The People Against O'Hara (1951)

Regisseur:

John Sturges

Drehbuchautoren:

Eleazar Lipsky (novel)
John Monks Jr. (writer)

Premierendatum:

1. September 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Krimi | Drama | Film-Noir

Plot:

James Curtayne has retired from law but he returns to defend John O'Hara on a murder charge. Curtayne's...

Plot Keywords:

Eye Witness | Alcoholism | Witness | Father Daughter Relationship | Love

Filmpreise:

1 nomination

Nutzerkommentare:

The Battle's In the Bottle

Besetzung

Spencer Tracy	...	James P. Curtayne
Pat O'Brien	...	Det. Vincent Ricks
Diana Lynn	...	Virginia 'Ginny' Curtayne
John Hodiak	...	District Attorney Louis Barra
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Sol 'Knuckles' Lanzetta
James Arness	...	John Fordman 'Johnny' O'Hara
Yvette Duguay	...	Mrs. Katrina Lanzetta
Jay C. Flippen	...	Sven Norson
William Campbell	...	Frank Korvac
Richard Anderson	...	Jeff Chapman
Henry O'Neill	...	Judge Keating
Arthur Shields	...	Mr. O'Hara
Louise Lorimer	...	Mrs. Peg O'Hara
Ann Doran	...	Betty Clark, Policewoman
Emile Meyer	...	Captain Tom Mulvaney

Alternativ:

Mordprozeß O'Hara, Der (Deutschland) (TV title) [de]

Länge:

102 Min

Produktionsland:

USA

Sprache:

Englisch

Farbe:

Schwarzweiss

Seitenverhältnis:

1.37 : 1

Tonverfahren:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Altersfreigabe:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Firma:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

The Battle's In the Bottle

The People Against O'Hara is a slightly offbeat film to have come out in 1951. It's both a crime picture and a fairly realistic study of alcoholism. The photography is by noir tyro John Alton, and in many of its night-time and shadowy scenes the movie looks like a thriller, which it really isn't. Director John Sturges was an up and comer at the MGM of this time, and the film was one of the earlier shots at A level film-making. The cast,--Spencer Tracy, Diana Lynn, Pat O'Brien, John Hodiak--are all fine.

I can't say that the script is any great shakes, but it gets the job done. The story goes off in several directions, as it deals with everything from father-daughter love to gangsters. I like the film more than most people and think that had the script been tidied up it might have been a great movie. There are some splendid moments, and one in the courtroom in particular stands out, when a young thug delivers such a double-talking testimony that lawyer Tracy almost has a nervous breakdown while questioning him. The kid senses that Tracy is vulnerable and keeps on twisting his words deliberately, and Tracy goes for the bait. It's a tough scene to watch, alternately sad, realistic and infuriating.

Tracy plays his role as a recovering alcoholic with sincerity and a conspicuous absence of sentiment. This man is not a saint and never was. Even when clean and sober he's a far cry from perfect, and he always will be.