The Star Chamber (1983)

Disgusted with criminals escaping the judicial system via technicalities, an idealistic young judge investigates an alternative method for punishing the guilty.

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writers:

Roderick Taylor (screenplay), Peter Hyams (screenplay),

Stars:

Michael Douglas, Hal Holbrook, Yaphet Kotto

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Douglas	...	Superior Court Judge Steven R. Hardin
Hal Holbrook	...	Judge Benjamin Caulfield
Yaphet Kotto	...	Det. Harry Lowes
Sharon Gless	...	Emily Hardin
James Sikking	...	Dr. Harold Lewin (as James B. Sikking)
Joe Regalbuto	...	Arthur Cooms
Don Calfa	...	Lawrence Monk
John DiSanti	...	Det. James Wickman
Otis Day	...	Stanley Flowers (as DeWayne Jessie)
Jack Kehoe	...	Hingle
Larry Hankin	...	Det. Kenneth Wiggan
Dick Anthony Williams	...	Det. Paul Mackey
Margie Impert	...	Louise Pacinni
Dana Gladstone	...	Dept. Dist. Atty. Martin Hyatt
David Proval	...	Officer Nelson

Storyline

Disgusted with criminals escaping the judicial system via technicalities, an idealistic young judge investigates an alternative method for punishing the guilty.

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Plot Keywords:

hitman | conspiracy | vigilantism | courtroom | child murder | 

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Taglines:

Someone has hidden justice within the law. Now justice is breaking out.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 August 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Câmara Secreta

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$5,600,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Frank Yablans Presentations, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's title is taken from a controversial English law court called the "Star Chamber" which was founded in 1487 by King Henry VII. This court sat at the Royal Palace of Westminster until 1641. The "Star Chamber" was so-called because the ceiling of the court where the judges met featured gold decorative stars. The court operated as a supplement to local justice processes where other courts of law could not for one reason or another enforce justice. This court took its name from another court also called the "Star Chamber" or "Starred Chamber" from the reign of King Edward II which functioned for meetings of the King's Council.

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Goofs

Obvious stunt double when Judge Hardin is tumbling down the chute in Monk & Coombs' warehouse.

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Quotes

Superior Court Judge Steven R. Hardin: There's a lot of nobility in this room. Must be the paneling.

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Connections

Referenced in Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead (2009)

User Reviews

They were making a cerebral vigilante movie and an action film broke out.

When "The Star Chamber" was released to theaters in 1983, the movie bombed at the box office. I was lucky to see the movie in its second week of release. I have seen the movie several times on cable TV and video and even though the movie had some good ideas, it was ruined by turning it into a mindless, sometimes laughable action thriller.

The story (by Roderick Taylor with the script co-written by Taylor and director Peter Hyams) rose slightly above the usual vigilante movie clichés. The movie asks what if some judges, frustrated by the law that they are supposed to uphold, took matters into their own hands? Despite strong evidence that would incriminate the accused, the judges have to reject the evidence on technicalities, freeing the accused individuals.

Though the film has a strong cast, I though Michael Douglas was a little too young to play a judge (he was 39 at the time the movie was released). Hal Holbrook is essentially playing the same role he played in Hyams other "what if?" conspiracy thriller a few years earlier (Capricorn One): the veteran judge who is involved in this conspiracy and gets the Douglas character involved.

Yaphet Kotto does what he can in the underwritten role of the L.A. police detective investigating the case. Sharon Gless is wasted as Douglas' understanding wife. Veteran character actors Don Calfa and Joe Regalbuto (Frank Fontana from "Murphy Brown") played the unsympathetic, cartoon criminals who are on the Chamber's hit list.

Only James B. Sikking's performance as a victim's father who finds himself in prison when he tries to take the law into his own hands, came through. It was a very sympathetic and heartbreaking. In retrospect, it's interesting that Sikking played the SWAT commander on "Hill Street Blues" when the movie was released.

Hyams' films (including "2010", "The Presidio", "Outland", the previously mentioned "Capricorn One", even the Jean Claude Van Damme flicks "Timecop" and "Sudden Death") are interesting to look at. "The Star Chamber" is no exception. But many of his films tend to disappoint and, sadly, "The Star Chamber" is also on that list.

Update (July 2006): The current DVD cover of the movie is misleading. It has Michael Douglas holding a gun. In the film, his character never used a gun. What's up with the 20th Century Fox marketing department trying to mislead potential viewers of this movie?