Pat O’Brien stars as Officer O’Malley in this remake of The Making of O’Malley (1925) about a police officer so determined to uphold the letter of the law that he fails to see the human element behind those laws. He has no problems citing people for such minor infractions as a shop awning being six inches too low or a boot black having too many stools at their stand. This rigidness has made the citizens, most of them good honest people struggling during the depression, to be weary and fearful of him. His commanding officer pulls him aside and tries to explain to him that his job is to be a “peace officer,” not a man so tied up in the law book he can’t see the humanity through it. O’Malley doesn’t understand this lesson as he considers what he does as just doing his duty.
The inciting incident of the plot happens when he pulls over John Phillips (Humphrey Bogart) for driving his car with a busted muffler. Despite John’s pleas that the delay will cause him to be late for his first day at a job he desperately needs, O’Malley holds him a few minutes, issuing him a ticket and causing him to lose the job. Desperate for money to feed his family John takes a gun and his war medals to a pawn shop hoping to sell them for ten dollars. When the proprietor lowballs him and mocks his desperation, John lashes out knocking the proprietor out unintentionally. He quickly grabs some money from the till and flees the scene only to be arrested shortly after for the robbery, leaving his wife and crippled daughter without support of any kind.
O’Malley is chastised for his part in the situation and, failing to see what he did wrong, is given an assignment designed to motivate him to quit the force and rid the police of his merciless interpretation of his duties: crossing guard duty at a local elementary school. Here he encounters the crippled daughter, Barbra (Sybil Jason). Not knowing she is John’s daughter, he forms an attachment to her while helping her cross the street and she manages to chisel away at some of his gruff exterior. When he eventually finds out who she is and what his actions toward John have done to the poor family, he begins to see that sometimes the letter of the law isn’t always the right thing to uphold.
Pat O’Brien is fine in the leading role. He genuinely comes across like a man who feels he is in the right, even when it is obvious he is being too literal in his enforcement of the laws. He dutifully reads through the law book looking for minor infractions he can cite those around him, even going so far as to threaten his mother with a ticket when she tries to toss some bread out the window for the birds as it is illegal to throw anything out into the street. He sees himself in stark contrast to his father who was also a cop back in the days when police were bruisers who enforced the law with an iron hand.
Bogart is equally good as the unfortunate John Phillips who starts out happy to have finally found work during the depression only to turn bitter and frustrated having all that snatched away from him over a simple busted muffler. His theft at the pawn shop is made more understandable because it is punctuated by a nasty pawn broker who doesn’t hold our sympathies in the slightest. It is a crime of opportunity, not premeditated and having a brief scene prior to the incident where we see John interacting with his wife and daughter, both proud he has finally found a job and unaware that he has lost it already, further puts us on his side.
A major highlight is child actress Sybil Jason who at one time was considered a real rival to Shirley Temple. She is perfect here as the young daughter to John. She suffers from a broken leg that was never properly set for lack of money and therefore cannot run and play with the other kids in her class. Her scenes late in the film where she must convey the frustrations and sadness of being left out are real highlights to the second half, however it would have been more effective had we seen more of it instead of just in one incident. Watching her act, it is easy to see how she could have challenged Miss Temple for America’s little princess.
This film offers no real surprises and doesn’t try to challenge itself to be more that a simple morality tale. Even so, it is a charming little film that is never boring and is just short enough to not overstay its welcome. It’s breezy and inoffensive and gets it message across loud and clear, perhaps a little too loud and clear. It’s not deep or thought provoking but it doesn’t really need to be. It states it’s message early on, then proceeds to show us the unintentional consequences of a cold interpretation of law and order. While it is not a stellar example of moral storytelling, it is charming and, at times, a true delight to watch.
Release Date: February 13, 1937
Running Time: 71 Minutes
Starring: Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Sybil Jason
Directed By: William Dieterle
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