The Public Defender is a 1931 crime film

Crime film

Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...

 directed by J. Walter Ruben

J. Walter Ruben

Jacob Walter Ruben was an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He wrote for 35 films between 1926 and 1942...

, starring Richard Dix

Richard Dix

Richard Dix was an American motion picture actor who achieved popularity in both silent and sound film. His standard on-screen image was that of the rugged and stalwart hero.-Early life:...

 and featuring Boris Karloff

Boris Karloff

William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...

. Rich playboy Pike Winslow dons the mantle of 'The Reckoner', a mysterious avenger, when he learns that his lady friend Barbara Gerry's father has been framed in a bank embezzlement scandal. Using meticulous planning and split-second timing, Pike, along with his associates, the erudite 'Professor' and tough-guy scrapper 'Doc', attempt to find proof that will clear Gerry and identify the real culprits.

Cast

• Richard Dix
  Richard Dix
  Richard Dix was an American motion picture actor who achieved popularity in both silent and sound film. His standard on-screen image was that of the rugged and stalwart hero.-Early life:...
  
   - Pike Winslow
• Shirley Grey
  Shirley Grey
  Shirley Grey was an American actress. She appeared in 46 films between 1930 and 1935. She was born in Naugatuck, Connecticut and died in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.-Selected filmography:* The Public Defender...
  
   - Barbara Gerry
• Purnell Pratt
  Purnell Pratt
  Purnell Pratt was an American film actor. He appeared in 114 films between 1914 and 1941.He was born in Bethel, Illinois and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:* On with the Show...
  
   - John Kirk
• Ruth Weston - Rose Harmer
• Edmund Breese
  Edmund Breese
  Edmund Breese was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. Long on the stage with a varied Broadway career before entering movies he appeared with James O'Neill in The Count of Monte Cristo , The Lion and the Mouse with Richard Bennett, The Third Degree with Helen Ware, The...
  
   - Frank Wells
• Frank Sheridan - Charles Harmer
• Alan Roscoe
  Alan Roscoe
  Alan Roscoe was an American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 108 films between 1915 and 1933. His interment was located in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.-Selected filmography:...
  
   - Inspector Malcolm O'Neil
• Boris Karloff
  Boris Karloff
  William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
  
   - 'Professor'
• Nella Walker - Aunt Matilda
• Paul Hurst
  Paul Hurst (actor)
  Paul Causey Hurst was an American film actor and director.-Career:Born in Traver, California, and raised on a ranch, he appeared in hundreds of films during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. However, he got his start painting scenery as part of the backstage crew during the silent movie era...
  
   - 'Doc'
• Carl Gerard
  Carl Gerard
  Carl Gerard , sometimes credited as Carl Gerrard, was a Danish-American actor well known for playing supporting roles.- Personal life :Gerard was born Carl Gerhard Petersen in Copenhagen, Denmark...
  
   - Cyrus Pringle
• Robert Emmett O'Connor - Detective Brady
• Phillips Smalley
  Phillips Smalley
  Wendell Phillips Smalley was a prolific American silent film director and actor.Born in Brooklyn, New York, Smalley began his career in vaudeville and acted in more than 200 films between 1910 until his death in 1939...
  
  - Thomas Drake (as Phillip Smalley)