The Star Witness

In The Star Witness gangster chief Ralph Ince makes two big mistakes. One is that he does commit a murder. The second is that in escaping he did a brief home invasion of your average American family who are now mostly witnesses to the crime he committed. But getting them to tell their story is the subject of this film and it's what District Attorney Walter Huston has to do.

You can't get much more average than the Leeds family. Father and mother Grant Mitchell and Frances Starr, children, Sally Blane, Edward Nugent, George Ernest, and Dickie Moore. And they have their maternal grandfather Chic Sale living with them as well. He's the only one that wants to do his civic duty and hence he's Huston's Star Witness.

Sale has a really great part as the feisty old Civil War veteran and he steals every scene he's in, even from Walter Huston. He also speaks some of the more ethnocentric lines that mirror the view that The Star Witness takes about foreigners coming in to ruin this country. That was not an uncommon view of what Middle America thought of the urban gangsters who seem to come up from nowhere during those Prohibition days.

The Leeds family endures a lot, a beating to one family member and a kidnapping of another. The film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. And the shootout with the gang and law enforcement is one of the best that Warner Brothers did at the time. Of course this having been directed by William Wellman who did The Public Enemy that year, you would expect the best.

Inexpensive but carefully made, this story of a New York family threatened by gangsters is sharply etched and engrossing. Good acting and great camera work enhance this quickie with a topical slant. The overacting by Chic Sale is outrageous but a lot of fun. A thriller with many comic moments, it displays ample amounts of William Wellman's directorial style. A pulp masterpiece that matches Wellman's "Public Enemy" from the same year.

Star Witness, The (1931)

*** (out of 4)

Warner gangster film has several flaws but remains highly entertaining throughout the 67-minute running time. An American family sees gangsters kill two undercover cops and they plan on testifying but soon the gangsters are threatening their lives. Things take a turn for the worse when their young son is kidnapped by the gangsters but the D.A. (Walter Huston) must find a way to get their testimony. As I said, there's all sorts of flaws with this film and like many early talkies it does too much talking but there's still plenty to enjoy here including the frankness of the pre-code drama. There's some rather strong violence including a beating, the shootout and some more abuse towards the kidnapped child. These pre-code elements certainly set it apart plus you've got Huston chewing more scenery than ten other actors could combined. Frances Starr, Grant Mitchell, Ralph Ince, Dickie Moore and Charles Sale co-star for director William Wellman. Received an Oscar nomination for Best Story.

Charles "Chic" Sales is absolutely terrific as the sole member of the Leeds family willing to testify against a gangster they saw murder a policeman and an informant. He fought at Bull Run in the Civil War and his patriotism runs high, even after his son-in-law is beaten and one of his grandson's is kidnapped by the gang, intimidating all the other members. Fear of his grandson's death is no excuse, he says. He wouldn't want his grandson living in a country run by gangsters anyway. The conflict between civic duty and personal safety is driven home sharply in this Oscar-nominated story. Walter Huston is also a standout as the hard driving district attorney threatening the family with perjury if they don't back up their identification of the killer in court. The rest of the cast, including the sleazy killer, Ralph Ince, are all excellent, and the film is snappily directed by William A. Wellman. There's also good suspense, as Sales disappears just as the trial is about to begin.

This is one of those films that looks so "dated" that being that way is part of the fun. You see and hear things you would NEVER see or hear on the silver screen today. Some of that is good; some it too corny for words, some of it bad (depending on your viewpoints on certain cultural issues.)

For instance, in this short (68 minutes) 1931 film you have:

The grandpa of the family that is featured in this story extolling the value of patriotism and why one should speak up against criminals for the good of the United States (picture that in today's films!)

A district attorney (Walter Huston) almost begging for death penalty sentences and the populace shown as supporting it 100 percent (once again, picture that in modern-day movies.)

Along the way you have some shocking violence, such as a young boy being picked up a few times and literally thrown head first into a closet, and his father being picked up and swung repeatedly head-first into a wall. This is a tough stuff, to say the least.

Yet the film is dotted with comedy, mostly by the patriotic grandpa, memorably played by Charles "Chic" Sales. There are a bunch of laughs for all those who view this unique crime film. And, for soft touches, there are the two young boys, one of whom - Dickie Moore - went on to become a pretty famous child actor in his day. Here, he is just a little tyke of about 5 years of age who, understandably, is far from being a polished actor, but you can see stardom for him on the horizon. In fact, he did just that the following year with a solid performance in "Blonde Venus," starring Marlene Dietrich.

Anyway, this is an entertaining film because of an effective mixture of violence, comedy and sentimentality....and it has a nice feel-good ending and a thought-provoking message. It was up for an Academy Award, too, for "Best Writing, Original Story." I am sorry to say it is only available for viewing on cable TV as it has never been put out on VHS or DVD.....and that's a shame.