Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

mark.waltz Rackets are taking over a big, unnamed city, so a law professor (Edward G. Robinson) decides to get involved. Little does he realize that one of his best former student's own father is head of the rackets which causes the urbane gangster (Otto Kruger) much headache when Robinson hires the son (John Beal) to be his partner. Robinson is getting a headache from trying to convince the victims of the racket to testify even though the violence has continued to get worse. Robinson's pretty wife (Barbara O'Neil) desperately wants Robinson to take a sabbatical, but that won't happen until all the racketeers are behind bars or dead.It's inevitable that at one point, the popular gangsters of the early 30's are going to play law enforcement, and after James Cagney became a "G-Man", Robinson was sure to follow suit. This is the same year that he investigated the criminal mind in "The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse" (with future hero Humphrey Bogart still playing the gangster) and just a few years before he played a reformed gangster hiding out as a monk in "Brother Orchid". The villain here isn't a "Public Enemy" or a "Little Caeser", but a respected member of society hiding behind expensive suits and well dressed sophisticated ladies (in this case, the pretty Wendy Barrie) who is just as shady as the sugar daddy she left a career as a reporter to move into more expensive circles.The clever screenplay really hooks you in as you see the obstacles which Robinson will have in going after the unknown kingpin and the dirty rats he's out to exterminate. He's not afraid of humiliating himself or even break the law himself as long as the outcome protects the people who have become victims of a protection racket. One very clever scene has Robinson rounding up the gangsters following the widow of one of the victims, calling in the press, and proceeding to show the truth about their real character. At first it seems a bit preposterous, but it is done in such a fun way that it is easy to overlook the ridiculousness of it all. Even more clever is the finale where Robinson gets the goods on the nasty Kruger and makes a bargain with him where the only way out has no return. It's even a bit of a redemption that literally is dynamite.

Michael_Elliott I Am the Law (1938) ** (out of 4) Disappointing crime/drama from Columbia has Edward G. Robinson playing a law professor who is hired by civic leaders to try and bring down gangsters as a special prosecutor. The prosecutor thinks this will be an easy job but soon he realizes that no one wants to testify and if anyone agrees to then they end up dead. I had high hopes going into this film but the end results were pretty disappointing as we've seen this story countless times before and this one doesn't offer up anything new. I'm really not sure why Robinson would leave Warner to do this film as this one has a lot to do in common with the various crime pictures he was doing already. Considering Columbia wasn't known for their crime pictures it goes without saying that this one comes off rather bland and watered down as the screenplay doesn't have any real gut to it. The screenplay goes from one cliché moment to the next and I honestly didn't see one surprise throughout the entire thing. Robinson is pretty good in his role but it's certainly far from one of his best performances. The highlight of the film is a scene where we get Robinson on the dance floor, which has to be seen to be believed. The supporting players are pretty rich with John Beal, Otto Kruger, Wendy Barrie and Barbara O'Neil offering up nice work.

MartinHafer In the mid-1930s familiar movie gangsters like Edward G. Robinson and Jimmy Cagney had image makeovers. Now that the new Production Code was accepted in 1934, gangster films were less frequently made and less violent. As a result, these two actors were now given other roles--broadening their acting range. I am sure that the actors liked this chance to do something other than act tough and kill, but there is still an oddness in seeing 'Little Caesar' playing a crime-busting law professor in this film! Despite the change, this is still a dandy little film even if it is a bit conventional. Like many of the Post-Code films, this one is about punishing the gangsters and Robinson becomes obsessed with rooting out local mobsters. At first, his crusade falls flat, but when he ultimately realizes the important lesson that to have a free country, you need to ignore the Bill of Rights!! Locking up prisoners with no specific charges or evidence as well as having publicized fist fights with them is how Robinson eventually gains the upper hand! Now that's an interesting way to defend democracy!Robinson's performance is a bit more three-dimensional than usual and he's ably supported by the ever-professional Otto Kruger. Direction is good and the script, while a bit predictable, is still pretty well written. All these come together to make a film that is more than just a time-passer--it's a lot of fun as well.

bkoganbing Back in the Thirties when Thomas E. Dewey was becoming a national figure by putting all kinds of racketeers behind bars, the special prosecutor was considered a fearless figure and good subject matter for a film hero. In this loan out film for Columbia Pictures, Edward G. Robinson plays a law professor appointed just such a city prosecutor while he's on a year's sabbatical.Robinson who plays a character with the soon to be famous name of John Lindsay has been programmed to fail because some of those same city fathers that want him in the job are those heading the rackets. And it's not like there isn't competing gangs within the underworld. But Eddie proves to be pretty resourceful and gets the job done. At least Dewey had a hand at picking his own staff.Coincidentally enough the John Lindsay who became New York's Mayor did a stint in the Eisenhower Justice Department before he was a Congressman and then Mayor.Columbia Pictures and Harry Cohn gave their visiting star as good an ensemble cast as he normally would have gotten at Warner Brothers for this kind of film. Barbara O'Neil, next year to be Scarlett O'Hara's mother in Gone With The Wind, plays Eddie's loyal supporting wife. John Beal is his ace graduate and number one assistant. Wendy Barrie plays a sob sister newspaper columnist with a sideline and Otto Kruger is her sugar daddy and father of John Beal. Both are deceptive characters.I Am The Law is a typical programmer, not too much different from what Robinson was doing at Warner Brothers at the time. Still fans of Mr. Robinson will enjoy and appreciate.