''The Star Witness'' is a 1931 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

crime drama 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 ...

film produced and distributed by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

and directed by

William A. Wellman William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on avi ...

. The film stars

Walter Huston Walter Thomas Huston ( ;According to the Province of Ontario. ''Ontario, C ...

Frances Starr Frances Grant Starr (June 6, 1881 – June 11, 1973) was an American stage, film and television actress. Early years Starr's parents were Charles Edward Starr and Emma (''née'' Grant). She had two half sisters, and her father died when s ...

, Grant Mitchell, and

Chic Sale Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...

. ''The Star Witness'' was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

at the

5th Academy Awards The 5th Academy Awards were held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on November 18, 1932, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, hosted by Conrad Nagel. Films screened in Los Angeles between August 1, 1931, and Jul ...

for Best Story. A print of the film is preserved by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

.''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress'', (<-book title) p.174 c.1978 by The American Film Institute

Plot

The Leeds family consists of two adult children, their two young brothers, their parents, and Grandpa Summerill, a feisty retired soldier visiting from the

old soldiers' home An old soldiers' home is a military veterans' retirement home, nursing home, or hospital, or sometimes an institution for the care of the widows and orphans of a nation's soldiers, sailors, and marines, etc. United Kingdom In the United Kingd ...

. Hearing a commotion outside, most of them go to the windows and witness

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

"Maxey" Campo murdering two men. Campo enters the house, assaults Grandpa for confronting him, threatens the family with harm if they talk, and flees by the back exit. District Attorney Whitlock wants to make an example of Campo. The Leedses are naive about the danger to themselves and happy to cooperate, and Campo is arrested on the basis of their information. Whitlock's assistant plans to put the witnesses in

protective custody Protective custody (PC) is a type of imprisonment (or care) to protect a person from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many prison administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within pri ...

in jail once Campo is

indict An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

ed, but the gang acts faster. Pa Leeds is kidnapped and, after he rejects a bribe for the family to recant their identification of Campo, is badly beaten and dumped beside a road. Pa is well enough to stay at home, and Whitlock confines the whole family to their house for their protection. But they now disagree about whether to go through with their testimony. On the day of Campo's indictment hearing, the youngest boy, Donny, does not want to miss playing in a baseball game. He slips out of the house, but never gets to the game. The family receives a phone call from the gang, threatening Donny's life if they identify Campo at the hearing. Grandpa still considers it his patriotic duty as an American to tell the truth, but now he is the only one. Only the

exchange Exchange may refer to: Physics *Gas exchange is the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Places United States * Exchange, Indiana, an unincorporated community * ...

where the phone call originated is known. The police conduct a massive house-to-house search for Donny in that area — while Grandpa slips away and begins his own search. Meanwhile, Whitlock has to present the witnesses against Campo. Even when threatened with perjury charges, one by one the family members lie and say they aren't sure or don't remember. And Grandpa, the star witness Whitlock could count on, is nowhere to be found. Killing time in the apartment where he is being held, Donny starts showing one of his captors a baseball pitch, when he hears Grandpa's fife outside. He throws the baseball through the window and calls out. Grandpa eventually convinces the police of what is happening, and after a gun battle, Donny is rescued. Whitlock is informed and the judge, who was about to dismiss the indictment, delays the hearing until Grandpa arrives. Delighting in his moment, Grandpa boldly identifies Campo, makes a short speech about Americans' patriotic duty to stand up to "any dang dirty foreigner" criminals, trips Campo off his feet in retaliation for the earlier assault, and then declares he is ready to begin his testimony. A newspaper headline tells us that Campo has been executed. Grandpa returns to the old soldiers' home.

Cast

Walter Huston Walter Thomas Huston ( ;According to the Province of Ontario. ''Ontario, C ...

...

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

Whitlock *

... Ma Leeds * Grant Mitchell ... Pa Leeds *

Sally Blane Sally Blane (born Elizabeth Jane Young; July 11, 1910 – August 27, 1997) was an American actress who appeared in over 100 movies. Early life Blane was born in Salida, Colorado. She was the sister of actresses Polly Ann Young and Loretta Young ...

... Sue Leeds *

Ralph Ince Ralph Waldo Ince (January 16, 1887 – April 10, 1937) was an American pioneer film actor, director and screenwriter whose career began near the dawn of the silent film era. Ralph Ince was the brother of John E. Ince and Thomas H. Ince. Biogr ...

... "Maxey" Campo *

Edward J. Nugent Edward James Nugent (February 7, 1904 – January 3, 1995) was an American film and stage actor. Biography Born in 1904 in New York City, Nugent appeared in more than 80 films between 1928 and 1937. He subsequently had a second acting career o ...

... Jackie Leeds * Dickie Moore ... Ned Leeds *

Nat Pendleton Nathaniel Greene Pendleton (August 9, 1895 – October 12, 1967) was an American Olympic wrestler, film actor, and stage performer. His younger brother, Edmund J. Pendleton (1899-1987), was a well-known music composer and choir maste ...

... Henchman Big Jack *

George Ernest George Ernest (born George Ruud Hjorth; November 20, 1921 – June 25, 2009) was an American actor and Office of Strategic Services (OSS) combat photographer/cameraman during World War II. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1930 a ...

... Donny Leeds *

Russell Hopton Harry Russell Hopton (February 18, 1900 – April 7, 1945) was an American film actor and director. Biography Hopton was born in New York City, New York. He appeared in 110 films between 1926 and 1945, often playing streetwise characters f ...

... Deputy Thorpe *

Charles "Chic" Sale Charles Partlow "Chic" Sale (August 25, 1885 – November 7, 1936) was an American actor and vaudevillian. Early years Sale was born in Huron, South Dakota, and raised in Urbana, Illinois. He was a son of Frank and Lillie Belle (née Partl ...

... Private "Grandpa" Summerill

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Star Witness 1931 films 1931 crime drama films American black-and-white films American crime drama films Films directed by William A. Wellman Warner Bros. films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films