The Star Witness (1931) User Reviews

A Very 'Original' And Entertaining Film

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 13 September 2005]

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.

Home Invasion During The Depression

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 6 April 2010]

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.

Desperate hours.....

[dbdumonteil · 7/10 · 25 June 2008]

...Our the grandpa's hour.

More than the gangsters ,it's a detailed depiction of an American family circa 1930:the father,proud of his job who worries about his son who's given up high school,the mum everyone would like to have ,the daughter who forgets dinner time in her squeeze's arms,and the twins who are absolutely lovable ("Don't go to sleep first ,please!").

And there's the grandfather ,playing the Yankee doodle on his flute .Have you noticed that this tune plays the same role as Doris Day's "Que Sera Sera" in Hitchcock's "The man who knew too much" (1956)?And there's this grandpa who is finally the most courageous person of the family .So old he does not even tell you his age ,but proud of his country and resisting to the gangster's hateful blackmail.

A good film by Wellman.

A terrific little film without a wasted moment in its 68 minutes...

[Sleepy-17 · 4 April 2000]

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.

There's no gentility in the way these thugs deal with those who can expose them.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 23 October 2018]

A very nice family dinner with a minimal of squabbling (plus the sudden presence of the feisty but somewhat inebriated grandfather) is interrupted by the sound of gunfire outside their peaceful residential home. Right in front of their front door, two men are gunned down by mobsters in cold blood, and the whole family sees it. An unlocked door gets the gangsters inside their cosy dining room, followed by threats of great violence. Father Grant Mitchell finds himself on the side of that violence in a very shocking way, as does one of the younger sons (George Ernest) who is kidnapped and mistreated by literally being tossed into a closet as if he was a filthy coat. Grandpa Charles "Chic" Sale is the key witness, but questions in regards to his sobriety at the time threaten to destroy the case, lead by D.A. Walter Huston.

This is a variation of the type of family horror drama that would be later detailed and played out in the Broadway play and subsequent movie, "The Desperate Hours", although here, the family's safety is threatened by gangsters who don't hold them hostage. In a sense, it's even more tense, because father Mitchell can't even go to a business meeting without the worry of being nabbed, and the kids (which includes Dickie Moore) can't go to school without fear of being taken hostage. The great William Wellman directs with his usual flair and no nonsense style, and the performances are all superb, with Sale having several great moments of going off on grandson Eddie Nugent who wants to kowtow to the gangsters simply for the family's safety rather than stand up for what's right. Sale mixes common sense, pathos and comic timing in his typical feisty manner, a true patriot of what American justice really should be all about.

"After all, blood's thicker than government pea soup."

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 10 October 2015]

A family witnesses a gangster commit murder and are then threatened into keeping quiet in this fine Pre-Coder directed by William Wellman. Walter Huston plays the tough district attorney who pressures the family to testify. Huston made a lot of great movies, particularly in the early '30s. He's good in this but he's outdone by scene stealer Chic Sale as the Civil War veteran grandfather who insists upon doing his civic duty and fighting back against the criminals, no matter the cost. He's hammy but in the best way. Dickie Moore is very cute as one of the little kids. The rest of the cast is solid, including Grant Mitchell, Sally Blane, Nat Pendleton, and Ralph Ince as the gangster killer. It's a movie made in the early sound era so it's a little creaky. There's also some preachiness that seems to be off-putting to some reviewers but didn't bother me much as it's all well-intentioned and understandable, especially in the time in which it was made. It's a good movie that will please most fans of the kinds of urban crime dramas WB made so well. Go into it with the right frame of mind and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Charles "Chic" Sales is terrific as the title character in this Oscar-nominated story about civic duty versus personal safety.

[Art-22 · 7/10 · 6 October 1998]

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.

The Birth of a Cliché

[1930s_Time_Machine · 5/10 · 1 September 2023]

If you love seeing Walter Huston being the epitome of integrity, the most upright and honest American of all time, the defender of civilisation delivering passionate moralising monologues about doing the right thing, this is your movie!

Along with James Cagney and Joan Blondell, nobody else epitomises the feel of the early thirties better than Walter Huston. Although in this he's almost a caricature of himself (how can anyone be this sincere!) he is still undoubtedly Mr Thirties so if you love films from this time, you've got to love him in this. This picture was actually Oscar nominated for best original story - watching this today laden with every single movie cliché ever conceived you'll wonder if they were having a laugh but clichés had to originate somewhere - in 1931 this was new, fresh and original.

