brilliant "Bad Day at Black Rock"), this had the potential for uniqueness but ultimately messes up with inadequacies in the screenplay and too much detail mixed in to follow easily.

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.

This character and the film's ambiance seem closer to what is written about Tracy's life than anything else he ever made.(His "Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde" was dark -- Ingrid Bergman is sensational in it. But his switch from good to bad is so tacky it's literally laughable -- though not his fault.)The last line of this dark movie is one of the bleakest in movie history. Listen for it.In many ways he plays a character similar to the title role in "Father of the Bride," made around the same time. Everyone in that movie boozed it up, but that was thought natural and/or comical. Here is a sad semi-reformed alcoholic with a guilty conscience.The only real flaw is the Jay C. Flippen character with the ludicrous Scandinavian accent used. The rest is a great noir.

It's a shame this movie never lives up to the dark promise of its opening images: Night in a run-down quarter of the city; an all-night coffee shop, like Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks"; an old Swedish salt stumbling around. In deep background, a door opens, flooding a stairway with light. Then, shots ring out. What it's all about is a young man framed for a murder, whose impoverished parents coax "retired" defense attorney Spencer Tracy to exonerate him; Tracy plays half Clarence Darrow and half gumshoe. Despite the obligatory falling-off-the-wagon scene (where he succumbs to ethical temptation) it's a solid job. The noir influence goes beyond the camerawork; the ending is darker than you might be led to expect.