Midnight Court

One-time district attorney John Litel has fallen on hard times. He's down and out, drinking in a dive bar. The cops raid the joint and take everybody to night court. Charged with drunkenness, Litel makes a passionate speech to the judge about how wrong he was to try and protect a thankless public when he was the DA. Suddenly court clerk Ann Dvorak calls out his name. He passes out on the courtroom floor.

It's not too believable but John Litel and Ann Dvorak give sincere performances in this modest crime melodrama.

We soon learn that Litel and Dvorak were formerly married, before he got all broken down and bitter. Having taken him to her apartment for breakfast, Dvorak challenges Litel to pull himself together...at which point he announces that he has decided to go to work for a local mob boss and become "the greatest criminal attorney this town has ever known."

Litel succeeds in starting up a new career getting crooks acquitted. The bad guys love him, including boss William B. Davidson. Their car stealing racket is going great. Litel is certainly getting rich...but Dvorak holds out hope for his redemption. What will it take to turn him back around?

Plenty of dramatics but not a lot of careful character development in this standard fast-moving B picture.