Defenders of the Law

Gangster pictures were thick as thieves in 1931; consequently, not all of them were classics. One of the least memorable examples of the genre was Defenders of the Law, starring Broadway actor Robert Gleckler as a comic-strip gangster boss named Big Joe. When the villain makes clear his plans to set up his operation in a small town, local police officer John Holland says "No way," though not exactly in those words. Holland soon discovers to his chagrin that Big Joe is an old army buddy who saved his life during WWI. Be that as it may, the film ends with an outsized shooting spree, with virtue emerging triumphant. Former MGM contractees Catherine Dale Owen and Mae Busch are cast respectively as the police chief's daughter and a hard-boiled gun moll.