The People vs O'Hara (1951)

[MissGoddess]

After having read about this movie and the troubles director John Sturges allegedly
had with Spencer Tracy's drinking during filming I finally got to see the man in
the role that mirrored himself so closely (after all, defense lawyers and actors have
very much in common ). The performance was nothing less than I could expect from
Tracy---excellent---but the movie itself I felt did not make the most of his character.
The ending became predictable too soon in the story, slackening much of the tension
that had been carefully built.

Tracy's character is a former criminal defense lawyer whose highly successful
career became derailed due to his alcoholism. Apparently most of his cases
had been for clients accused of capital crimes, and having the responsiblity of
defending a person for their life became so much of an emotional burden for
the counsellor that he turned to the bottle. The movie opens with he and his
daughter seemingly happily living with all that turmoil behind them, he is
"dry" and building up a no-pressure civil defense practice and the daughter,
played sympathetically by the wonderful Diana Lynn, may finally be able to
move on with her own life after caring for her father for so long. Until the phone
rings and old friends plead with Tracy to defend their son (James Arness) who
has been arrested for murder. After that, you can figure out the rest and it becomes
merely a matter of sitting back and watching an incredible professional grapple
with a juicy part. And that's the shame of it! He's so good as the initially confident
defender about to prove to everyone he's still a winner whose confidence gradually
erodes as roadblocks and dead ends meet with his defense preparations. But the
scope he's given to show all this gets so severely curtailed by the plot that I
have to wonder if it simply became a matter of Tracy being unable to film all the
scenes so they just deleted them from the script? It's one of those cases
of a movie that had the potential to be something really great but just falls a little
flat. I guess not even having old pals like the wonderful Pat O'Brien and Arthur
Shields around did not help Tracy enough. But I don't really know all the circumstances,
and I don't want to make more of this issue than was the truth. It's just a shame
because he's that good in it.

I might as well mention John Hodiak, an actor I like, plays the ambitious younger
district attorney who Tracy is up against in the trial. I almost didn't recognize him
because his hair is lighter than usual (not flattering, he looks so striking with black
hair) and his performance is so wooden and rigid he brings absolutely nothing to
the character. He's never been one for much range but he usually is quite effective;
this is the worst I've seen him.

A word about the cinematography which is by John Alton---there are only
really two sequences where he gets to show off: the opening and ending. That
is where we are taken into very familiar Alton territory: gritty, dark and dank city
streets full of sinister shadows and miraculous lighting. There are also a few
scenes shot with Spencer Tracy somewhere along the wharfs in Brooklyn (?)
during the day that are beautifully done and which break up the interior scenes
somewhat.

I can recommend it for real fans of Tracy but if you are hoping for something
as tightly directed and ultimately satisfying as Lumet's The Verdict, you
may be disappointed.

[movieman1957]

I saw it years ago and taped it yesterday. I was going to watch it today so it's either that or "Stagecoach" for homework from class.

[MissGoddess]

I look forward to your thoughts on Stagecoach, Chris. And,
of course, O'Hara.

[moira finnie]

My memory of The People Against O'Hara is primarily of certain non-verbal moments in this movie--which seems odd in a film about attorneys.

As Inherit the Wind and Adam's Rib showed, Spencer Tracy certainly could play verbally smooth attorneys with great skill, but, perhaps John Sturges was faced with Tracy the Recalcitrant during this shoot.

As you pointed out, Miss G., John Alton's deep dark cinematography is very beautiful, especially on the perpetually dark and wet streets of the city. The scene I seem to remember best though, is when Tracy, who is struggling not to take a drink, is found sitting in the dark of his living room. I'm not entirely sure why, but that moment seemed to have such power, communicating the Tracy character's dark, somber struggle to hang on, only to find himself somewhere between midnight and dawn.

I didn't know that there were difficulties finishing this picture due to Spencer Tracy's alcoholism, but, since he used to say, "Hell, I used to take two-week lunch hours!", I'm not too surprised. I did have the impression that the relationship and scenes between Tracy and Eduardo Ciannelli were truncated.

It's funny that you liked Diana Lynn so much in this movie. I thought she was one of the best things about The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944) and the charming Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944), but thought that once she received the MGM glam treatment in this movie, all her individuality and antic quality was gone, replaced by a lacquered neurotic, (then again, maybe it was just me at the time I saw her in this dramatic role).

I loved the Jay C. Flippen character. What a scene-stealer that ol' trouper was in films of that period!

Mr. Flippen, in Winchester '73.

Did you know that there are two French versions of this film called Les Inconnus Dans La Maison (1942 & 1992)? Released in the U.S. in 1949, (before the Tracy movie), here is a description from the All Movie Guide:

The great French character Raimu stars in Strangers in the House. He is cast as Loursat, the father of teenager Nicole (Juliette Faber). When Nicole's petty-thief boyfriend (Andre Reybas) is accused of murder, Loursat, a once-great attorney who has taken to drink, cleans up his act and defends the lad in court. Filmed in 1942, Strangers in the House attained an American release in 1949, three years after Raimu's death. Based on a novel by Georges Simenon, the film was remade in 1967 as Cop-Out, with James Mason and in 1992 as L'Inconnu dans la Maison with Jean-Paul Belmondo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

[MissGoddess]

Howdy Moira!

I did feel the power of that scene in Tracy's house you described, it
was one of the best showing his losing battle.

I would recommend you give the movie another look one day, at
least for a possible reappraisal of Diana Lynn's character. There is no
real neuroticism on display, she's just torn between the man she loves
who wants her to leave home and marry him and her concern for her
father. One thing I wish the script (by John Monks, Jr) and director
had at least touched upon was what became of Tracy's wife, Diana's
mother. Surely that had SOMETHING to do with his unhappiness and the
descent into alcoholic self-destruction the first time around? But no mention
is made of her at all and, here I go again, but bear with me, if John
Ford had directed this I just KNOW he would not have left that stone
unturned (also, I couldn't help but compare this movie to The Last
Hurrah, another movie dealing with a "great" man girding up for one more
victory). The movie needed that angle worked in, because then we could
have gotten even more involved emotionally with the character. John
Sturges is not a director I equate with deeply emotional scenes, so that
may be part of the issue.


That info about those French versions is very interesting---I did make
note of the screenwriter and the name of the person who wrote the
original novel, Eleazer Lipsky (sp?) who is also co-credited as
screenwriter. Those French versions sound more interesting in terms of
story. Too bad they didn't use them for the basis of People
Against O'Hara (I goofed on the thread title, sorry) rather than
introduce that mundane "mobster" angle. I so wanted this movie to be
an emotional drama instead of the crime drama it devolved into.

Finally, I suspect Spencer Tracy may have been like Marilyn Monroe---heck
to work with sometimes, but the results are nearly always worth it.

[MissGoddess]

And Moira, I wanted to add that I do think Diana Lynn's real
forte was in comedy. Sometimes, when brilliant comedic actresses
do straight parts that don't incorporate at least some shred of their
humor, they can seem so leaden. Lynn isn't quite without personality
here and I tried to forget how funny she was in the movies you listed,
especially The Major and the Minor, and just concentrate on her
character. I did wistfully regret there wasn't more humor from her, though, I just couldn't help it.