Criminal Lawyer (1951)

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Seymour Friedman
My rating: 1.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Sony Screen Classics by Request)

Pat O'Brien is a slimy lawyer who uses underhanded tactics both in and out of the courtroom to get his clients off the hook. In one case, he stages accidents involving jury members so they will vote not guilty in a manslaughter case involving a pedestrian. He wins, much to the delight of his office lackeys. Jane Wyatt is his secretary and love interest. O'Brien has regular "two day benders" which she criticizes but accepts, since she herself is fond of a martini or two. Well, the wife of the dead pedestrian shows up and tearfully points out the effect of his charade on her children. This sends him into a week-long bender, during which his bodyguard "Moose" is accused of murder. Can O'Brien get off the bottle long enough to save his friend? Incredibly, he hasn't learned anything at all and stoops to more morally questionable tactics to prove his innocence, which the film seems to endorse by the happy ending.