Man Of The People (1937)
1h 21m | PG-13
An Italian immigrant studying the law gets mixed up with crooks.
Director: Edwin L. Marin
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: Drama
Video: 720p
Cast
Joseph Calleia
as Jack Moreno
Florence Rice
as Abbey Reid
Thomas Mitchell
as William J. Grady
Ted Healy
as Joe "The Glut" Dwyer
Catherine Doucet
as Hattie Reid
Jonathan Hale
as Carter Spetner
Reviews
For a change, Joseph Calleia is local lad made good. "Moreno" has become an attorney minded to help out his community and that means he must do deals with the devil - exemplified by Thomas Mitchell's "Grady" who insists he defend one of his henchmen and in return offers him "protection". As courtroom dramas go - this stage is quite unique as it all revolves around a fish! Anyway, thereafter his new arrangement doesn't well suit his independent spirit, and he is soon teamed up with the DA and on the trail of swindlers trying to sell a contraption that can detect gold. The story is a bit all over the place and the writing offers little of substance for the actors to play with, but the plot is solid enough and the message of truth and integrity writ large. It is long, but is essentially two stories knitted together and so just about works ok in the rather predictable end.