Shadow of The Law is a very difficult film to find ( I found it online), but well worth the effort. It is about an innocent man (Powell) who gets convicted of murder, and is sentenced to life in Sing Sing but escapes. His goal is to find the woman ( Natalie Morehead) who can give him an alibi. Powell's character Jim Montgomery is also one of the nicest he ever played. He played some real nasty characters during his time at Paramount ( Behind The Makeup and Nevada come to mind), but even as a good guy he is a bit of a rascal . Here he is a straightforward good guy. There is one scene in prison where the warden wants him to be an informant against someone and instead he tells that person about it. If there are weaknesses it is the ending ( where Morehesd will be caught off screen) and Powell's leading lady ( Karen Schiller) who is NOT exactly Myrna Loy. But at least she was not Kay Francis ( who I cannot stand). I have seen over 50 Powell films and it is in the Top Five non-Loy films. Basically a must for Powell fans and my favorite from his Paramount period. 10/10 stars.
Review of Shadow of the Law
