Main Street Lawyer (1939)

People are voting emotionally.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Flossie (Beverly Roberts), girl friend of gangster Tony Marco (Harold Huber), is released from the state penitentiary. With Marco and Ballou (Richard Lane), his lawyer, she goes to Corinthia to deliver a letter to "Link" Boggs, from her cell-mate who died while in the prison. The woman had been sent to prison by Boggs, and there had given birth to a baby daughter. Boggs adopted the child, named her Honey, and had bought her up as his own.District Attorney Boggs enrages John Ralston (Willard Roberston), virtual owner of the town, when Boggs refuses to prosecute a Ralston employee who had stolen his week's wages two days before payday because he needed it to meet payment on a new stove for his mother. Ralston threatens to have Boggs recalled.The court-room scene is witnessed by Marco's group, and Ballou seen an opportunity to keep Marco from prison, who has been indicted in the Big City by District Attorney Donnelly (Henry Kolker), by getting a change of venue. Ballou takes the letter so he can use the information about Honey (Anita Louie)to blackmail Boggs. Honey is in love with Tom Morris (Robert Baldwin), young attorney and nephew of Ralston.Boggs, after reading the letter, "throws" the prosecution of Marco...and is recalled from office, and Tom is elected District Attorney of Corinthia. This serves to break up his romance with Honey.Boggs then persuades Tom to reopen the case against Marco. Marco offers Ralston a bribe in the form of a real estate deal if Ralston will have Tom drop the case. An argument follows, Marco shoots Ralston; and Honey, on her way to see Tom at Ralston's office, is circumstantially entangled and accused of the shooting.Now, Boggs has to defend his adopted daughter who is being prosecuted by her former fiancée, who still loves her but is a true-blue-to-the-law fire-eater prosecutor.And, why is this? Because Boggs wanted to shield his adopted daughter from learning she was the child of a jail-bird.