Harper Lawrence Dobkin as Al Carol DeForest Kelley as Edward Clary, the wrongly convicted and executed man Roxanne Arlen as Miss Hathaway Production The film was one of three movies set up by producer Frank Rosenberg at Warner Bros, the others being Miracle in the Rain and "US Marblehead". A theater marquee advertising Miracle in the Rain can be seen very briefly during a street sequence late in the film. Robinson owned a considerable contemporary art collection that was used to decorate the set. The works included impressionist works by Gauguin, Degas, Duran, and Gladys Lloyd. Robinson was the subject of investigation by the House Un-American Activities Committee and it was reportedly the reason why the film was of a lower budget and caliber than his previous films. The film offered a rare serious performance by the future sex symbol, Jayne Mansfield, who went on to star in hits like: The Girl Can't Help It (1956) and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957). Reception Critical response Film critic Bosley Crowther compared the film to The Asphalt Jungle but thought it was not as good. He wrote, "For one thing, the story of Illegal invades the higher echelons of crime, with a fast-thinking, double-dealing lawyer as the principal character ... The fact that this hard-bitten lawyer is played by Edward G. Robinson in his old vein of stinging sarcasm is a clue to what you may expect. But more than this and more than the climate of sordid deceit that is achieved is the fact that Illegal tries to blueprint The Asphalt Jungle's Marilyn Monroe. You may remember that Miss Monroe's was in the latter. One of her first speaking roles and as an adornment in the apartment of the criminal counselor. Well, in Illegal Jayne Mansfield plays precisely the same sort of role in the apartment of Albert Dekker, the big poobah of crime. Miss Mansfield, we might add, is the beauty who is imitating Miss Monroe in a feeble imitation of Once In a Lifetime on the Broadway stage." See also List of American films of 1955 References External links review of film at Variety 1955 films 1955 crime films American black-and-white films Film noir Films directed by Lewis Allen Films set in California Films shot in California Warner Bros. films American films based on plays American crime films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films