Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

edwagreen How ironic in the following year that Robinson and Foch would play supporting, but yet extremely important roles in "The Ten Commandments.""Illegal" is just a terrific movie all the way. Robinson, the gruff district attorney, sends an innocent man to the chair and turns to drinking and dealing with shady characters after his resignation.Nina Foch's father gave him his start and he has taken care of her, making sure she has landed a position in the D.A.'s office. Go know that her husband, Hugh Marlowe, gives information to corrupt people and Foch kills him when he discovers she is on to him and nearly kills her.Robinson defends Foch despite the fact that Albert Dekker, the chief of the crooks, doesn't want the trial to implicate him.Nice change for a turn for Ellen Corby who plays Robinson's devoted secretary.

jpdoherty A remake of Warner's "The Mouthpiece" (1932) "Illegal" is a substantial half forgotten Noir! Directed for Warners in 1955 by Englishman Lewis Allen it stars Edward G. Robinson as a highly accomplished prosecuting attorney who becomes disillusioned when he learns that the man he was responsible for sending to the electric chair (a young DeForest Kelly) has finally been exonerated and found to be innocent after all. With his reputation now in tatters he hits the bottle ending up on skid row. But he slowly picks himself up from the gutter becomes a defence lawyer and a "fixer" for racketeer Albert Dekker. Robinson is terrific in it! His screen presence - with that soft spoken matter of fact acting style - is altogether appealing. This, after "Key Largo" (1948) was his first picture for the studio since his contract ended with them in 1942. And while not being an overly auspicious return it wasn't a bad one either. Others in the cast are Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe and making her debut , as Dekker's moll, the voluptuous Jayne Mansfield with the dubious moniker Angel O'Hara (Dekker auditioning her as she plays the piano glibly declares to Robinson "interesting girl - lives and breaths music!"). A fairly engaging movie, nicely written and sharply photographed in monochrome by Perverell Marley. The studio's legendary composer Max Steiner provides an attractive score which gives the movie an agreeable pace."Illegal" is the second feature on this excellent DVD that also features RKO's enjoyable Mitchum Noir "The Big Steal" (1949). A splendid package this fine double bill comes with trailers and commentaries for both movies plus a featurette. Interestingly the commentary on "Illegal" is spoken by the film's leading lady Nina Foch (she pronounces it Fash) who informs us that she now teaches film directing at USC. Not bad for an 84 year old! Also Robinson is interviewed on set by the ill-fated Gig Young where we learn that Robinson loaned some of his prized and valuable paintings from his famous art collection to the studio for use in the picture. They can readily be seen in the movie in Dekker's palatial apartment.Classic line from "Illegal" - when Robinson warns Dekker not to blame him if the court case goes wrong - Dekker responds "I don't blame people - I bury 'em"!

funkyfry This is as good an example of what you might call "character suspense" of any film I can think of from the 50s. Edward G. Robinson keeps the audience wondering about his motives and ethics right down to the end; any time the scenario threatens to get stale, he throws a curve at us just like his character, district attorney turned legal gun-for-hire Victor Scott. Compelled by his obsession with the woman who he helped to raise, Ellen Miles (Nina Foch) and an ego that will not allow him to lose a single case, he seems to careen into one situation after another out of his control only to somehow emerge victorious and heroic.The story is kicked off by a series of events surrounding an innocent man accused of a murder, played by DeForest Kelly. After having convicted and executed an innocent man, Scott loses faith in his ability to prosecute and hits the bottle hard. He finds his edge again in criminal defense after spending a few nights in the tank himself. Some aspects of the story at this point are just a fairly obvious progression towards a redemption moment, but Robinson keeps everything moving forward by inserting his own brand of ambiguity into the character, made up of the small but obvious moments that lend charm to so many of his performances.The film is not really notable in terms of direction. In fact if anything it's notable as an example of good acting triumphing over mediocre direction; there are a lot of scenes like the one when Robinson comes out of the courtroom after drinking the poison and stops to drink at a fountain, that seem to me poorly staged compared to the effect he could have achieved.A movie made very classy by two memorable stars, Robinson as well as Foch. Foch seems unsure of her character at some points, perhaps due to the direction or the often strange script, but she makes something out of her scenes with Robinson and Hugh Marlowe (playing her devious husband). Marlowe seems uncomfortable in the role, if an actor as stiff as Marlowe can ever be said to be un-nerved then he was in some scenes in this film.

Terrell-4 This movie starring Edward G. Robinson brings mixed feelings: Admiration for Robinson's skill and stature as an actor; affection for the man, who was a decent and admirable human being; and sadness bordering on disgust for the kind of movies, such as this one, Robinson made beginning in the early Fifties. He'd been unofficially blacklisted during the Commie witch-hunts of the late Forties and Fifties. The studio heads wanted no trouble from Congressional investigations or write-ups in such virulent rags as Red Channels. Robinson's crime: It was whispered that he was too liberal. To make a living and to continue acting, Robinson had to take on such things as Vice Squad (1953), Black Tuesday (1954), Tight Spot, A Bullet for Joey and Illegal (all 1955). It wasn't until Frank Sinatra insisted Robinson be cast in A Hole in the Head in 1959, when Robinson was 66, that studio heads decided that he was safe enough to be used in A-level movies. Ambitious, competitive D.A. Victor Scott (Robinson) sends an innocent man to the chair. It was a mistake, but that doesn't help the man who was executed. Now the man the newspapers called the Napoleon of the Courtroom not only has his career destroyed, but his belief in himself as a prosecutor. He quits as D.A. From now on Scott will fight for the defense. Well, you know how it goes. Before long Scott is defending crooks and killers. He's aggressive in the court, using every trick, emotion and manipulation to win. It's not long before he finds himself ensnarled in the affairs of the powerful Frank Garland, a kingpin of oil wells, breweries, trucking, hotels, investment companies and vice. Garland is a man who buries his mistakes. Sooner or later Victor Scott, manipulator extraordinaire of juries, is going to come face to face with his conscience, especially when Ellen Miles (Nina Foch), a woman he realizes he may love, is charged with murder and Garland is involved. He'll have some decisions to make. Illegal isn't an A-movie. It's a melodramatic not quite B-movie. The difference, or course, is Edward G. Robinson. While the melodrama piles up, Victor Scott stays tough and smart. Robinson makes him effortlessly believable. Robinson, a noted art collector, loaned two paintings from his collection for a scene in the movie he shares with Albert Dekker as Garland. It's an amusing moment watching Robinson as Scott comment on Garland's collection of Impressionist masterpieces that were owned by Robinson. "Degas!...and isn't that a Gauguin?...I've always had to content myself with reproductions." Robinson plays it absolutely straight. It's always a pleasure to watch Nina Foch at work. Jayne Mansfield shows up in her first movie as a singer in a nightclub who earns Garland's pay in more ways than one. What she does to "To Marvelous for Words" should have stopped her career in its tracks.