This was loosely supposed to be a story of Earl Rogers (Stephen Ashe), celebrity attorney practicing in Southern California 1900 - 1920. One of the most notable American attorneys of all time, he broke ground in many areas of the law including forensics, cross examination, and procedures. Earl's daughter, Adela Rogers St. Johns, claimed her own fame as a Hearst sob-sister and author of the book this flick was fashioned after.
Earl Rogers beat Clarence Darrow, who was defending the bombers in the LA Times bombing, then turned around and represented Darrow in Darrow's subsequent jury tampering trial (of which he was most guilty but acquitted). Darrow did his own closing arguments, a fact that was brought out in the OJ trial ninety years later as precedent for allowing a defendant to present his own closing arguments.
The 1932 bestselling biography of Earl Rogers 'Take the Witness' is now used as a textbook in some university law schools. It is definitely worth the read.
But the movie is an overacted melodrama featuring a little-too-close relationship between father and daughter. Hardly worth watching except to see Clark Gable's premier starring role.
Adela's second book about her father, Final Verdict (1962), was made into a 1992 TV movie starring Treat Williams and Glenn Ford. It was also not very good - poorly written screen adaptation after Adela's death.
Earl Rogers beat Clarence Darrow, who was defending the bombers in the LA Times bombing, then turned around and represented Darrow in Darrow's subsequent jury tampering trial (of which he was most guilty but acquitted). Darrow did his own closing arguments, a fact that was brought out in the OJ trial ninety years later as precedent for allowing a defendant to present his own closing arguments.
The 1932 bestselling biography of Earl Rogers 'Take the Witness' is now used as a textbook in some university law schools. It is definitely worth the read.
But the movie is an overacted melodrama featuring a little-too-close relationship between father and daughter. Hardly worth watching except to see Clark Gable's premier starring role.
Adela's second book about her father, Final Verdict (1962), was made into a 1992 TV movie starring Treat Williams and Glenn Ford. It was also not very good - poorly written screen adaptation after Adela's death.