Counsellor at Law

I enjoy screwball comedy and the manic atmosphere is certainly fun to watch, but there's so much more at play that I kind of wish it would slow down and be a bit more thorough with the content. The film is loaded with commentary on class divisions and prejudices, as well as the role work plays in the lives of the various characters, but doesn't do as much as I'd like with it.

John Barrymore swings from ecstasy to suicide (twice! maybe three times!) in the most bipolar performance of his career. And he does it all while very obviously drunk! I enjoy his blinking (at the cue cards, I'm guessing) during two key scenes, and I love the class warfare that erupts when his lawyer character tries to defend (gratis) a Communist who was beaten up by the cops. Then he almost gets disbarred for... well I got lost there... palming off a daft alibi. Plus his wife is having an

The best movie about a workaholic that I've seen. John Barrymore is outstanding, and the play translates well to screen --briskly paced, terrific energy. It's amazing how much stuff gets crammed into 82 minutes here.

88.00

The quick pacing in the reception room creates the tenor that carries this film. Sometimes it's hard to understand what really matters, and I loved the ending.

John Barrymore, allegedly a drunkard reliant on cue-cards at the time, nevertheless gives a strong performance. The plot of Elmer Rice's play (adapted to the screen by himself) matures into an interesting character study rather late in the film, though. For the most part it's a loud, talky mess of subplots that's a chore to make heads or tails of. Wyler even crammed in scenes that Rice had cut out, and it ends up overwrought. It often verges on comedy, but the humor is half-baked.

John Barrymore is great in this! A hardworking lawyer on a roller-coaster ride of dilemmas. Fast talking drama with heart. And with the lovely Bebe Daniels as his trusted secretary. Can't get much better leads then that and with many supporting actors taking care of the rest with always some fresh angle going on. Well, maybe too much going on as it took a while before the movie connected emotionally with all the distractions. Regardless there's no doubt about it, Counsellor at Law is quality!