Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 14-February-10
Spoiler Rating: Medium

Counsellor at Law (1933)

The first half hour of Counsellor at Law is somewhat off-putting. The camera plunks you down in the legal suite of Simon and Tedesco and lets you observe the goings-on much like a client in the waiting room. You get a glimpse of the library and some of the inner sanctum but little sense of what important happenings are afoot or who the main character might be. It feels like a documentary about office life, with the gossipy receptionist, dedicated secretaries, business mechanics, and possible romances.

Just when you think the "day in the life" piece is going to drag on without ups or downs (or even a soundtrack), the camera comes to land on one partner, George Simon. He is played by John Barrymore, and the remainder of the picture provides ample evidence of why the actor achieved the status of legend. We learn from references to his past and a visit from his mother that George pulled himself out of humble beginnings by hard work and determination. Now one of New York's most prestigious lawyers, he prefers cases where he can champion the underdog or oppressed, although he is not above a tawdry divorce if it pays well. He has capped off his professional triumph by marrying one of the born elite (Doris Kenyon), whom he treasures to the point of adoration.

In contrast to other Depression-era movies, Counsellor at Law does not treat the progression from rags to riches as a simple happy ending. Instead, it uses George's already accomplished arrival to highlight the bitter gulf between rich and poor and the fact that success does not exempt a person from difficult choices, repercussions, or pain. His waiting room is a melting pot where a young communist seethes at George's snooty step-children and an heiress hunts for a seat untainted by an average Joe. Within his chamber, George learns that a rival attorney is mounting a case to get him disbarred, and since his ethics are questionable he has good reason to fear that his career is over. At the same time he realizes that his wife has no affection or respect for him and would rather dally with a feckless playboy from her own class and WASPish ethnic background.

Whatever his failings, George's intentions are admirable and his actions unmotivated by selfishness or malice. (The sin he committed that might get him disbarred was defending a man using a shaky alibi because of family ties and faith in the possibility of reform.) Barrymore portrays George as a sort of brilliant child, so passionately devoted to what he cares about and believes in that he is oblivious to his mistakes and even his own heroic drive. He is certainly oblivious to how much his secretary (Bebe Daniels) loves him even though this is a big part of his story. Her constant presence sets up a stirring conclusion and hope for reclaimed, hard-won success in their future.

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