For the Defense (1930)

62 mins | Melodrama | 26 July 1930

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SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Film Daily
20 Jul 1930
---
New York Times
19 Jul 1930
p. 7
Variety
23 Jul 1930
p. 31
DETAILS
Release Date:
26 July 1930
Premiere Information:
New York opening: 18 Jul 1930
Production Date:

Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Paramount-Publix Corp.
25 July 1930
LP1444
Physical Properties:
Sound
Western Electric Sound System
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
62
Length(in feet):
5,670
Length(in reels):
7
Country:
United States
Language:
English
SYNOPSIS

William Foster, an eminently successful criminal defense lawyer under investigation by Daly, a particularly shrewd detective, loves Irene Manners, an actress, but refuses to marry her, declaring he is not the marrying kind. To arouse his jealousy, Irene makes a play for Defoe, a society idler; she is at the wheel of his car as they are returning from a roadhouse, and the car strikes and kills a pedestrian. Defoe takes the blame for the accident, and though Foster defends him, the trial goes badly for the defense; and when Foster learns Irene is, in fact, guilty, he becomes unnerved and, under the influence of alcohol, agrees to bribe a juror to hang the case. Daly extracts a confession from the juror, and Foster is arrested for bribery. Irene tells her story to the district attorney and is about to confess when Foster goes to the stand to plead guilty himself; she promises to be waiting for him upon his release from ...

More Less

William Foster, an eminently successful criminal defense lawyer under investigation by Daly, a particularly shrewd detective, loves Irene Manners, an actress, but refuses to marry her, declaring he is not the marrying kind. To arouse his jealousy, Irene makes a play for Defoe, a society idler; she is at the wheel of his car as they are returning from a roadhouse, and the car strikes and kills a pedestrian. Defoe takes the blame for the accident, and though Foster defends him, the trial goes badly for the defense; and when Foster learns Irene is, in fact, guilty, he becomes unnerved and, under the influence of alcohol, agrees to bribe a juror to hang the case. Daly extracts a confession from the juror, and Foster is arrested for bribery. Irene tells her story to the district attorney and is about to confess when Foster goes to the stand to plead guilty himself; she promises to be waiting for him upon his release from prison.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.