Five Star Final (1931)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

Louis Weitzenkorn (play)
Byron Morgan (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

26 September 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

Editor Hinchecliffe wants to boost circulation for his "New York Gazette" and city editor Randall puts...

Plot Keywords:

Editor | Murder | Reporter | Newspaper | Publisher

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Edward G. Robinson	...	Joseph W. Randall
Marian Marsh	...	Jenny Townsend
H.B. Warner	...	Michael Townsend
Anthony Bushell	...	Phillip Weeks
George E. Stone	...	Ziggie Feinstein
Frances Starr	...	Nancy (Voorhees) Townsend
Ona Munson	...	Kitty Carmody
Boris Karloff	...	Rev. T. Vernon Isopod
Aline MacMahon	...	Miss Taylor
Oscar Apfel	...	Bernard Hinchecliffe
Purnell Pratt	...	Robert French
Robert Elliott	...	R.J. Brannegan

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

In September 1928, Warner Bros. Pictures purchased a majority interest in First National Pictures and from that point on, all "First National" productions were actually made under Warner Bros. control, even though the two companies continued to retain separate identities until the mid-1930's, after which time "A Warner Bros.-First National Picture" was often used.

Quotes:

Joseph W. Randall: Now you listen to me, Hinchecliffe. It'll be for the last time. I'm through with your dirty rag, and I'm through with you. Oh, I'm not ducking any of the blame for this thing. You thought of the murder and I committed it. But I did it for smaller profit. For wages. You did for circulation.
Bernard Hinchecliffe: You must be mad.
Joseph W. Randall: Mad. Yes I am. All my life I'll be mad. Because all my life I'll be seeing Nancy Voorhee's daughter standing there. And asking me why I killed her mother. And I want you, Hinchecliffe, to enjoy the picture with me. I want you to wake up in the night and see your own squashed...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in When the Talkies Were Young (1955)

Soundtrack:

Let Me Call You Sweetheart

Good Drama

Five Star Final (1931)

*** (out of 4)

An editor (Edward G. Robinson) at a sleazy newspaper makes a mistake by bringing a 20-year-old murder case back to the headlines. Earlier this year I watched the remake One Fatal Hour with Bogart, which pretty much followed this film word for word but this one here is slightly better due to the rich performance from Robinson and a powerful ending attacking the media. Some racy Pre-Code dialogue centered around a gay reporter is pretty eye catching as is the pre-Frankenstein performance by Boris Karloff as a drunken reporter.