The Defense Rests Backdrop Blur
The Defense Rests Poster

The Defense Rests

"HE DOUBLE CROSSED JUSTICE...UNTIL LOVE DOUBLE CROSSED HIM!!"

A sleazy lawyer's female assistant sets out to end his cheating ways.

Top Cast

  • Jack Holt

    Jack Holt

    Matthew Mitchell

  • Jean Arthur

    Jean Arthur

    Joan Hayes

  • Nat Pendleton

    Nat Pendleton

    Rocky

  • Arthur Hohl

    Arthur Hohl

    James Randolph

  • Raymond Walburn

    Raymond Walburn

    Austin

  • Harold Huber

    Harold Huber

    Castro

  • Robert Gleckler

    Robert Gleckler

    Lou Gentry

  • Sarah Padden

    Sarah Padden

    Mrs. Evans

  • Shirley Grey

    Shirley Grey

    Mabel Wilson

Overview

A sleazy lawyer's female assistant sets out to end his cheating ways.

Rating

7.1 / 10
10 Reviews
1 Popular

1 Reviews

  • CinemaSerf
    CinemaSerf
    6 Jan 8, 2024

    "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.

Recommendations