The Public Defender

Richard Dix stars as Pike Winslow, a bumbling heir to a large fortune. Winslow is also "The Reckoner," a mysterious avenger and investigator who always leaves behind a business card printed with the scales of justice. He leads a pair of justice-minded vigilantes – "The Professor" (Boris Karloff) and "Doc" (Paul Hurst) – to vindicate a bank officer framed by his crooked partners for the financial institution’s collapse. In the same year of the milestone western Cimarron, Richard Dix top-billed this 1931 crime drama that undoubtedly offered a bit of cinematic fulfillment for patrons chafing over Great Depression banking crises. 1931 was also a banner year for costar Boris Karloff, as his appearance as The Professor preceded his career-making role in Frankenstein by mere months.