Going in, I had no idea that this film had it's inspiration in the famous Sacco-Vanzetti trial of 1927. Now that I do, I don't find that it makes much difference. I have some real problems with this picture, not the least of which is the way it brings the characters together. Case in point - the judge from the original murder trial of 1920 shows up as an amnesiac wanderer in a New York City slum, doesn't remember his own name, and then comes around to recall the events of a case for which he carries sixteen years of regret for not really knowing the truth of it. His crusade brings him to the exact location where a mobster (Eduardo Ciannelli), a witness to the original crime (Paul Guilfoyle) and the son of the convicted man sixteen years earlier (Burgess Meredith) all converge to set up a final climactic showdown in the battle of good versus evil. Now think about that - what are the odds?
Overlooking these highly improbable aspects of the picture, I can see why some other reviewers on this board give it higher marks than mine. The characters are portrayed with earnest sentiment, and the overriding sense that justice must win in the end propels the picture forward. But I just couldn't escape the idea that gangster Estrella (Ciannelli) would have been left unscathed if he had just left things alone. He didn't seem to have anything to do with the trial that opened the picture, (he wasn't even there), and there was nothing in the story to implicate him or his associates in the payroll robbery crime. Yes, we saw him do it, but it seems no one else in the story did.
You know, I like Burgess Meredith, and it was really cool to see him in a film he made forty years before becoming Sylvester Stallone's trainer in the Rocky movies. It gives you an idea how far he came as an actor from this, his first credited big screen role, and in the lead no less. He's surrounded by a handful of competent supporting players as well, notably the single named Margo as his love interest Miriamne, and Guilfoyle as the conflicted brother Esdras. But overall, I think the best performance here was John Carradine in his damning declaration of innocence to open the picture, a brief but moving encounter before the judge who would eventually lose his way. My compliments as well to director Alfred Santell for the effective use of those magnificent stone arches and alley ways, lent a particular sinister ambiance by the night time elements. Also for the clever way bad guy Estrella was brought to justice without ever getting to the bottom of the original case.
Overlooking these highly improbable aspects of the picture, I can see why some other reviewers on this board give it higher marks than mine. The characters are portrayed with earnest sentiment, and the overriding sense that justice must win in the end propels the picture forward. But I just couldn't escape the idea that gangster Estrella (Ciannelli) would have been left unscathed if he had just left things alone. He didn't seem to have anything to do with the trial that opened the picture, (he wasn't even there), and there was nothing in the story to implicate him or his associates in the payroll robbery crime. Yes, we saw him do it, but it seems no one else in the story did.
You know, I like Burgess Meredith, and it was really cool to see him in a film he made forty years before becoming Sylvester Stallone's trainer in the Rocky movies. It gives you an idea how far he came as an actor from this, his first credited big screen role, and in the lead no less. He's surrounded by a handful of competent supporting players as well, notably the single named Margo as his love interest Miriamne, and Guilfoyle as the conflicted brother Esdras. But overall, I think the best performance here was John Carradine in his damning declaration of innocence to open the picture, a brief but moving encounter before the judge who would eventually lose his way. My compliments as well to director Alfred Santell for the effective use of those magnificent stone arches and alley ways, lent a particular sinister ambiance by the night time elements. Also for the clever way bad guy Estrella was brought to justice without ever getting to the bottom of the original case.