The Defense Rests

Reviews

CinemaSerf
"Joan Hayes" (Jean Arthur) is employed by hotshot criminal lawyer "Mitchell" (Jack Holt) just as he heads to court for what we are sure will be his 38th straight victory. Following a kidnapping, though, "Mrs Evans" (Sarah Padden) comes to visit and as her boss is busy, she is seen by the new and keen "Joan" who begins to piece two and two together and conclude that her butter-wouldn't-melt employer is maybe not quite the shining light he purports to be. Armed with some damning evidence, she confronts him - but events elsewhere overtake their stand-off and soon the fate of a man facing the chair is front and centre of the story. That story is a bit more substantial than many of these standard afternoon features with a rather beefier part for Arthur and a decent chemistry between the two as things get messy and dangerous. Add a couple of mob heavies and maybe just a hint of integrity and this makes for quite an enjoyable seventy minutes of crime-noir.
Movie Recommendation
- The Deliverance2024-08-16Ebony Jackson, a struggling single mother fighting her personal demons, moves her family into a new home for a fresh start. But when strange occurrences inside the home raise the suspicions of Child Protective Services and threaten to tear the family apart, Ebony soon finds herself locked in a battle for her life and the souls of her children.More...
- Rear Window1954-08-01A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.More...
- Parasite2019-05-30All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.More...
- Barbie2023-07-19Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.More...
- Deadpool2016-02-09The origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who, after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.More...
- Joker2019-10-01During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.More...
- Alien1979-05-25During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.More...
- Oppenheimer2023-07-19The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.More...
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse2023-05-31After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters the Spider Society, a team of Spider-People charged with protecting the Multiverse’s very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must set out on his own to save those he loves most.More...
- Black Panther2018-02-13King T'Challa returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country's new leader. However, T'Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne by factions within his own country as well as without. Using powers reserved to Wakandan kings, T'Challa assumes the Black Panther mantle to join with ex-girlfriend Nakia, the queen-mother, his princess-kid sister, members of the Dora Milaje (the Wakandan 'special forces') and an American secret agent, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.More...
- 12 Angry Men1957-04-10The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case soon becomes a mini-drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other.More...
- Django Unchained2012-12-25With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.More...
- Tenet2020-08-22Armed with only one word - Tenet - and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.More...
- Baby Driver2017-06-28After being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.More...
- Psycho1960-06-22When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.More...
- Get Out2017-02-24Chris and his girlfriend Rose go upstate to visit her parents for the weekend. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.More...
- Marriage Story2019-09-28A stage director and an actress struggle through a grueling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal extremes.More...
- Howl's Moving Castle2004-09-09Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.More...
- Ready Player One2018-03-28When the creator of a popular video game system dies, a virtual contest is created to compete for his fortune.More...
- Poor Things2023-12-07Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman runs off with a lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.More...
Similar Movies
Powder
1995-10-27Harassed by classmates who won't accept his shocking appearance, a shy young man known as "Powder" struggles to fit in. But the cruel taunts stop when Powder displays a mysterious power that allows him to do incredible things. This phenomenon changes the lives of all those around him in ways they never could have imagined.Perfect Hideout
2008-06-19A young couple on the run take a family father as a hostage and are shocked to realize that he actually is a serial killer who just murdered the family. With the police on the outside and the killer on the inside they now have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, all whilst trying to solve their relationship problems... This is an action packed thriller with tongue in cheekShock
1946-02-01In this thriller, psychiatrist Dr. Cross kills his wife and expects to get away with murder, until he discovers that the slaying was observed by a next-door neighbor, Janet Stewart. As Janet attempts to convince her husband of the doctor's dastardly deed, Cross shows up to advise him that Janet is in dire need of some in-depth counseling.Five Minutes to Live
1961-12-07A guitar playing killer terrorizes a housewife while his partner robs the bank where her husband works.Bloodlock
1998-12-20A young man in trouble is forced to drag his family into the problem.Hell or High Water
2016-08-11A divorced dad and his ex-con brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family's farm in West Texas.Dangerous Millions
1946-11-27Eight strangers meet in Shanghai to stake claims to the fortune of a late shipping magnate, then must evade a murderer in their midst.Money Monster
2016-05-12Financial TV host Lee Gates and his producer Patty are put in an extreme situation when an irate investor takes over their studio.Francis Covers the Bi...
1953-06-10A man who has a talking mule gets a job on a newspaper, and both get mixed up in a murder trial.Hidden Enemy
1940-01-20Reporter vs. German spies and their new metal.Birds of Prey (and th...
2020-02-05Harley Quinn joins forces with a singer, an assassin and a police detective to help a young girl who had a hit placed on her after she stole a rare diamond from a crime lord.By Whose Hand?
1932-07-06On the night express train from Los Angeles to San Francisco everyone’s a suspect when a jewelry magnate is found stabbed to death and an escaped killer is feared on board. It’s up to newspaper reporter Jimmy Hawley (Ben Lyon) to unravel the secrets of the motley group of passengers and find the killer before he strikes again in this tense and atmospheric whodunit.Two Tickets to London...
1943-06-14Accused of helping an enemy submarine, a man escapes and joins a beautiful girl in trying to find the real traitors.Let's Stop at the Mor...
2021-10-30Jackie (Ken May), a morgue worker in a small town leads a personal life of chaos and violence! As more than half of the bodies coming through the morgue, are by his helping hand. This killer may think he's going about his murders under the radar, but a small town disgraced Detective (Shane Ryan) is hot on his trail.Young Donovan's Kid
1931-06-06A crusader tries to keep a dope dealer from corrupting children.Noose
1948-09-28Set in post Second World War Britain, Noose is the story of black market racketeers who face attempts to bring them to justice by an American fashion journalist, her ex-army fiancée and a gang of honest toughs from a local gym. When a corpse turns up at black market front The Blue Moon Club, Yank reporter Carole Landis starts snooping, much to gang boss Joseph Calleia’s annoyance. And soon there’s a hit man on the way...Animal
2023-12-01The hardened son of a powerful industrialist returns home after years abroad and vows to take bloody revenge on those threatening his father's life.The Speed Reporter
1936-05-13Spectacular stunt work by Richard Talmadge, circus acrobat and stunt man for Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., highlights this expose of a big city criminal mastermind.Brenda Starr, Reporte...
1945-01-26Reporter Brenda Starr and her photographer Chuck Allen get involved in a search for the loot from a payroll robbery. Cliffhanging action and adventure and a fair amount of comic relief follow them at every turn.Why Girls Leave Home
1945-10-09In this crime drama, a young woman leaves her unhappy life at home to become a sophisticated night club singer. Her first job is nearly fatal when she entangles herself with the mobsters who own the joint and learns too much about their operation. Her boss decides to kill her and make it look like suicide. An intrepid reporter disbelieves the report and exposes the truth to the public.