The Family Secret
"One mad raging moment behind the roadhouse...and a lifetime of regret!"
When his son accidentally kills someone, a lawyer must defend the man wrongly charged with the murder.
"One mad raging moment behind the roadhouse...and a lifetime of regret!"
When his son accidentally kills someone, a lawyer must defend the man wrongly charged with the murder.
John Derek
David Clark
Lee J. Cobb
Howard Clark
Jody Lawrance
Lee Pearson
Erin O'Brien-Moore
Ellen Clark
Santos Ortega
George Redman
Henry O'Neill
Donald Muir
Carl Benton Reid
Dr. Reynolds
Peggy Converse
Sybil Bradley
Jean Alexander
Vera Stone
When his son accidentally kills someone, a lawyer must defend the man wrongly charged with the murder.
"David" (John Derek) returns home one night to the home of his parents just before they receive the terrible news of the death of his best friend after what appears to be a drunken brawl. His lawyer father "Howard" (Lee J. Cobb) smells a bit of a rat and right from the get-go, we are aware of precisely what happened - and family loyalties are soon to be tested. These strains only worsen when an illegal bookie - already of interest to the police - is charged with murder and his wife asks Cobb to save him from the chair. Thus far, it's all fairly simple, neat and tidy but sadly the plot now takes a few silly turns as "David", his would-be-girlfriend "Lee" (Jody Lawrence) and serendipity get hold of the plot and it really loses it's way. Had it just been left as a family drama, it might have worked better - but Henry Levin just didn't have enough story here to string this out for all but ninety minutes, and by the end the whole scenario was disappointing. Cobb looks largely disinterested in the whole thing and I'm afraid I felt much the same way.
An attorney defends a hoodlum of murder, using the oppressiveness of the slums to appeal to the court.
A brash young lawyer takes a short-term, high-paying job as bodyguard for a slick business exec being threatened by a former partner, and quickly realizes he may be in over his head.
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check Niles' allegation; a friend of the Rome family, he walks a tightrope between sentiment and cynicism. When Martin fears Candella will implicate his girlfriend Teena, he'll do anything to protect her. How many others will he drag down to disaster with him?
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Upon waking up to the news that the man she’d gone on a date with the previous night has been murdered, a young woman with only a faint memory of the night’s events begins to suspect that she murdered him while attempting to resist his advances.
A hugely successful DA goes into private practice after sending a man to the chair -- only to find out later he was innocent. Now the drunken attorney only seems to represent criminals and low lifes.
A woman fights to convince the police that she witnessed a murder while looking out her bedroom window.
A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.
After being framed for a policeman's murder, a criminal escapes prison and sets out for revenge.