''Key Witness'' is a black-and-white 1960

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by Phil Karlson and starring Jeffrey Hunter,

Pat Crowley Patricia Crowley (born September 17, 1933) is an American actress. She was also frequently billed as Pat Crowley. Early life Crowley was born in Olyphant, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Helen (''née'' Swartz) and coal mining foreman Vincent Cr ...

, and Dennis Hopper.

Plot

Fred Morrow, an average Los Angeles citizen, witnesses a gang murder when he stops in a café to use a telephone. Aware that he is the only witness against them, the gang members, led by young "Cowboy" Tomkins, seek out his identity and terrorize his family and him to keep him from testifying against them. A police detective, Torno, fears he will lose his only witness, but Fred stands up to the gang, despite wife Ann's hysteria. Cowboy gives the Morrows until midnight to change their minds, while gang members Ruby, Muggles and Apple and he throw a rock through the family's window and slash their car's tires. Cowboy leads the cops on a car chase, but is caught. In court, though, Fred changes his testimony after learning Ann has been attacked by Ruby, and their child is held at gunpoint by Muggles. He later provokes Apple, who is black, into siding against Cowboy, who reveals his racist attitudes toward his accomplice. Torno takes the entire gang into custody, with Apple agreeing to testify.

Cast

* Jeffrey Hunter as Fred Morrow *

as Ann Morrow * Dennis Hopper as Cowboy Tomkins *

Joby Baker Joseph N. "Joby" Baker (born March 26, 1934) is a Canadian-born actor and painter. Career Baker was born in Montreal, Quebec. An early role in his career was in a 1958 episode of ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', "Ronnie Makes A Recor ...

as Muggles *

Johnny Nash John Lester Nash Jr. (August 19, 1940October 6, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter, best known in the United States for his 1972 hit " I Can See Clearly Now". Primarily a reggae and pop singer, he was one of the first non-Jamaican artists ...

as Apple *

Susan Harrison Susan Stewart Harrison (August 26, 1938 – March 5, 2019) was an American actress. She is most famous for her appearance in the 1957 film noir classic ''Sweet Smell of Success'' as the sister for whom Burt Lancaster has an unhealthy affection ...

as Ruby *

Frank Silvera Frank Alvin Silvera (July 24, 1914 – June 11, 1970) was a Jamaican-born American character actor and theatrical director. Born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in Boston, Silvera dropped out of law school in 1934 after winning his first sta ...

as Det. Torno *

Terry Burnham Elizabeth Teresa "Terry" Burnham (August 8, 1949 – October 7, 2013) was an American actress, best known for her performance in the '' Twilight Zone'' episode, "Nightmare as a Child." Life and career Elizabeth Teresa Burnham was born on August ...

as Gloria Morrow

Reception

According to MGM records, the film earned $360,000 in the US and Canada and $450,000 in other countries, resulting in a loss of $496,000. Reviews generally praised the film, although ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' and ''Variety'' criticized its element of

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

. Writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', reviewer Howard Thompson praised the film, saying "If 'Key Witness' could be better, we don't know how." He also noted, "...this little picture is fast, tough, tight, sickeningly real to watch and wonderfully well put together."

References

External links

* * * * 1960 films American black-and-white films 1960s English-language films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1960 crime films Films directed by Phil Karlson American neo-noir films American crime films 1960s American films {{1960s-crime-film-stub