Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

AaronCapenBanner Lewis Allen directed this improbable courtroom thriller that stars Edward G. Robinson as a successful District Attorney who is humbled after he mistakenly sends an innocent man(played by Deforest Kelley) to death. Horrified, he resigns and becomes a defense attorney for a mobster whom he succeeds in acquitting, but again has a crisis of conscience, though gets another chance at redemption when a former colleague at the D.A.s office(played by Nina Foch) is wrongfully accused of murder, and he accepts her as a client, determined to clear her name. Though Robinson is quite good,(in fact he's the whole show), his character is most arrogant & dubious, and his courtroom antics downright preposterous.

DKosty123 Edward G Robinson brings his great acting talents to be a top dog lawyer and his acting is excellent. The supporting cast includes Nina Foch, Ed Platt (later chief of control on Get Smart), and in a brief role DeForest Kelly (later Dr. McCoy on Star Trek). This Warner Brothers film is a remake of an earlier Warner film.Still, the retread works out nicely. Right from the beginning when Robinson railroads Kelly to the electric chair, Robinson is in top form. The cast is good, and the directing is solid to go with the acting. Overall, especially if your a Robinson fan, this is worth while to watch.Robinson seems just as well suited to play the over bearing and shady lawyer as he is to play a mobster.

MartinHafer Considering that this film stars Edward G. Robinson, it's of course worth watching. Heck, I'd watch him in any film. However, I must admit that this is one of his weaker films--especially because it ended in a very clichéd manner.The film begins with Robinson working as a prosecuting attorney. He has just done a masterful job and sent a man (DeForest Kelley) to the death house. However, in a twist, they discover another man was the murderer and Robinson tries, in vain, to stop the execution. Having him call only a second or two too late was a good way to build tension but it was also a cliché--you just KNEW it would be too late and this lacked realism.As a result of this, Robinson has a breakdown and spends the next few scenes drinking, getting in fights and quitting his job. He just can't stand the idea of prosecuting another innocent man. But, in an odd twist and through a strange series of events, he soon finds himself defending mobsters--and manipulating the law and ethics as much as he possibly can to get these obviously guilty men off. So, you are expected to believe that Robinson went from crusading prosecutor to a sleazy shyster in such a short amount of time--an interesting idea but one that is hard to believe.By the end of the film, however, the mob is trying to convict an old lady friend of Robinson. He tries, in vain, to get the mob to relent, but when they won't Robinson springs to her defense--and incurs the wrath of the mob bosses for which he used to work. The final scenes, with Robinson being shot and yet convincing the court and then dying right there was once again exciting to watch but very contrived.Overall, there were just too many situations in which the impossible occurred. Credibility is strained to the breaking point by the end of the film. Exciting and worth watching, but also tough--very tough-- to believe.By the way, Jayne Mansfield appears here in her first film. Yet despite it being a very small role, I noticed she was very prominently displayed on the DVD case (I'm actually surprised they could fit her on it considering her ample...assets). The same thing has been done with many early Marilyn Monroe films--she barely appears in it at all but is front and center on the DVD art.UPDATE: I finally got to see the original version, "The Mouthpiece". It's significantly better...and a lot racier!

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"!