The Man Who Dared

In an unnamed but utterly corrupt city, the entire Carter family witnesses a murder. When the District Attorney proposes to put them on the stand to identify the killer, they snatch youngest brother Johnny Russell, forcing the rest of the family to remain shtumm lest he be killed. But old coot grandfather Charley Grapewin goes on a rant about how he didn't charge up San Juan Hill so he could live in a country run by the likes of Mussolini and Stalin and goes to track them down.

As much as I usually enjoy Grapewin in Old Coot mode, he goes too far in this remake of 1931's The Star Witness. Despite its antecedents, former Los Angeles mayor Frank Shaw sued Warner Brothers for $1,000,000, claiming that the corrupt mayor played by Charles Richman was supposed to be him.

Maybe he didn't like the ties the character wore. With Jane Bryan, Henry O'Neill, Elisabeth Risdon, and Sidney Bracey.

THE MAN WHO DARED (Warner Brothers, 1939), directed by Crane Wilbur, is a minor second feature production previously produced by the studio as STAR WITNESS (1931) starring Walter Huston, Charles "Chic" Sale and Sally Blane. Sometimes labeled under another title, I AM NOT AFRAID, THE MAN WHO DARED (bearing no relation to the 1933 Fox Film of the same name starring Preston Foster) is another studio theme dealing with sole witnesses to a crime who become threatened when summoned to court to expose those responsible. While the 1931 original dealt with gangsters as the threatening source, this latest edition uses a corrupt politician and his henchmen this time around.

With the opening sequences exposing newspaper headlines regarding "Mayor accused of civil league launches probe" and "Scandal in City Hall," the story gets underway with Stuart McCrary (Emmett Vogan) to testify before the grand jury against the corrupt Mayor Lawson (Charles Richman). As Lawson's men sneak into the garage to place a bomb inside McCrary's car, McCrary, discovering dictaphone and wires up his chimney indicating bugged telephone conversations, heads out to the district attorney with the news, taking his wife (Grace Stafford), afraid of being left home alone, along with him. At the same time, the Carter family, gathered together for a peaceful dinner, having witnessed men inside the dark garage with flashlight next door, to find their meal interrupted by a sudden explosion. The Carters come face to face with Nick Bartel (John Gallaudet) inside their home, posing as a police officer, to be fingered as one of the three men who have set the bomb, killing the McCrary's. For this, the Carters are threatened to keep silent about the incident. The Carter family, consisting of the hardworking bookkeeper, Matthew (Henry O'Neill), his wife, Jessie (Elisabeth Risdon); their children, Madge (Jane Bryan), Ralph (Jimmy McCallion), Billy (Dickie Jones), Teddy Roosevelt (John Russell), along with Matthew's feisty old father, Ulysses Porterfield (Charley Grapewin), a Spanish Civil War veteran visiting from a veterans home, do their civic duty by exposing Bartel's photo to the district attorney as the man who threatened them. Because they are eye witnesses, the Carters are given police protection until the court hearing. After Matthew is abducted to an abandoned warehouse where he is bribed, brutally beaten and returned home after midnight in an injured state, and later the kidnapping of one of their sons on his way to a football game, do the Carters refuse to testify, except for Grandpa, whose self respect is testify, but how to go about becomes the problem.

Although Warner Brothers stock player, Jane Bryan, heads the cast, she has very little to do compare to Charley Grapewin, who is very much the leading player in a role that starts off as comedy relief before becoming a straightforward performance. Not as violent as STAR WITNESS, there are some uneasy moments here pertaining to the brutality that could make the movie uneasy viewing for some. Others in the cast as Boyd Irwin, Don Douglas and Norman Willis. At 59 minutes, the movie could have offered a few extra minutes resulting to a more satisfactory finish.

Not as well known to STAR WITNESS due to its frequent broadcasts on Turner Classic Movies cable channel, THE MAN WHO DARED is swiftly paced even with certain scenes not ringing true to make this all believably acceptable. For better Jane Bryan movies where she is seen to better advantage, simply check out other movies where she co-stars opposite legendary performers as Bette Davis, Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney and especially Paul Muni in the rarely revived WE ARE NOT ALONE (1939), often hailed as her finest movie performance. (**)

There is a kernal of a good movie in "The Man Who Dared". But some broadly written characters and inconsistent writing made this film enjoyable BUT frustrating at the same time.

The story is about some city (the exact one is never named) where there is graft and corruption throughout the government. When a brave man agrees to testify against these crooks, he's soon murdered...and the Carter family witnesses it. Now they are in harm's way, as the same thugs are pressuring them to be quiet...or else. And, when the crooks make their move, it's up to Grandpa to spring into action.

Grandpa is a character who annoyed me most. Charley Grapewin was often fun as the feisty old man. But he also must have mentioned Teddy Roosevelt and San Juan Hill about 348,058 times throughout the film....and he also wore a vet's uniform with medals throughout the story. Who does this?! I dunno but the writer really laid it on too thick...which is sad, as he was also very likable and funny. As for the rest, they all seemed rather dim and underwritten. Overall, a good idea but indifferent writing make this just a time-passer and nothing more.

By the way, at one point Grandpa is on a rant about freedom and he says that he's thankful the USA "didn't have any dictators...like Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin". While very true, Hollywood films STILL tried to remain apolitical in regard to Europe...as they hoped to keep renting films to countries dominated by the Axis and Communist powers.

When investigators figure out who is scamming the public, it gets dangerous for them! Will they dare appear before the grand jury to present the facts? Bombing houses, threats, knocking off potential witnesses. The basic story is pretty good. Too bad they had to throw in the politics, even talk of "the red squad". The house of un-american activities committee had just been created, so it was clearly being discussed. Can the carter family stand up to the network of crooks running the show? It's okay.

Directed by crane wilbur. I had seen a couple of his other films... not bad! He was also the nephew of tyrone power! Original story by lucien hubbard.