Missing Witnesses

"Missing Witness" is the sort of B-movie that was very common back in the 1930s and 40s. Despite coming from a top studio (Warner Brothers), it was quickly written, has tons of plot holes and really is only enjoyable if you turn off your brain and just take it for what it is...a fast little crime film for the undemanding audience.

The film starts off well--with a crazy car crash. Then, a group of thugs from a local 'protective association' arrive at a restaurant to shake the owner down for cash. He doesn't agree and they destroy the joint and beat him silly. On the way out, three of the thugs bump into an off-duty cop, 'Bull' Regan (Dick Purcell). Instead of saying 'excuse me', one pulls a knife, the other pulls a gun and the third tries to beat Regan. But Bull is the hero and quickly beats them senseless. However, in court the owner of the restaurant gets amnesia...and the case is thrown out. Think about it...three guys assault a cop, one with a gun and one with a knife, and they just dismiss the case and let the guys go?!?!?! This is a HUGE plot problem...and shows the film was rushed into production without thinking through the plot. After all, the weapons charges were much more serious than the other charges!

What follows is a city trying to get tough on organized crime sort of picture--and repeatedly the baddies seem to be able to anticipate everything. Witnesses die and someone up high obviously is involved with the mob. There also is a lady named Mary...and you get to hear the cops make a lot of awful sexist remarks towards her! My wife was horrified...I thought her reaction was a bit funny...but I certainly didn't blame her. Purcell's character as well as his boss behaved like pigs.

Overall, this is a pretty bad film despite the nice Warner Brothers gloss. Not horrible...but not all that good either.

This "Ripped from the headlines" Warner Brother B movie is written and directed telegraphically and seems to be as much a tract on police procedures as a story. John Litel is the crusading attorney, appointed by the governor to take on the big racketeers; Dick Purcell is the police detective who's more brawn than brains.

The actual course of the story advances more by means of newspaper headlines flashed on the screen. Yet, given the constraints of telling the story in an hour, director William Clemens does a very competent job with the talented cast he's been handed. The reality of the rackets at the time lends an immediacy to the proceedings that lifts this one out of the ordinary.

Reworking the plot of The Bureau Of Mssing Persons, Missing Witnesses has a new organized crime squad being put together by the NYPD under Inspector John Litel. As his chief investigator Litel picks Dick Purcell who is known for his strong arm methods.

To accommodate shorter time lenth the original movie script was cut even unto the bone with a lot of holes left in the story. Purcell's a bit thick and is really being driven batty by chief missing witness Virginia Dale.

I did like the performance of movie veteran Raymond Hatton as a stooli who gets what stoolies usually get.

Below par B film from the brothers Warner.

When the mob goons bust up shop owners that won't pay them off, the guvna appoints Inspector Robert Lane (John Litel) to head up the special task force. Officer Regan (Dick Purcell) gets assigned to the team, but he keeps screwing up the investigation with his stubbornness and lack of attention. and witnesses keep backing out of testifying, fearing for their families. and how is Mary (Virginia Dale) mixed up in this? this one is pretty good. only 61 minutes, but they stuff a lot into those few, precious minutes. it's pretty low budget, but not so bad. Directed by Bill Clemens. he directed a bunch of Torchy, Falcons, and Nancy Drew films.

What struck me very quickly was the fact that this was obviously made from current events at that time in New York where Thomas Dewey had just been newly elected the District Attorney of New York County as "gangbuster" to counteract the racketeering Tammany bosses and corrupt judges.

The story plays out the events of witnesses being too scared to give over evidence in court against protection rackets which wreck businesses that don't co-operate with money demands. Even those beat up, scarred, and so forth are too afraid, once they reach court time, to give evidence. John Litel is hired to break up the racketeering. He's a fine actor, and he gives a good account of himself. However, he's far outshined by Dick Purcell who plays a strong-arm cop who ends up an assistant to Litel. Purcell would rather use brawn than brains. Yes, it's an old, old story and you've seen it a thousand times. Still, Purcell pulls it off very well, and he's fun to watch. One of the criticisms that was given - and is valid - is his rather Chauvinistic attitude towards Virginia Dale who is a couple of things for the film: she is a secretary to the corrupt boss of bosses (although she doesn't know her boss is corrupt until too late), and she becomes the girlfriend of Purcell, and she also is the person who can convict her boss. Her boss, by the way, is found floating dead in a bay... Or is it her boss?

It's well worth the watch if you like 30's crime dramas. For the record, the secondary cast in this show is loaded to the gills with great character actors and actresses and some who would become much better known later. Some of the secondary performers are John Hamilton (Superman's boss on the 50's TV show), Lane Chandler, Carole Landis, Hooper Atchley, Veda Ann Borg, and John Harron.