''I Cheated the Law'' is a 1949 American

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Edward L. Cahn Edward L. Cahn (February 12, 1899 – August 25, 1963) was an American film director. Early life and education Cahn was born in Brooklyn, New York. He went to work at Universal Pictures in 1917 while still a student at UCLA. Career ...

and written by

Richard G. Hubler Richard G. Hubler (born Richard Gibson Hubler; 20 August 1912 in Dunmore, Pennsylvania – 21 October 1981 in Ojai, California), was an American screenwriter, military author, and writer of biographies, fiction, and non-fiction. However, h ...

. The film stars Tom Conway, Steve Brodie,

Robert Osterloh Robert Osterloh (May 31, 1918 – April 16, 2001) was an American actor. His career spanned 20 years, appearing in films such as ''The Dark Past'' (1948), ''The Wild One'' (1953), ''I Bury the Living'' (1958) and ''Young Dillinger'' (1965). Biog ...

, Barbara Billingsley,

Russell Hicks Edward Russell Hicks (June 4, 1895 – June 1, 1957) was an American film character actor. Hicks was born in 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland. During World War I, he served in the U.S. Army in France. He later became a lieutenant Colonel in the Cali ...

and James Seay. The film was released on March 4, 1949, by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

Plot

In court, criminal attorney John Campbell defends a man, Frank Bricolle, who is charged with murdering a night watchman in a fur warehouse during a robbery. Frank having saved his life during the war, John believes in him so much that both he and wife Ruth provide the defendant with an alibi, resulting in his acquittal. Frank later confesses to John how he did indeed commit the crime, aided by Joe Corsi and other accomplices. John expresses regret for his actions and leaves Ruth, wanting to be alone for a while. He is actually busy scheming to frame Corsi for the murder. Corsi tries to avoid a conviction by accusing Bricolle in the courtroom, where Bricolle pulls a gun and tries to shoot his way out. He is killed, and John returns home to Ruth.

Cast

* Tom Conway as John Campbell * Steve Brodie as Frank Bricolle *

as Joe Corsi * Barbara Billingsley as Ruth Campbell *

as District Attorney Randolph * James Seay as Rodd Simpson *

Chet Huntley Chet is a masculine given name, often a nickname for Chester (given name), Chester, which means ''fortress'' or ''camp''. It is an uncommon name of England, English origin, and originated as a surname to identify people from the city of Chester, En ...

as Himself * Tommy Noonan as Sad Sam Carney * William Gould as First Judge *

Harry Harvey, Sr. Harry William Harvey Sr. (January 10, 1901 – November 27, 1985) was an American actor of theatre, film, and television. He was the father of actor, script supervisor, and director Harry William Harvey Jr. He is best known for his perform ...

as Second Judge * Garry Owen as Jerry *Charles Wagenheim as Al Markham

References

External links

* 1949 films 1940s English-language films 20th Century Fox films American crime films 1949 crime films Films directed by Edward L. Cahn American black-and-white films 1940s American films {{1940s-crime-film-stub