An attorney may have been killed for trying to further bilk people who have lost their life savings in an S&L scandal.An attorney may have been killed for trying to further bilk people who have lost their life savings in an S&L scandal.An attorney may have been killed for trying to further bilk people who have lost their life savings in an S&L scandal.
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFinal performance of veteran character actor Dub Taylor. He has over 260 acting credits listed in IMDb for both TV and movie roles. A very familiar face from Western TV and movie roles. He was a member of the 1937 Alabama football team that played in the Rose Bowl.
- Quotes
Willard Tappan: You know, they're talking about privatizing the park. A subway token to enter or $30 a year. Trump thinks he can run it at a profit.
Jack McCoy: That's fascinating. We're here to...
Willard Tappan: You're here because you have a problem. I'm talking to you because I have a problem.
Jack McCoy: We'll prove that you hid that money, Mr. Tappan. That'll prolong your study of institutional dining.
Willard Tappan: Yes, that's my problem. Meanwhile, Mr. Curren, your murderer, will go free.
Jack McCoy: If you hadn't stolen his money, that murder would never have taken place.
Willard Tappan: I concede your point. If things were different, they wouldn't be the same. Look, I know that you've been asking about a conversation I may have had with Mr. Curren, a conversation I may not be able to recall.
Jack McCoy: I saw your testimony to the House Banking Committee. You couldn't seem to recall the answers to more than 200 questions.
Willard Tappan: My memory is dreadful. Especially when I'm anxious about the future.
Jack McCoy: What do you want?
Willard Tappan: No prosecution on fraud.
Jack McCoy: We'll take your money.
Willard Tappan: You'll take it anyway.
Not every episode from the early seasons was great, and "Scoundrels" is one of those not so great episodes unfortunately. It's definitely not a bad episode and half of the episode was actually very good. It's the legal scenes where it went off the boil drastically, meaning that "Scoundrels" went from a high middle tier episode to one of the lesser Season 5 episodes, which is a shame because the concept had a good deal of promise and the supporting performances are so terrific.
"Scoundrels" does have enough good things. The photography and such as usual are fully professional, the slickness still remaining. The music is used sparingly and is haunting and non-overwrought when it is used, and it's mainly used when a crucial revelation or plot development is revealed. The direction has some nice tension while keeping things steady, without going too far the other way. The writing in the first half entertains, intrigues and engages, with some snappy lines from Briscoe and Logan.
The story is very engaging in the first half, with enough twists to stop it from being too simple or too conventional without going overboard and confusing the drama. The character writing is on the most part very well done, if more the supporting characters this time than the leads. The sleaziness that Tappan is full of makes him an unforgettably chilling character. The acting is great from all, with Michael Zaslow making the skin crawl hugely effectively.
Which is why it is so sad that "Scoundrels" falls downhill drastically in the second half, this time the legal scenes and how the prosecution is conducted is so intelligence insultingly improbable and strains credibility beyond breaking point. While actually liking McCoy as a character overall, he did take time to get used to to start with and his professionalism could be called into question in some of his earlier episodes, but the unprofessionalism he has here takes the biscuit and if it was reality what happens here would have gotten him disbarred most likely.
It was just not realistic that a case so flimsy, so full of holes and so easily dismissable went further ahead than it should have done (not beyond thrown out of court). The dialogue also becomes less focused and is instead more over-heated and the pace loses tautness.
Overall, starts off great but the legal scenes brought the episode down significantly. 6/10
- TheLittleSongbird
- Dec 2, 2020