Director William Wellman who also made his classics: THE PUBLIC ENEMY and NIGHT NURSE this same year displays the same imagination and flair to make this engaging and thoroughly enjoyable. As you'd expect, it's interestingly filmed and being made at Warner Brothers where they couldn't afford to waste a single inch of film on anything that wasn't telling the story, it bombs along like a rocket. You couldn't find a better example of something which can effortlessly whisk you off to 1931, it gives what seems like a genuine authentic feel of 1931 or at least how people in 1931 thought of themselves. Unlike most of Wellman's films from the early thirties, this one feels the creakiest and that's probably because it focuses not on a couple of lead characters but on a whole family. A running time of just over an hour isn't long enough to get to know everyone......and furthermore, you probably wouldn't want to get to know them anyway.

The Leeds family, who are the unfortunate folk who become the star witnesses, represent a typical urban American family. They were clearly authentic otherwise audiences back then would not have accepted this as a film about 'people like us' however they are just horrible! Grant Mitchell (not the one from EastEnders) is his usual supercilious, unpleasant self. Whoever plays "Ma" is just so limp and simpering that you're secretly wishing James Cagney would appear and sock her in the mouth (she's the drudging housewife stereotype who removes her husband's shoes when he comes home from work and then puts slippers on his feet - a tradition in want of reviving.) There's also a grown up layabout son who's also a really, really terrible actor. There's two very young boys (the irritatingly cute one and the mischievous tyke we're apparently supposed to find amusing). There's also a grown up daughter who's Loretta Young's sister and there's Grandpa. Grandpa is played by a 1920 Vaudeville comic called Chic Sale....... some reviewers suggest he's the worst thing about this film but I actually quite liked him. For 1931, it's quite a dark film and without disrupting the narrative, his cartoon-like character adds a bit of colour and fun. The problem with this film is this family - you can't warm to them so despite of the attention to detail, the action and the tension Mr Wellman imbues, you don't care about them.

In summary, you couldn't care less whether the whole lot of them (apart from Sally Blane of course) become part of the foundations to the new Empire State building but conversely you've got a well made and interesting picture (extremely well made for 1931) with Walter Huston being more Walter Huston than you can imagine. So on balance does this make for a good film? Sadly not quite - without empathy for the characters it fails but it's still worth watching.

Interesting film that points up the need to sometimes face temporary personal risk in return for the greater good

[llltdesq · 8/10 · 30 October 2000]

This film, an early William Wellman, has an important message, particularly today. It posits the notion that sometimes there are things more important than your own personal safty or well-being. The film, which has Walter Huston as the lead, is stolen by the performance of "Chic" Sales as Grampa. He's the most completely drawn character in the film and a joy to watch. You'll recognize some familiar faces if you watch many movies from the '20's and '30's. Wel worh your time to watch if you get the opportunity. Recommended.

Good triumphs over bad again!

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 6 August 2001]

This movie directed by William Wellman is nothing elaborate or scenic, but a real good feel good picture. The typical good versus bad with pride and patriotism mixed in. Law abiding citizens are terrorized by gangsters. One family endures mobster threats, violence and kidnapping after members of the family witness a couple of murders. Walter Huston is the devoted crime fighting district attorney. But the scene stealers are young Dickie Moore and Charles 'Chic' Sale, the lovable grandpa that walks away from the old soldiers home to become the story's hero.

star witness

[mossgrymk · 4/10 · 7 May 2021]

Missed the sequel where the great grandchildren of Nativist spouting Chick Sale's character ("damn foreign gangsters!") become MAGA voters.

Cute Dickie Moore is the Real Scene Stealer!!!

[kidboots · 9/10 · 25 December 2011]

In 1931 Jack Warner announced that his studio would stop making gangster movies. Warner Bros. had led the way with it's grimly realistic "Little Caesar" and "The Public Enemy" but behind this about face Warners were about to launch the next vogue - the social conscious movie. To show that they were serious, William Wellman started shooting "The Star Witness" as a companion piece to "The Public Enemy" to show the effect the witnessing of an underworld slaying has on an ordinary family. And believe me the gangsters are low and rough. The beating that Pa Leeds received was shocking and confronting and when Donny was kidnapped he was thrown around like a sack of potatoes - these hoodlums were real and had no redeeming features. They leave no doubt that little Donny will be killed after the trial.

