''The Defense Rests'' (or ''Take the Witness'') is a 1934 American film directed by

Lambert Hillyer Lambert Harwood Hillyer (July 8, 1893 – July 5, 1969) was an American film director and screenwriter. Biography Lambert Harwood Hillyer was born July 8, 1893, in Tyner, Indiana. His mother was character actress Lydia Knott. A graduate of ...

and starring Jack Holt,

Jean Arthur Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American Broadway and film actress whose career began in silent films in the early 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s. Arthur had feature roles in three F ...

, and

Nat Pendleton Nathaniel Greene Pendleton (August 9, 1895 – October 12, 1967) was an American Olympic wrestler, film actor, and stage performer. His younger brother, Edmund J. Pendleton (1899-1987), was a well-known music composer and choir maste ...

. The movie was produced in May 1934 and released on 15 July 1934.

Cast

* Jack Holt as Matthew Mitchell *

as Joan Hayes *

as Rocky *

Arthur Hohl Arthur Hohl (May 21, 1889 – March 10, 1964) was an American stage and motion-picture character actor. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and began appearing in films in the early 1920s. He played a great number of villainous or mildly la ...

as James Randolph *

Raymond Walburn Raymond Walburn (September 9, 1887 – July 26, 1969) was an American character actor of stage and screen who appeared in dozens of Hollywood movie comedies and an occasional dramatic role during the 1930s and 1940s. Life and career Born i ...

as Austin *

Harold Huber Harold Huber (born Harold Joseph Huberman, December 5, 1909September 29, 1959) was an American actor who appeared on film, radio and television. Early life Huber was born in the Bronx to Jewish immigrants from Imperial Russia, who had arrived in ...

as Castro *

Robert Gleckler Robert Gleckler (January 11, 1887 – February 25, 1939) was an American film and stage actor who appeared in nearly 60 movies between 1927 until his death in 1939. He was cast for the role of Jonas Wilkerson, overseer of the slaves at Tara in ...

as Gentry * Sarah Padden as Mrs. Evans *

Shirley Grey Shirley Grey (born Agnes Zetterstrand; April 11, 1902 – August 12, 1981) was an American actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1930 and 1935. Biography Born in Naugatuck, Connecticut, Grey was the daughter of E. A Zetterstr ...

as Mabel Wilson *

Donald Meek Thomas Donald Meek (14 July 1878 – 18 November 1946) was a Scottish-American actor. He first performed publicly at the age of eight and began appearing on Broadway in 1903. Meek is perhaps best known for his roles in the films '' You Can't T ...

as Fogg *

Raymond Hatton Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures. Biography Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...

as Nick * Ward Bond as Good * John Wray as Cooney *

Vivian Oakland Vivien Oakland (born Vivian Ruth Andersen; May 20, 1895 – August 1, 1958), was an American actress best known for her work in comedies in Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s, most notably with the Hal Roach Studios. Oakland appeared in 157 film ...

as Mrs. Ballou * Selmer Jackson as Duffy *

J. Carrol Naish Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish (January 21, 1896 – January 24, 1973) was an American actor. He appeared in over 200 credits during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Naish received two Oscar nominations for his supporting roles in the films '' Sahara ...

as Ballou *

Samuel S. Hinds Samuel Southey Hinds (April 4, 1875 – October 13, 1948) was an American actor and former lawyer. He was often cast as kindly authority figures and appeared in more than 200 films until his death. Early years Hinds was born in Brooklyn, New Y ...

as Dean Adams *

Lydia Knott Lydia Knott (October 1, 1866 – March 30, 1955) was an American actress of the silent film era. She appeared in more than 90 films between 1914 and 1937. Biography Knott was born in Tyner, Indiana, the daughter of Lambert and Clarissa Kn ...

as Patient

Reception

"The story is interestingly woven and its telling is sufficiently swift to hold the visitor's interest," wrote ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. "Mr. Holt and Miss Arthur are about as usual, which is to say they do all that can be reasonably expected of their rôles. Nat Pendleton as Rocky, Mitchell's bodyguard, comes through with the comic relief."

References

External links

* 1934 films 1934 romantic drama films American romantic drama films American black-and-white films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Lambert Hillyer Films with screenplays by Jo Swerling Films produced by Robert North 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-romantic-drama-film-stub