Paul Newman stars as a lawyer who rises to power through the manipulations of his mother and other socialites. He finally finds his own voice and something worth standing for when an old friend is put on trial for a murder he didn’t commit. Newman is always charismatic, but his character here lacks a strong internal mechanism to move the story forward (at least until the final act). Tabloid elements litter the script (based on Richard Powell’s novel), keeping believability at arm’s length. The best parts of the movie are a light-hearted subplot involving a goofy millionairess played by Billy Burke, never put to better use since The Wizard of Oz, and a third act confrontation between Newman and his unrequited love, played by Alexis Smith. Robert Vaughn was Oscar-nominated for his supporting turn as the wrongly accused, alcoholic, wounded war veteran (how’s that for Oscar bait?) The cinematography and costumes were also nominated.