Five Star Final

Ordered to up the sleaze quotient for increased circulation, New York "Gazette" newspaper editor Edward G. Robinson (as Joseph W. Randall) dredges up the story of a local woman who shot her adulterous lover dead, and earned a scandalous reputation. The serialization sells newspapers, but the subject Frances Starr (as Nancy Voorhees) has changed her life with second husband H. B. Warner (as Michael Townsend); moreover, the couple has kept the sordid past secret from pretty daughter Marian Marsh (as Jenny), who is about to marry handsome high society's Anthony Bushell (as Phillip Weeks). When boozy staff reporter Boris Karloff (as Isopod) absconds with Ms. Marsh's picture, the consequences could prove tragic...

This is a fine if dated early "talkie" with a message still reverberating. The ensemble cast, sometimes venturing into melodramatics with understandable verve, is fun. Successful Broadway star Aline MacMahon makes an impressive film debut as Mr. Robinson's lovelorn secretary. Director Mervyn LeRoy moves it nicely and includes some rich "split-screen" work.

******** Five Star Final (9/10/31) Mervyn LeRoy ~ Edward G. Robinson, Frances Starr, Aline MacMahon, Boris Karloff

Five Star Final according to Edward G. Robinson in his memoirs was a favorite role for him. He enjoyed having to go through a film without once taking up a weapon. But Robinson did have a weapon at his disposal here, one deadlier than the tommy gun. The power of yellow journalism to ruin and destroy lives for the sake of circulation.

Circulation is down at the New York Graphic, the sleazy tabloid where Robinson is the hardboiled editor. Publisher Oscar Apfel decides to rake over a 20 year old murder, one of those where are they now pieces. A woman killed a man who got her pregnant and refused to marry her and another man stepped up to the plate and raised her baby girl as his own. The couple, H.B. Warner and Frances Starr have lived quietly and anonymously on the west side of Manhattan the daughter, Marian Marsh is about to marry Anthony Bushell the son of a manufacturer.

The poking and prying of Robinson's reporters results in tragedy. It also gives Robinson a severe attack of conscience, encouraged by his girl Friday, Aline McMahon.

Stealing the film in the small part he's in is Boris Karloff as disgraced seminarian who affects the guise of clergyman to get the story he's after. It's one of Karloff's best non-horror film roles, he's positively creepy in the part.

The reason for Karloff's disgrace is sexual one and getting Karloff's mojo going as well is Ona Munson who also has a great part as the Nellie Bly of the tabloids. She tops Karloff in what she'll do for a story.

Five Star Final is a hard hitting well acted drama that does tend to go a bit overboard into melodrama, especially when H.B. Warner and Frances Stark are on screen. It was nominated for Best Picture of the year, but lost to the immortal classic Grand Hotel. It was later remade five years later as Two Against The World with Humphrey Bogart taking the Robinson part and the locale changed from a newspaper to a radio station.

I can easily see Five Star Final being remade for this century with the protagonist being the owner/operator of an internet website. The media may have changed, but sleaze is still sleaze.

Viewed this film years ago on a late late T.V. show and was able to tape it. The author of the original play, Louis Weitzenkorn, was once the managing editor of the New York Evening Graphic, a yellow journalism tabloid which gave him the idea for the main character of Hinchecliffe former publisher of the New York Mirror. The film was remade as Two Against the World in 1936. Bernard Hinchecliffe(Oscar Apfel) owner of the notorious scandal sheet, the GAZETTE and his managing editor, Joseph Randall(Edward G. Robinson), is ordered to boost the circulation by doing a story on the Vorhees case. Years ago, Nancy Vorhees(Francis Starr) murdered the man who betrayed her. Randall seeks the services of T. Vernon Isopod (Boris Karloff), an expelled divinity student. Isopod disguises himself as a clergyman and enters the Townsend home, gaining their confidence. Ona Munson, veteran film actress of the 1930's and 1940's along with Boris Karloff fullfil their newspaper duties perfectly. Five Star Final is a great film classic because of the great acting of Edward G. Robinson.

This largely forgotten film stars Edward G. Robinson and was one of the Best Picture Oscar nominees in 1931-1932. Robinson plays the editor of a newspaper whose publisher instructs Robinson to come up with a story that will increase circulation. Robinson's solution is to track down a woman who killed the father of her child twenty years before when he refused to marry her, but she was acquitted, largely because of her child. She has since married, and her daughter is on the eve of her own marriage and has no idea of her mother's past. Robinson's "what ever happened to" idea is a success, but at a horrible cost to the family involved.

Not on DVD or VHS, the film uses some techniques that were rather odd for Warner Bros at the time, considering that their urban dramas usually were very fast-paced. To begin with, the film makes a big production of introducing Robinson to the audience, having the other players talk about him at length, and even showing a shot of just his hands as he washes up before he makes his big entrance. Then - the whole movie proceeds to switch its dramatic center more to the family that Robinson's newspaper is writing a scandal piece on and its tragic effect on them.

Robinson and Boris Karloff - in an odd turn as an alcoholic reporter just prior to his star-making role in Frankenstein - have acting in the age of sound down to a fine art. However, the actors playing the roles of the family targeted by Robinson's scandal sheet seem to be hold-overs from the silent era, the best known being silent star H.B. Warner. Their speech is somewhat slow and over-dramatic, and their gestures exaggerated, but not ridiculously so. This might have been to contrast them with the hard-boiled occupants of the newsroom, but it makes the film look like it has two entirely different directors.

Have for some time regarded Edward G. Robinson very highly as an actor, he was often a scene stealer in support and he had more than enough presence when he was a lead. Seeing Boris Karloff in a prolific year for him and Aline MacMahon in her first film added to the interest. As well as that it was directed by Mervyn LeRoy, who also directed 'Random Harvest' (a particularly wonderful film of his). Any film that explores the dark side of journalism should be applauded.

'Five Star Final' managed to be a very well done and powerful film. Well made, very well written and strongly acted, on the most part regarding the acting with a couple of exceptions. Anybody that loves Robinson, Karloff and LeRoy will be more than delighted. The subject is a bold one and well worth addressing, it was very relevant at the time and is also very relevant now. Even more so now and even worse than back then, scarily so.

The film is not perfect by all means. Some of the acting is patchy. Nancy is a dull character and Frances Starr has very little warmth and presence in the part. Ona Munson's character annoyed me to no end and Munson overdoes it.

Occasionally 'Five Star Final' is a little corny, but thankfully those moments are hardly any.

It is stylishly filmed and has a good amount of atmosphere and grit. The decision to not use music was a good one, meaning that in my view the dialogue and subject resonates more without worrying about potential intrusiveness. There are some clever use of sound effects, the sound of machines being almost eerie. LeRoy really allows the drama to remain gripping throughout the entire film and the film is leanly and intelligently scripted.

Moreover, the story is very absorbing. Personally don't think it has dated at all and absolutely agree with everybody that says that its theme is still relevant today (as said already one could say that it is more so today and to a degree that is enough to shock, can't believe that there are people still that believe everything they believe in the press). What is shown here, meaning the dark side of journalism, is very disarming and honest with the film being quite uncompromising which helps make it all the more powerful.

Robinson is truly excellent in the lead role and nothing short of magnetic. Matched more than ideally by shifty Karloff, an extremely impressive debuting MacMahon and heartfelt HB Warner. Marian Marsh also gives a brave performance and is very moving in her final scene which is agreed one of the dramatic highlights.

To conclude, very well done. 8/10