The Leeds are a typical family (of any year). Jackie (Eddie Nugent) is unemployed and thinks he knows it all, Pa (Grant Mitchell) is constantly reminding him that he doesn't. To top it all, one evening, in the middle of tea, Grandpa ("Chick" Sales) pays an unwelcome visit where his long winded stories about the Civil War bore everyone to death - except the two little boys, Donny and Ned (cute little Dickie Moore). Suddenly the middle of the street explodes with gunfire and the Leeds witness a gangland slaying. Gangster kingpin Maxey Campo (Ralph Ince) threatens them with "If you finger me, I'll use your guts for wallpaper"!! - pretty nasty stuff!!! D.A. Whitlock (Walter Huston) is determined that the family will testify but after Pa is severely beaten and little Donny is kidnapped, even under police protection - the last thing the family want to do is to antagonise the gangsters.

All except Grandpa, who will not be intimidated. This movie showed Grandpa as part of an older, more idealistic generation who will not be swayed from their duty. His speeches were in the "America for Americans" vein and he often referred to gangsters as "yellow bellied foreigners". It was obviously retaliation on the movie's part for the abundance of gangster movies that had a distinct ethnic flavour. "Chic" Sale's, who would have been right at home in a Frank Capra movie, manner and look were too comical to have an emotional impact. Unlike other reviewers who thought his shenanigans stole the movie, I don't agree. Little Dickie Moore, I definitely think was the real scene stealer - he was so cute and unaffected. A character actor like Charley Grapewin who could play old codgers for laughs or dramatic intensity was what was needed. To see how it could be done you have only to view "The Night of June 13th" (1932) - in it Charley played a similar character, a crusty old grandpa who is the eyes and ears of a quiet suburban street. When a neighbour is found dead, he is the only person not too frightened to take the witness stand and testify on behalf of accused Clive Brook - you are literally hanging on his every word.

Even though I did think "Chic" Sale was annoying, his role in "The Star Witness" was designed to show that old timers had a lot to give in terms of patriotism and duty. His "can do" attitude has him finding the kidnapper's lair and calling the police force to action before all the new fangled phone tracing gets a chance. Driving beside a cemetery, Grandpa muses about his fallen comrades and the cinema viewer was left to think about what would become of America when men like Grandpa were gone.

Though he's only mentioned once by name . . .

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 4 May 2021]

. . . at about 37:54, U. S. mass slayer Herb Hoover hovers over STAR WITNESS like a spinning black funnel cloud. Grandpa Summers is the STAR WITNESS presented against H. H. by the always eponymous Warner Bros. To warn America of the threat that Herb poses to ALL vets attempting to collect their promised, contractual heroes' pay. The Warner seers cast dead ringers for Herb (Mr. Ince), his top henchman Black Jack (Mr. Pendleton's "Big Jack"), junior thug Doug (Mr. Norton) and balding villain Ike (Mr. Perry's "Baldie"). With the opening title card and Grandpa's frequent polemical speeches, the prophetic prognosticators of Warner are able to make it clear that the single extended Leeds Family of STAR WITNESS is standing in for the countless members of the Patriotic War Heroes Bonus Army and their wives plus children, all slaughtered by Herb and his gang of Fifth Columnist Quisling Henchmen near the U. S. Capitol Steps in a desperate plot to preserve capital for Herb's Fat Cat One Per Center ilk and "Base." Rather than re-election, Warner votes for electrocution.

Xenophobic and Predictable Crime Drama

[Clothes-Off · 4/10 · 6 December 2007]

All those who criticize The Sopranos for its stereotypical portrayals of Italians haven't seen anything until they've gotten a good look at this cornball gangster film which focuses on a family so irritating, you almost want them to be rubbed out.

The parents in this clan aren't so bad, but their two little boys--one a total brat, one cloyingly cutesy-poo--are insufferable, while their older good-for-nothing son and Pollyanna daughter ably compete for audience contempt. But the granddaddy of them all is, well, Granddaddy. As played by Chic Sale (in full "Dag-nabbit!" mode) he serves as the films moral compass, throwing in lots of diatribes about "dang, dirty foreigners" for good measure. If these are the good guys, it's no wonder the actors of that era who played baddies became the big stars.

