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The Unknown Man

Play trailer Poster for The Unknown Man 1951 1h 26m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 2 Reviews 43% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Lawyer Dwight Bradley Masen (Walter Pidgeon) successfully defends Rudi Wallchek (Keefe Brasselle), a small-time thug accused of murdering a 19-year-old locksmith's son. Later, Masen learns that Walchek, a foot soldier in an extortion ring against local storeowners, was indeed guilty of the crime. With District Attorney Joe Bucknor (Barry Sullivan) refusing to retry the case, Masen must go to extraordinary measures to assure that the right man is convicted.

Critics Reviews

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Michael E. Grost Classic Film and Television Mild, sincere legal drama showing upright hero gradually discovering cesspool of corruption in his town. Sep 13, 2017 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews A contrived morality lesson. Rated: C+ Mar 7, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Steve D Lame courtroom drama with little surprise. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 06/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Pretty good courtroom drama with an interesting twist. Walter Pidgeon (he of the fabulous authoritative voice from Forbidden Planet) is great as the naive civil attorney whose innocence is spoiled when he takes on a criminal case. The film is noir only by the broadest of definitions, but it's a good watch anyway. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member A story about justice that Johnny Cochrane would be proud of!! Walter Pidgeon finds out the hard way that justice is not blind and is shaken up by the events he has put into motion. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member This film is provocative and engrossing--quite ahead of its time. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Unknown Man

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The Unknown Man

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Movie Info

Synopsis Lawyer Dwight Bradley Masen (Walter Pidgeon) successfully defends Rudi Wallchek (Keefe Brasselle), a small-time thug accused of murdering a 19-year-old locksmith's son. Later, Masen learns that Walchek, a foot soldier in an extortion ring against local storeowners, was indeed guilty of the crime. With District Attorney Joe Bucknor (Barry Sullivan) refusing to retry the case, Masen must go to extraordinary measures to assure that the right man is convicted.
Director
Richard Thorpe
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 26m