Lawyer Man

source: Lawyer Man

Trailer—Lawyer Man

Lawyer Man

Anton Adam (William Powell) is a little guy lawyer in a poor part of New York with his secretary Olga Michaels (Joan Blondell). Most of his clients don't even speak english. He is surprised when rich lawyer Granville Bentley offers him a partnership in his firm. He gets entangled with devious actress Virginia St. Johns in a case against Dr. Gresham. There is a lot of plot going on with an hour long movie. That's the length in those days but the flow feels rushed. I want more chemistry between Powell and Blondell. They need time to develop. They need more time for everything. It's a lot of twist and turns. It's also all Anton's own fault falling for a pretty blonde when you already have a pretty blonde. It's a fine pre-Code light drama but it's not excelling.

"Lawyer Man" pairs William Powell and Joan Blondell. That, in itself, is enough reason to see this film about a downtown attorney, Anton "Tony" Adam, who aspires to something bigger, but is unfocused about exactly what he wants. Joan Blondell, in one of the ten film releases of 1932 that list her in its credits, is a real joy as Olga, the secretary who tries to keep Tony on track and out of mischief. She has her hands full, because Tony has an eye for the skirts and a good left hook. When Tony's natural talents as an attorney land him in an uptown office, he still struggles to keep his nose clean. And he never notices Olga's personal feelings for him. In 1932, Blondell was not married yet, but only four years away from her second marriage, to Dick Powell. Seeing her in this pre-Code film is a real treat, though she could have used more on-screen time.

Despite two very winning star players, this picture is all surface: a trite story with no depth of characterization whatsoever, constructed of an unusually large number of very brief scenes which move the plot along but are not sufficiently developed to generate any feeling for the characters. The potential "meat" of the story concerns a presumed crisis of conscience for William Powell as a very capable but too ambitious attorney, along with his relationship with radiant Joan Blondell as the secretary/Girl Friday he takes for granted. Lots of potential here, all of it sacrificed to keep the plot moving.

William Powell plays an ambitious bush league lawyer who goes to work for a high-class law firm, taking along his trusted secretary Joan Blondell. It isn't long before Powell's clashing with a corrupt political boss and getting involved with the wrong women. When things come crashing down for him, Powell vows to become successful no matter what tactics he has to use. Enjoyable Pre-Coder from Warner Bros with nice work from Powell and the always dynamite Joan Blondell. She's great here, throwing in one snappy rejoinder after another. Kinda hard to believe anybody would look twice at another woman if they had sexy young Blondell as an option, but perhaps that's more my personal taste. The supporting cast is nice. The script is fun, though nothing groundbreaking. It's all pretty simple and familiar stuff but well-done and entertaining.