Illegal (1955 film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Lewis Allen |
| Produced by | Frank P. Rosenberg |
| Screenplay by |
W.R. Burnett James R. Webb |
| Story by | Frank J. Collins |
| Starring |
Edward G. Robinson Nina Foch Hugh Marlowe Jayne Mansfield |
| Music by | Max Steiner |
| Cinematography | J. Peverell Marley |
| Edited by | Thomas Reilly |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Illegal is a 1955 American film noir directed by Lewis Allen. It stars Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe and Jayne Mansfield.
Victor Scott (Edward G. Robinson) is a district attorney with a spectacular courtoom style and a drive to win every case. He is assisted by attorney Ellen Miles (Nina Foch), who is not quite as relentless, but is devoted to her D.A. boss. They have had a long relationship: in the past, Scott was encouraged and mentored by Ellen's father, and made a deathbed promise to protect her. It is hinted that Ellen would have welcomed a romantic relationship, but intead Scott encourages her to marry a co-worker, Ray Borden (Hugh Marlowe).
After Scott discovers that a man he sent to his death is innocent, he resigns and falls into an alcoholic haze. Arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct, he determines to defend another incarcerated man. He challenges a prosecution witness, who he says was knocked out during a brawl; when the man says a man of ordinary size could not knock him out, Scott sucker-punches him while holding a roll of coins that act like brass knuckles. The man falls unconscious, the case is dismissed, and Scott has a new career as a defense attorney.
Scott ends up defending an associate of the city's crime boss, Frank Garland (Albert Dekker), a man he refused to work for earlier because "no one would testify against you; you own the people who work for you." The man is accused of murder by poison; in the courtroom, Scott wins by drinking from the poison bottle and resting his case, knowing that the prosecution will request a recess and he can then hurry to a doctor before the poison takes effect. Though not in Garland's pocket, he establishes a careful relationship with the gangster, leading him into direct confrontation with the very office he used to head.
There is an ongoing leak between the D.A.'s office and the crime boss. The leak turns out to be Ellen's husband, Borden. Ellen discovers this, leading to a confrontation in which she kills him in self-defense. But the new D.A. (Edward Platt) gets it backward, believing that Ellen herself was the leak and that she murdered Borden when found out. She is prosecuted for murder and Scott defends her. During a lunch recess, as protection, he has his secretary take his confidential case notes and mail them to herself: if Garland kills him, they can be used to convict Garland. He then meets Garland, who asks Scott to protect him from being implicated by throwing the case. Scott assures him that he can win and also protect Garland, but is not believed. Garland has Scott followed and shot; but the hit man is himself killed by the D.A.'s agents before he can finish the job.
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