IMDb plot summary: Bill O'Brien is promoted to lieutenant in the police department for his arrest of Mike Patello, gang leader and racketeer, for murder. Meanwhile, Captain Antrim informs Bill that his father has just been released from prison.
Directed by Tay Garnett. Stars William Boyd, Ernest Torrence, and Dorothy Sebastian.
Officer O'Brien is the story of an honorable police officer trying to help his newly-released convict father go straight, but it proves more difficult than he anticipated. This is a very straightforward story that is certainly a little dated in its telling but the story is a compelling one. The father in particular has an old-fashioned style of acting that you have to acclimate to, but his character motivations are more complex than I'd have expected in a character borne out of that tropey acting. The story is well-paced, and the final scenes are narratively satisfying. There are quite a few unnecessary subplots that could have been cut, but overall it's a pretty solid film with interesting character arcs.
How it entered my Flickchart:
Officer O'Brien (1930)
lost to Mad Max (#1984 → #1983)
beat The Pajama Game (#2974 → #2982)
lost to Harry and the Hendersons (#2479 → #2475)
lost to Ghost (#2726 → #2709)
beat Fame (#2850 → #2853)
beat The Unsinkable Molly Brown (#2788 → #2787)
lost to Saboteur (#2756 → #2750)
beat Burning Annie (#2771 → #2786)
beat Resident Evil (held at #2763)
beat Brainscan (#2759 → #2792)
beat Willow (#2757 → #2758)
Final spot: #2775/3973 on my Flickchart, or 30%.
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