Not that there are any stellar performances to be found among the criminal actors, but they at least acquit themselves better than the grating Leeds family. The incompetent police officers aren't even given enough screen time to bring things down any further. Only Walter Huston, as the district attorney, elevates the cliché-riddled material in his futile attempts to breathe some levelheadedness into these dolts.

The film deserves credit for being an early entry in what would prove to be a very popular silencing-the-witness formula, and it doesn't flinch in its depiction of the hard-bitten underworld lifestyle, but there are quite simply better--and less xenophobic--examples in the genre.

Warner Crime

[Michael_Elliott · 26 February 2008]

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.

See Beast of the City instead!

[jbacks3-1 · 6/10 · 6 April 2007]

Walter Huston (himself a "wet") was on an anti-crime roll in the early 30's, here finding himself working for 'Wild Bill' Wellman. While certainly dated, there's some interesting pre-code elements: a particularly brutal beating, a kid gets tossed head-first into a closet with unusual realism not once but twice and Wellman does some interesting mobile camera work throughout (not easy given the machinery of the time). "Chic" Sale is also an interesting factor--- he's both the best and worst thing about the movie. Like Bert Mustin and Walter Brennan, he seems to have been born looking 85. It's hard to believe he's only 47 here, portraying a fiesty Civil War (a Yankee) veteran, out to locate his kidnapped great-grandson (by a gang headed by a guy who has a suspiciously Capone-sounding name) while out on furlough from the Old Veteran's Home. Count the modern unconstitutional actions by the authorities... put your brain on pause watching an incredibly simple plot make 85 minutes seem like three hours...

Early Warners talkie starring Walter Huston

[blanche-2 · 5/10 · 7 April 2007]

When a family witnesses a murder, and some of them can identify the killer, their lives become terrifying in "Star Witness," a 1931 Warner Brothers film starring the great Walter Huston, Sally Blane, Dickie Hugent and Chic Sale. It will be hard for a 21st century audience to believe this movie was nominated for an Oscar for original story, since we've seen it dozens of times since. Also, with a film like this, it's hard to envision it the way a 1931 audience did. Unfortunately for "Star Witness," it's just not one of those movies that has stood the test of time.

Nevertheless, this 76-year-old film is interesting in that it tells us a lot about America, families, movie-making, and writing in the early '30s. Huston plays the DA in charge of the case. This role bears no resemblance to Dodsworth, but the way the part is written is worth noting. Even in books in the 1930s, including the original Perry Mason books, characters were given to big, declamatory speeches, as Huston's character is in this film. Apparently this was part of the writing style in fashion - and that style dates any movie faster than the sight of an old car in one of the scenes.

The family unit consists of two little boys, plus an adult, working daughter who still lives at home, and an adult son (Frank Nugent) who is, for all intents and purposes, a bum. Of interest - the beautiful, marriage-age daughter (Sally Blane, Loretta Young's sister) doesn't have her own place. It wasn't done back then - what would that say about her; also, she needed to contribute to the family income. And the gap in the children's ages? Not unusual. As in my own family, women back then often had many pregnancies and either miscarried or the babies died.

Chic Sale, all of 57 at the time of filming, plays what has to be the world's oldest man, Grandpa, a very annoying character who talks about his love of America, standing up to foreigners and not letting them take over the country. Sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it? Seventy-six years later, there are still people saying that.

A big shootout scene toward the end of the film was reminiscent of many other film shootouts in the early days - people shot guns without taking any particular aim. The effect they went for back then seems to be just making as much smoke as possible. Shooters keep the guns close to their waists and just shoot like blind men.

So despite what seems like a routine crime drama with some over the top characters and bratty kids, "Star Witness" still has a few things to offer, if only to show us that while lots has changed, a few things haven't, and that what was original in 1931 seems like it's by the numbers in 2007. To paraphrase Addison DeWitt: "Watch it. The minutes will fly like hours."

