The People Against O’Hara (1951)

 ☆ ☆ ☆

The People Against O’Hara (1951) – J. Sturges

Spencer Tracy plays Jim Curtayne, a former district attorney in private practice now doing strictly civil cases because, as we soon learn, the burden of defending criminal cases eventually led to alcoholism. Of course, the movie opens with Curtayne deciding to defend the son of old friends from the neighbourhood against a murder rap.  We know, but Curtayne doesn’t, that the boy has an alibi but he won’t reveal it because doing so would put a married woman into jeopardy. So, this is a case that Curtayne can’t win and the pressure leads him back to the bottle (no surprise) and ultimately to actions that could lead him to be disbarred (which feels a little phony, it must be said).  So, it’s a noir set-up – and Tracy does seem a flawed character (although still highly genial). John Alton’s cinematography showcases his typically striking use of light in darkness. But somehow the film falters. It is a watchable courtroom drama but the supporting actors may not be strong enough (except reliable Jay C. Flippen!), Tracy may not have been willing to really tarnish his image, and the plot turns the downbeat ending into something more like an exoneration.