"Attorney for the defense"- James Wallace.

Dwight Frye as James Wallace in "Attorney for the defense" 1932.

Wallace is an innocent man who has been sentenced to die for a murder that he did not commit by an ambitious district attorney portrayed by Edmund Lowe.

After Wallace has died it is discovered that he was not guilty, and Lowe attempts to make good for what he did by caring for Wallace's wife and son.

While Lowe is clearly meant to be the film's protagonist, and while we are meant to believe that at heart he is a good man, willing to make restitution for the wrong that he has done, I could not get past the first three minutes of this film. Dwight's portrayal of Wallace was so intense and so passionate that no matter what they attempted to do with Lowe's character there after you couldn't help feeling as if you wanted to belt him across the face for the rest of the film.

Dwight always delivers great performances, but this one seemed beyond compare. He should have got an Oscar nod despite only appearing in the film for two minutes. After what he delivered, everything else seemed to fall flat.