Well-Made and Exciting

[Derutterj-1 · 8/10 · 6 December 2007]

SPOILERS AHEAD— For the first ten minutes or so of Star Witness we're introduced to a quote typical urban American family unquote in a nameless city, which is another way of saying Warner Brothers' version of NYC. Except for the young children, including the charming Dickie Moore, and sprightly Sally Blane, they're a pretty dreary lot, and their dinner table conversation is tedious and we wish the story would move along and bring in the star, Walter Huston. But wait, folks, wait. All of a sudden serious gangster movie action breaks out, drawing the family in against their will, and after that this baby never lets up. There's suspense, an Oscar-nominated script, good acting; everything you want old movies to be—it is here. I do question Chic Sales performance; he must be an acquired taste, but his presence turns out to be crucial to the plot. He's treated to special status in the credits, so Warner Bros. must have really been high on Sale, but how his corny old man routine fit in with the public then is something lost to me. Perhaps it is lost to time period, an unknowable factor you had to be a 1931 moviegoer to understand. Also, the climax is typically melodramatic. Nevertheless, this right now is the best release of the studio that year I have seen so far (however, I've only seen eight, so perhaps that's an inconclusive view). Do not miss this when TCM shows it. 8 out of 10.

You'll be rooting for the mobsters

[jondaris · 3/10 · 6 October 2006]

Aside from a few good moments of fairly raw violence, this painful film is most notable for making 68 minutes seem like two hours.

It starts with an interminably long intro where the Leeds family is introduced, including two insufferable tykes and their adult brother and sister, completely clichéd Pa and Ma, and incredibly annoying Grandpa (played by Charles "Chic" Sales). While sitting down to dinner the family is disturbed by the sounds of gunfire, and rushes to the window in time to see two men gunned down by mobsters in the street. The mobsters flee through the family's house, leaving them as witnesses to the crime.

The rest of the movie consists of Walter Huston as the crusading DA occasionally interrupting long anti-crime speeches to make half hearted attempts at trying to protect the family from the mob. It all winds up in a predictable manner.

Good points about the movie include a couple of decent shootouts and a truly nasty beating, Nat Pendleton as one of the mobsters, and the gorgeous Sue Blane in a small role as the Leeds daughter.

If you want to watch Huston play his early trademark crusading lawman, try 1932's "Beast of the City." Avoid this one if at all possible.

Timeless Pre-Code Tale of Family, Civic Duty, and Domestic Terrorism

[LeonLouisRicci · 8/10 · 15 February 2015]

Some may call this Dated but Astute Viewers will No Doubt Notice that it is a Timeless Message about America's Community Spirit and the Little Guy taking on Oppression During the Depression.

Here the Oppression comes in the form of a "Plain" Family Witnessing a Murder by the Mob and the Subsequent Intimidation and Terrorizing to Keep Them from Appearing in Court.

A pretty Good Cast is Tasked with Believable Reluctance, especially after Their Youngest is Kidnapped and Held for "Ransom". Walter Huston as the D.A., Chic Young as an Aging Vet, and Dickie Moore as the Kidnapped are all Standouts as this sometimes Brutal Story Unfolds and Traps the Audience in Their Unenviable Situation.

There is a lot of Speechifying about a Citizen's "Duty" and so forth, coming from Law Enforcement and the Civil War Veteran. The Pre-Code Highlights are Violence Against Children, Prohibition Drinking, and a Savage Beating to One of the Witnesses that can Still Disturb Today.

Overall, it is a Slice of Early Thirties Americana and might Seem Corny to some Modern Cynics, but it has a Cutting Edge Sensibility and its Message is Pure. Above Average and the Story (nominated for an Oscar) is One for the Ages

Oh, Please

[marcslope · 4/10 · 12 September 2005]

Warner Brothers social responsibility at its most ham-handed, with sermonizing every five minutes or so about how we're Americans, we don't run from trouble, we face up to our responsibilities. It also suggests that if you're willing to perjure yourself to protect your family from clearly deadly gangsters, you're un-American. Walter Huston, looking bored, is the frustrated DA, and the "average American family" includes such familiar faces as Sally Blane (looking a lot like her sister, Loretta Young) and Dickie Moore, as an allegedly adorable moppet. Both are regularly crowded out of the frame by Chic Sale, only 47 then but playing an octogenarian Civil War veteran, ponderously jumping and "amusingly" nipping at Prohibition hooch and moralizing about how we're Americans, dag nabbit. His St. Vitus Dance old-coot performance is tiresome schtick; it's like Walter Brennan based his entire career on it. William Wellman directs efficiently and quickly, much like his earlier "Public Enemy," but he and the screenwriter neglect to show what happens to this family after the happy fadeout -- i.e., they'd probably be rubbed out by the Mob.

