World Gone Mad (1933)

Director: Christy Cabanne

In this mediocre showing from the beginnings of Hollywood, we find bad writing, bad cinematography, and a lot of lawyers. Essentially there is a murdered DA and the new DA and a reporter are trying to get to the bottom of it. There is some love interest that is all muddled up. Its boring as hell.

Old boring law:

1. A bootlegger who is in good with the District Attorney is asked to “fight the DA to the finish.” The loyalties of bootleggers being what they are, he aquiesces. To make the hit he sets the DA up with a promise of evidence in a big case. After his death the DA is made out to be a drinking womanizer.

2. At one point a brief case is called a “lawyers bag.”

3. The new DA is looking to capture the men who murdered the old DA because “people look to the law to protect them.” He claims that he would shoot the criminals himself “if the law allowed,” but instead he will send them away for as long as the law allows. A very noble chap.

4. We find out that the penalty for kidnapping is life in prison.

5. The murder is an attempt to cover up corporate looting. This sort of stock fraud was pertinent as this was made in the wake of the great depression. Thus we get a bit of the criminal end of corporate law.

6. A hit on the new DA fails. He is in denial that he is a target and is told that DA’s “don’t just have accidents.”

7. A bit of legal theory: “Smith and Wesson make all men equal, and equality is the basis of all democracy.”

8. The bad guys are planning to leave the country on a yatch: pre harsh immigration law days.

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The Third Man (1949)

Director: Carol Reed

This murder mystery is set in post World War II Vienna. Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten), an American writer arrives in Vienna to hunt down an old croney, Harry Lime (Orson Welles), only to find that he has arrived on the day of his friends funeral. He is determined to find out what has happened to Lime and is soon embroiled in a murder investigation that keeps getting murkier and murkier.

That post war law:

1. Post war Vienna is cut into four segmants and each one is administered by a different state (UK, US, France, and Russia). The center of the city is run an international coalition of all four.

2. There was an inquest (not shown only mentioned) over the death of Harry, but evidence was not heard from the porter and a third unknown man. The Porter is told by Martin that “it was his duty to give evidence,” but the porter adamantly did not want to testify.

3. Search and seizure. A member of each police force show up to search Anna Schmitt’s (Alida Valli) room (as it is in the center of the city). They give her reciepts for everything confiscated.

4. Ms. Schmitt is found with a forged passport. We are told this is because she is a Czech and “the Russians could claim her.” We later see a police interrogation of her.

5.SPOILER WARNING: As it turns out Harry is still alive, but the police are after him for some nasty crimes. He is living in the Russian part of the city, because (for political reasons) he is safe from arrest there.

6. Harry claims crime money is “free of income tax.” He should consult with Al Capone on that one.

7. Harry also claims that while the government “talks about people and the proletariat,” it doesn’t care about the people. This is a statement both of a political nature and one used as a justification for Harry’s criminal acts.

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Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Director: John Madden

I’ll give it flick this: it is clever. That said it is still a chick flick with all of those miserable moments associated. I think, though, that it should hold something of interest for Shakespeare people (and maybe even a few David Webster fans as well). The story follows Billy (Joseph Fiennes) as he works on his production of Romeo and Juliet. During this production Viola de Lesseps (a young noble woman, played by Gwyneth Paltrow) auditions for the part of Juliet while pretending to be a boy. In the mean time Shakespeare falls in love with the Viola the lady and all the mayhem that one could expect ensues.

This movie is riddled with references to Shakespeares entire canon and it can be rather enjoyable trying to pick all the references out. Unfortunately, the plot is fairly hackneyed and cliched when you get down to its bare bones. But look out for Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth; oh, she is monstrous.

Law in love:

1. It is illegal for women to be in theatrical productions, thus leading Viola to declare, “Stage love will never be true love as long as the law of the land has” boys playing girls.

2. Theaters are closed and reopened by the Master of the Revels. If ever there was a great political position, this is it. If the office comes open, I’m running.

