Pat O’Brien stars as a lawyer who acts for the criminal fraternity. He bends the rules to get Douglas Fowley’s kid brother off a
murder charge. (Jerome Cowan plays the prosecuting District Attorney.)
Jane Wyatt is Pat’s secretary,obviously in love with him – she’s like ‘Della Street’ ,though he’s no ‘Perry Mason.’
Reporter Louis Jean Heydt sums up what folk think of O’Brien’s character, Regan:
“Anyone with a price to hire Regan as a mouth piece can beat any rap in the book.”
It’s nice to see Mike Mazurki as O’Brien’s friend and bodyguard – quite different from Mazurki’s usual menacing thugs.
O’Brien’s Regan has a drinking problem but pulls himself together when Mike is accused of Fowley’s murder.
I guess this is an ok film if you are a Pat O’Brien fan.The plot has some interesting twists.
Seeing Mike Mazurki reminded me he had another role in which he was able to show a different side to his usual film persona – THE FRENCH KEY, a 1946 light thriller has him costarring with Albert Dekker as two sleuths who get embroiled in a gold smuggling scheme.
Mike Mazurki
Vienna's Classic Hollywood
I’d really like to see this – sounds as if the plot has some similarities with great pre-Code ‘The Mouthpiece’, and a lawyer with a drink problem sounds like a good part for Pat O’Brien, making a change from priests. I’d also be interested to see Louis Jean Heydt again since I’ve just seen ‘the Great McGinty’ and he has a great small part in that – funny, I’m not sure I’d heard of him before and now his name has cropped up twice in a few days! I really enjoy hearing about all the unusual films you find, Vienna.
Thanks,Judy. I don’t know THE MOUTHPIECE, but I like the title!
Louis Jean Heydt (that’s some moniker) is a face I recognise but was never able to put a name to. Another one of Hollywood’s many competent supporting actors.