A Neighborhood of Plain People in an American City of Today

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 9 December 2007]

An average family's life is disrupted when they inadvertently witness gangsters murder two men; one is a policeman. Walter Huston (as Whitlock) is the district attorney who will become involved with the case. The family is headed by Frances Starr and Grant Mitchell (as Ma and Pa Leeds). The Leeds' have four children: George Ernest (as Donny), Dickie Moore (as Ned), Edward J. Nugent (as Jackie), and Sally Blane (as Sue). Just before the shootings, the Leeds family is visited by Ma's drunken father Charles "Chic" Sale (as Private "Gramps" Summerill).

The Leeds family is terrorized by the gangsters; of course, they do not want any of the family to identify the shooter (nicely mugging Ralph Ince). The gangsters strong-arm and, eventually, kidnap one of the Leeds boys (Ernest as Donny). But, interestingly, Mr. Sale (as "Gramps") seems to put his "country" over his grandson, and agrees to become "The Star Witness". Sale's drunken old grandfather portrayal is more than a little hard to take; and, the character is an odd vehicle in which to support the "patriotic" point-of-view expressed by "The Law" (Huston).

Ernest does an excellent job, especially in the scene with ex-baseball player Mike Donlin (as Mickey); and, William A. Wellman directed the film's action sequences well.

"Chic" Flick

[GManfred · 6 April 2010]

I love old movies and this was included in a new DVD collection I bought. It is cornball hokum of the first order and I was disappointed in the simplistic plot and the laughable contrivance throughout. I was very surprised with the absence of normally reliable direction by William Wellman, who may have underestimated the entire production or was as disillusioned by the story as I was.

I realize it was the early '30's, but Holy Cow, folks. All concerned ought to have given us some credit for seeing through plot device after plot device. This picture was more for a Saturday kids' matinée than for grown-ups (many of you remember Sat. kid's shows?).

Now let me tell you what was REALLY annoying. It was Grandpa - in the person of Chic Sale. Some readers will say he stole the show but I feel he dragged down my rating of a movie that was barely tolerable to begin with. He was younger than many of the cast members but played an old soldier - with a beard, a limp and a fife - who was given to patriotic tirades at the drop of a hat. In fact, I would have liked to drop his hat several times - with his head in it. He almost spoiled the enjoyment of seeing Walter Huston, one of my all-time favorite actors.

Can't really recommend it other than to see some of the old-time great character actors, and this movie is chock full of them.

Grandpa steals the show.

[RevvedReview · 9/10 · 14 September 2021]

I don't laugh out loud at a lot of movies. But when grandpa tapped the jaw of the gangster in the courtroom, I laughed louder than I have in years (watching movies.) It was so in character and so surprising at the same time.

Plus, I love me a good old classic patriotic speech.

Vintage crime drama...give me "Public Enemy" any time...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 6 April 2007]

Strictly a curiosity piece from Warner Bros., this early crime drama with a sermonizing WALTER HUSTON as a D.A., is so full of annoying and clichéd moments that it seems far longer than its 68 minutes running time. Everything about it is so dated, it's hard to recommend it as anything but a museum piece. (Trivia note: DICKIE MOORE was one cute kid as the littlest brother).

I never heard of CHARLES "CHIC" SALE before, but he makes an insufferable grandpa, the dad of GRANT WITHERS. "Blood's thicker than government pea coup" is one of his most clichéd statements. The opening scene has the family gathered for a dinner interrupted by gunfire. Seems that a man on his way to see the D.A. was gunned down by underworld gangsters.

With the family witnessing the whole thing, the story turns on just when and whether the star witnesses will testify. Unfortunately, the bare plot outline sounds better than it plays. The sentiment is so thick involving gramps and the little kids and there are so many inconsequential moments with weak attempts at humor, that the whole story falls apart long before the predictable ending.

Hard to see how William A. Wellman came to direct this weak early effort at crime drama, except for the brutal moment when NAT PENDLETON teaches GRANT WITHERS a lesson in gangster brutality.

WALTER HUSTON is given to lots of sermonizing. "This is the fight of every decent man!" so that the drama has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

Summing up: Just a curiosity piece of vintage film-making but hardly worth a peek. It's the sort of tale given a much more dynamic , grown up treatment years later by William Wyler for THE DESPERATE HOURS.