3. The Queen’s consent is required for Lord Wessex to take a wife. This displays the nonseparation of church and state during this time period (a legacy which still hangs on today in the realm of family law). Later, the Queen states that those joined together by God “even I can’t render assunder.”

4. When it is discovered that there is a girl in the play, the theater is closed. The Master of the Revels cites Sedition, Indecency, and Lewdness.

5. A license to have a company of actors must be obtained from the Queen.

6. When the Queen takes the stage she states that they’ll “all be put in the clink.” Interestingly enough the rebuilt Globe in London is just around the corner from Clink Street Prison.

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Jackie Brown (1997)

Director: Quetin Tarantino

Jackie Brown is a tale of a small time arms dealer, Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson) who is trying to save his own butt as his cohorts get pressured by the police. Each time one of them gets arrested, Ordell uses the services of Max Cherry (Robert Forster), a bail bondsman, to get his minions out of police custody so he can off them before they open their mouth. Max Cherry knows the score and when he is assigned the task of retrieving the beautiful Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) from the authorities he offers her his help. Jackie Brown turns out to be a little more than either Ordell or the Police can handle.

This is the first film that Tarantino released after Pulp Fiction (barring his contirbution to Four Rooms), and while it doesn’t quite measure up to the standard set by Pulp Fiction, it’s still pretty good. It sports a great cast including Robert DeNiro, Chris Rock Michael Keaton, and Bridget Fonda, but the plot twists aren’t as shocking as those found in his other work. The plot line is a lot more straight foward, but the movie doesn’t drag as a result. Instead we just get a straight foward cops and robbers flick with one bad momma in the middle of it all.

Guns, the law, and Jackie:

1. According to the film a Tech 9 is “the most popular gun in American Crime.”

2. Ordell uses the bail bondsman to keep his name out of the transactions. He first gets Omar (Chris Rock) out of jail, because he “ain’t got a doin’ time disposition.” Omar is shook up after his interrogation, and Ordell tells him that it is the police’s job “to scare the shit out of you.”

3. Omar is very worried about going back to jail. Ordell tells him that they will get his lawyer who is a “junkyard dog” and would “kick Johnny Cochran’s ass.” Course he then kills Omar.

4. Jackie gets arrested for bringing in more than $10,000 cash undeclared. She says of people in customs that the “job makes them a jerk.” Ain’t tax laws a bitch.

5. Max Cherry suggests that she get a lawyer. She says she can’t afford a good lawyer, and that she got 3 months before because of a public defender.

6. The soundtrack includes a song presumably called “Long Time Woman.” Which talks about 9 years in jail being a long time.

7. There is a scene with Jackie’s bail hearing. The bail is set high and the trial is set in six weeks.

8. Max Cherry wonders if there is Bail Bondsmen/ Client confidentiality. I doubt it.

9. Jackie discusses a plea deal, but holds out on the police. She claims that Samuel told her he sold guns. It’s hearsay so they can’t use it and they have to use Jackie to get hard evidence. Twist is Jackie is using them.

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The King (2005)

Director: James Marsh

The last of my in flight films from those harrowing Delta flights, and what a way to go out. I think that the director of this film said to himself “Let me see if I can fill this movie full of stereotypes. Yes, yes, I can make it the stereotype menagerie. Muhahahaha.”

No really, this movie sucks, I thought I was going to get some good Elvis references, but instead I got an ex-navy sailor named Elvis. He hunts down his father (who has never seen him and has become an evangelical preacher) to say hello or something. Once he is faced with his father’s rejection he seduces his teenage half-sister, kills his half-brother, and makes the viewer miserable for close to an hour.

The law:

1. The preacher’s son (the legitimate one) is giving a speech and he holds up a dollar bill and says “this is the legal tender of the United States.” He also points out that it says “In God We Trust.”

2. The point of the boy’s speech is that he is trying to convince the school board to sanction the teaching of intellingent design instead of or along with evolution. He get’s denied by the school board.

3. There is an absolutely piss poor police investigation.

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