The Law in Her Hands (1936).

The Law in Her Hands (1936)Directed by William Clemens. Cast: Margaret Lindsay, Glenda Farrell, Warren Hull and Lyle Talbot.

Two best friends Mary Wentworth and Dorothy Davis, work as waitress to pay their way through law school. After, passing the bar exam the girls open their own practice. Their friend, Franz, has a picture of the girls taken, just as gangster Angie Simelli, is throwing a smoke bomb in Franz's restaurant. In hopes to scare Franz in paying racketeer Frank Gordon, protection fees. Simelli, is then arrested and prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Robert Mitchell.

Gordon, finds witnesses to swear that Simelli was not at the restaurant at the time of the incident, but.. Mary and Dorothy have the photo as prove. Gordon, impressed by Mary, offers her a job as his lawyer, but.. she turns him down.

Also impressed, Robert.. who, will do and say anything to make her to quit and marry him. She asks him for a year to try and build her law practice. Mary, loses her first case in court when a dishonest lawyer plants a bottle of liquor in a coat she was planning on using as evidence in an important court case.

Robert, wants her to represent a man who has already signed a confession. Mary decides to use the same kind of trick that defeated her in her last case and wins her case. She is then forced to take Gordon's case with a surprise twist ending.

 Glenda Farrell

 The film, The Law In Her Hands, seems to make fun of women who want careers. The heroine's boyfriend, who is also district attorney, is such a jerk that you wont believe what he does to get his own way. The teaming of Margaret Lindsay and Glenda Farrell, is what makes this a fun film. If you are into the clothes of the 30's, you will enjoy the girls beautiful suits.

Margaret Lindsay (September 19, 1910 - May 9, 1981)  After attending National Park Seminary in Washington, D.C., Lindsay convinced her parents to enroll her at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. She then went abroad to England to make her stage debut. She performed in plays: Escape, Death Takes a Holiday and The Romantic Age.

Lindsay was often mistaken as being British due to her convincing English accent, which impressed Universal Studios enough to sign her for their 1932 version of, The Old Dark House.

After some minor roles in Pre-Code films such as Christopher Strong and Baby Face, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, Lindsay was cast in the award-winning, Cavalcade. Later, Lindsay performed in a small but memorable role as Edith Harris, a doomed English bride whose honeymoon voyage takes place on the Titanic.

Her work in Cavalcade earned her a contract at Warner Bros. where she became a  supporting player, working with Paul Muni, Errol Flynn, Henry Fonda, Warren William, Leslie Howard, George Arliss, Humphrey Bogart, Boris Karloff and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Lindsay was cast four times as the love interest of James Cagney, from 1933-1935. She performed with Cagney in four films: Frisco Kid, Devil Dogs of the Air, G-Men and Lady Killer.

Lindsay co-starred with Bette Davis in four films: 1934's Fog Over Frisco; in 1935's Dangerous (for which Davis won her first Best Actress Academy Award); in Bordertown, co-starring Paul Muni, and as Davis's rival for Henry Fonda's affections in Jezebel (1938), which earned Davis her second Best Actress Academy Award.

The Law in Her Hands (1936), she performed a leading role as a mob lawyer. It was rare among gangster films of the 30's to have a female in such a male-dominated role. Made after the Motion Picture Production Code came into effect, The Law in Her Hands was forced into a reactionary stance towards the gender switch and concluded with a plot twist that was the complete opposite of the Pre-Code period (1929–1934), when "female characters on the screen could say, do and be whatever they wanted".

Lindsay's best known film role was, The House of the Seven Gables in 1940, with George Sanders and Vincent Price. Her 1940s film series work in Hollywood included: Ellery Queen series from 1940-1942.

Lindsay, performed in a supporting role in the 1942 film, The Spoilers, starring John Wayne and in Fritz Lang's Scarlet Street in 1945. While her work in the late 1940s would occasionally involve a supporting role in MGM films like Cass Timberlane with Spencer Tracy, her film career faded, soon after.

She returned to the stage and co-starred with Franchot Tone, in The Second Man. 1950s and 1960s She made her television debut in 1950 in, The Importance of Being Earnest. More television work soon followed. Lindsay performed in only four films during the 1950s and two in the 1960s. Her final feature film was, Tammy and the Doctor (1963).

Lindsay lived with her sister Helen in Hollywood. Later in life, she lived with her youngest sister Mickie. Despite being romantically linked to actors such as William Gargan and Edward Norris, she never married.

Margaret Lindsay's sister, Jane Kies (1909–1985), was also an actress under the name of Jane Gilbert. In 1940, Jane married the son of Hedda Hopper, actor William Hopper, best known for his role as Paul Drake in the Perry Mason television series. Their daughter Joan was born in 1942, and the couple divorced in the early 1960s. Lindsay's niece Peggy Kenline and great-nephew Brad Yates were also actors.

Bureau of Missing Persons(1933).

Bureau of Missing Persons(1933). Drama/comedy, directed by Roy Del Ruth. Cast: Bette Davis, Lewis Stone, Pat O'Brien and Glenda Farrell. The screenplay by Robert Presnell is based on a story by Carol Bird adapted from the book Missing Men by former New York City police captain John H. Ayres.

When by the book Detective Butch Saunders, is assigned to Norma Roberts' missing husband case, he finds himself attracted to her. He is very disappointed to learn that, she is also wanted for her husbands murder.

