MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for State's Attorney

State's Attorney

1932 · 79 min

A brisk, pre-Code courtroom drama that mixes romance and moral compromise with a charismatic lead, feeling both dated and surprisingly sharp.

Genres
Drama
Tagline
Invincible At Law... Irresistable At Love!
Overview
Corrupt alcoholic attorney Tom Cardigan is one of the best lawyers around, commanding the courtroom like a stage and often winning his cases. Mobster Valentine Powers, who employs Cardigan and put him through school, asks him to represent a woman, June Perry, accused of prostitution. Cardigan agrees. But he never expected to fall for her, which is problematic since he's angling to become governor and will need the right kind of wife.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

Add to a list: State's Attorney

You have no lists yet. Name one, and this title goes into it.

All your lists

In the USNot loaded yet.
Genres
Drama
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • romanticstrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • corruption
  • ambition
  • love
  • redemption
  • justice
Places
  • big city
  • workplace
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • twist ending
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror0
Humour3
Realism7
Romance5
Tension5
Darkness6
Complexity5
Emotional weight6

More like this

Titles like State's Attorney

Movie

Flamingo Road

1949

A moody, smoke-filled melodrama of small-town scheming, where glamour and grit collide and every kindness hides a political price.

Same composer: Max Steiner · Melancholic, tense · about corruption and ambition

Also
Same composer: Max Steiner
Via
  • melancholic
  • tense
  • corruption
  • ambition
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
94 min
Details
Flamingo RoadHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Casablanca

1942

A smoky, bittersweet romance wrapped in wartime tension, with sharp dialogue and a lingering sense of sacrifice.

Same composer: Max Steiner · Melancholic, tense · about love and redemption

Also
Same composer: Max Steiner
Via
  • melancholic
  • tense
  • love
  • redemption
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
102 min
Details
CasablancaHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Baby Face

1933

A sharp, cynical pre-Code drama that feels bold and amoral, with a surprisingly tender finish.

Melancholic, romantic · about ambition and love

Via
  • melancholic
  • romantic
  • ambition
  • love
Pacing
brisk
Attention
engaged
Runtime
76 min
Details
Baby FaceHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Party Girl

1958

A glossy, shadowy noir romance that sweeps you into a world of mobsters and showgirls, with tension and glamour in equal measure.

Tense, romantic · about corruption and love · twist ending

Via
  • tense
  • romantic
  • corruption
  • love
  • twist ending
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
99 min
Details
Party GirlHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Ides of March

2011

A tense, cynical plunge into political backstabbing, where idealism curdles into betrayal and the cost of winning becomes chillingly clear.

Tense, cynical · about corruption and ambition · twist ending

Via
  • tense
  • cynical
  • corruption
  • ambition
  • twist ending
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
101 min
Details
The Ides of MarchHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

A Star Is Born

1937

A sweeping, bittersweet Hollywood romance that lifts you with one star's rise and aches with another's fall.

Same composer: Max Steiner · Melancholic, romantic · about ambition and love

Also
Same composer: Max Steiner
Via
  • melancholic
  • romantic
  • ambition
  • love
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
111 min
Details
A Star Is BornHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Verdict

1982

A somber, deliberate legal drama that immerses you in a flawed man's struggle for justice, with quiet tension and emotional weight.

Melancholic, tense · about redemption and justice

Via
  • melancholic
  • tense
  • redemption
  • justice
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
129 min
Details
The VerdictHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Barbary Coast

1935

A moody, fog-drenched melodrama of love and power in a lawless Gold Rush city, with Hawksian tension and a bittersweet romantic core.

Melancholic, tense · about corruption and love

Via
  • melancholic
  • tense
  • corruption
  • love
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
90 min
Details
Barbary CoastHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Cincinnati Kid

1965

A slow-burn character study that tightens like a vise around a poker table, steeped in smoky atmosphere and quiet desperation.

Melancholic, tense · about ambition

Via
  • melancholic
  • tense
  • ambition
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
102 min
Details
The Cincinnati KidHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

All the King's Men

1950

A brooding, fast-talking political tragedy that sweeps you up in one man's magnetic, corrupting climb and the quiet wreckage he leaves behind.

Tense, cynical · about corruption and ambition

Via
  • tense
  • cynical
  • corruption
  • ambition
Pacing
brisk
Attention
engaged
Runtime
109 min
Details
All the King's MenHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Illegal

1955

A brooding courtroom noir that weighs a man's conscience against the system he once served, with a weary, wounded gravity.

Same composer: Max Steiner · Melancholic, cynical · about corruption and redemption

Also
Same composer: Max Steiner
Via
  • melancholic
  • cynical
  • corruption
  • redemption
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
88 min
Details
IllegalHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Roaring Twenties

1939

A sweeping, bittersweet rise-and-fall saga that mixes gangland violence with a melancholy sense of lost chances and changing times.

Melancholic, tense · about ambition and love

Via
  • melancholic
  • tense
  • ambition
  • love
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
104 min
Details
The Roaring TwentiesHidden from your suggestions.

Cast

Where to watch in the US

Change country

We have not loaded where to watch in the US for this title yet. Check again in a day or two.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama
Directed by
George Archainbaud
Written by
Gene Fowler, Rowland Brown
Starring
John Barrymore, Helen Twelvetrees, Jill Esmond, William 'Stage' Boyd, Mary Duncan, Ralph Ince, Albert Conti, Frederick Burton
Music
Max Steiner
Cinematography
Leo Tover
Runtime
79 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

TMDBIMDbLetterboxdWikipediaWikidata

Something wrong on this page? Tell us.