Later, when the police find her clothes on the dock, Butch is sure that Norma didn't commit suicide. He stages a fake funeral to try and to lure her out from hiding. Just as he had hoped, she attends the funeral. Norma, tells Butch that when she was Roberts' private secretary, she found out he had an mentally handicapped twin brother. He killed his brother, making it look like he himself was dead to escape embezzlement charges. Butch, takes him in to the Bureau of Missing Persons. Will Webb be able to get him to admit the truth and will Norma be cleared of murder?

If you are a fan of the Hollywood films of the Thirties and Forties, you will love this fast moving classic film. All the characters are perfect in their roles and there are some interesting plot twists near the end. Davis, as young actress, looked absolutely beautiful in this film.

Robby, from: Dear Old Hollywood Blogspot: Bureau Of Missing Persons(1933).. Wrote a very interesting post on some real LA locations in the film. Please stop by and check out his awesome post.

Glenda Farrell (June 30, 1904 – May 1, 1971). She was best known as the wise-cracking, dizzy blonde, along with Joan Blondell, with whom she would be frequently paired.

She is best known for her performances in the films: Little Caesar (1931), I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932), Havana Widows (1933), Bureau of Missing Persons (1933), Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) and The Big Shakedown (1934).

She became one of Warner Brothers’ most prolific actresses of the 1930s, solidifying her success with her own film film series, as Torchy Blane, "Girl Reporter". In this role Farrell was promoted as being able to speak 400 words in 40 seconds. Farrell would portray the character Torchy Blane in approximately eight films, from 1937 to 1939 when the role was taken over by Jane Wyman.

In 1937 she starred opposite Dick Powell and Joan Blondell in the Academy Award nominated Lloyd Bacon and Busby Berkeley directed musical comedy, Gold Diggers(1937).

Farrell went out of vogue in the 1940s but made a comeback later in life, winning an Emmy Award in 1963, for her work in the television series Ben Casey.

Pawsome Pet Pictures: Glenda Farrell.

Fun Fact:

In most movies, she only had supporting roles, but she's best remembered as a hard-boiled, fast-talking (she was able to speak 390 words in a minute) reporter Torchy Blaine in the film series of the same name.

The Talk of the Town(1942).

The Talk of the Town(1942). Cast: Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Ronald Colman, Edgar Buchanan, and Glenda Farrell. The movie was adapted by Dale Van Every, Irwin Shaw and Sidney Buchman from the story by Sidney Harmon. It was directed by George Stevens.

Mill worker and political activist Leopold Dilg is accused of burning down a mill and causing the death of the foreman. In the middle of his trial, Dilg escapes from jail and finds shelter in a house owned by his old friend Nora Shelley.



 Shelley has the house rented for the summer to law Professor Michael Lightcap, who plans to write a book. When Dilg is seen by Lightcap, Shelley introduces him as her gardener. Lightcap and Dilg quickly become friends.

Over some things that had been said during one of their lively discussions over politics, Lightcap becomes suspicious of what is really going on and begins to investigate. He finds that the former foreman is still alive and hiding in Boston. Dilg is persuaded to return to town and admit his guilt. Will Lightcap convinces Dilg give himself up and be set free?

The acting is very good. Cary Grant, plays a very different roll than I'm used to seeing him in.. Ronald Coleman is also good as his rival and Jean Arthur is great she steals scene after scene.

Fun Fact:

Lloyd Bridges' tiny role was one of 20 film appearances he made in 1942 .

Glenda Farrell (June 30, 1904 – May 1, 1971), came to Hollywood towards the end of the silent era. Farrell began her career with a theatrical company at the age of 7. She played Little Eva in, Uncle Tom's Cabin.

She was in the cast of ,Cobra and The Best People with actress Charlotte Treadway, in 1925.

Farrell was first signed to a long-term contract by First National Pictures in July 1930. She was given the feminine lead in, Little Caesar.

Warner Brothers signed her to re-create on film the role she played in, Life Begins on Broadway. Farrell worked on parts in twenty movies in her first year with the studio. She was known a the wise-cracking, dizzy blonde of the early talkies, along with  Joan Blondell, with whom she often would be paired with.

She went on to perform in, Little Caesar (1931) opposite Edward G. Robinson, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932), Havana Widows (1933) with Blondell, Bureau of Missing Persons (1933) opposite Pat O'Brien, Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) opposite Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray and The Big Shakedown (1934) with Bette Davis.

She became one of Warner Brothers most popular actresses of the 1930s, solidifying her success with her own film series, as Torchy Blane, "Girl Reporter". In this role Farrell was promoted as being able to speak 400 words in 40 seconds. Farrell would portray the character Torchy Blane in eight films, from 1937 to 1939 when the role was taken over by Jane Wyman.

In 1937 she starred opposite Dick Powell and Joan Blondell in the Academy Award nominated Lloyd Bacon and Busby Berkeley directed musical Gold Diggers(1937).

When her Warner Brothers contact expired in 1939 she focused more on her stage career once again. She said that working in plays gave her more of a sense of individuality whereas in films you get frustrated because you feel you have no power over what you're doing.

Farrell went out of vogue in the 1940s but made a comeback later in life, winning an Emmy Award in 1963, for her work in the television series, Ben Casey.