Five Star Final (1931) User Reviews

Five Star Final (1931) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 14 July 2005]

A powerful, uncompromising early look at "Yellow Journalism" which made a great enough impact at the time to be counted among the year's best films at the Academy Awards – to say nothing of the rush of similar pictures which followed in its wake, culminating in Howard Hawks' masterpiece, HIS GIRL Friday (1940).

Edward G. Robinson is re-united here with the director of LITTLE CAESAR (1930), the film that made him a star, and delivers another great performance which is sufficiently nuanced to anchor the somewhat melodramatic plot in reality. Supporting him, among many others, are Aline MacMahon as his long-suffering secretary who's secretly in love with him and Boris Karloff in a marvelous turn as the most shamelessly hypocritical reporter on the newspaper's payroll. The cynical, rapid-fire dialogue gives it an edge and an authenticity that's almost impossible to recapture these days and, needless to say, became one of the key elements in this type of film.

The film features a number of good scenes but the highlights would have to be: the split-screen technique introduced to shut out the former convict, who is now being hounded by "The Gazette", from having a conversation with either the owner of the paper or its news editor (Robinson); the lengthy and heart-breaking scene in which the female ex-convict's husband (played by the ever-reliable H.B. Warner) bids farewell to their daughter and her soon-to-be husband without letting them in on the fact that the woman has committed suicide and that he intends to join her soon after; the hysterical tirade at the end by the daughter when she finally confronts the men who have destroyed her life, a brave tour-de-force moment for Marian Marsh (familiar to horror aficionados from SVENGALI [1931], THE MAD GENIUS [1931] and THE BLACK ROOM [1935]) who had so far only rather blandly served the romantic interest of the plot; the final shot of the picture, with the latest issue of "The Gazette" being swept into the gutter by street-cleaners along with the rest of the garbage, thus leaving no doubt whatsoever as to where the film-makers' true sentiments lay.

Deadlier Than The Tommy Gun

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 2 March 2009]

Five Star Final according to Edward G. Robinson in his memoirs was a favorite role for him. He enjoyed having to go through a film without once taking up a weapon. But Robinson did have a weapon at his disposal here, one deadlier than the tommy gun. The power of yellow journalism to ruin and destroy lives for the sake of circulation.

Circulation is down at the New York Graphic, the sleazy tabloid where Robinson is the hardboiled editor. Publisher Oscar Apfel decides to rake over a 20 year old murder, one of those where are they now pieces. A woman killed a man who got her pregnant and refused to marry her and another man stepped up to the plate and raised her baby girl as his own. The couple, H.B. Warner and Frances Starr have lived quietly and anonymously on the west side of Manhattan the daughter, Marian Marsh is about to marry Anthony Bushell the son of a manufacturer.

The poking and prying of Robinson's reporters results in tragedy. It also gives Robinson a severe attack of conscience, encouraged by his girl Friday, Aline McMahon.

Stealing the film in the small part he's in is Boris Karloff as disgraced seminarian who affects the guise of clergyman to get the story he's after. It's one of Karloff's best non-horror film roles, he's positively creepy in the part.

The reason for Karloff's disgrace is sexual one and getting Karloff's mojo going as well is Ona Munson who also has a great part as the Nellie Bly of the tabloids. She tops Karloff in what she'll do for a story.

Five Star Final is a hard hitting well acted drama that does tend to go a bit overboard into melodrama, especially when H.B. Warner and Frances Stark are on screen. It was nominated for Best Picture of the year, but lost to the immortal classic Grand Hotel. It was later remade five years later as Two Against The World with Humphrey Bogart taking the Robinson part and the locale changed from a newspaper to a radio station.

I can easily see Five Star Final being remade for this century with the protagonist being the owner/operator of an internet website. The media may have changed, but sleaze is still sleaze.

The more things change...

[LCShackley · 8/10 · 9 February 2008]

This film was made in 1931, but deals with issues that we still face today. How far should journalists probe into the private lives of others, simply for the sake of higher circulation? Should there be standards of integrity and honesty in reporting?

The plot concerns a trashy newspaper with dwindling circulation. The editor and owner decide to rake up an old murder case, because that's the kind of trash their low-life readers enjoy. The problem is that the murder in question was committed by a woman who is now leading a respectable life. (We're never given all the details on how she got out of prison, etc., or the real parentage of her child.) Is the paper willing to sacrifice the happiness of a family for the sake of more sales? There are a lot of interesting characters here, such as the conflicted editor (Robinson), a sneaky reporter (Karloff), and the grief-stricken father (Warner). Warner has the best scene, as he tries to maintain his composure while talking to his daughter and her fiancé on their wedding day, while his wife is lying dead in the next room. (Speaking of that, watch his hand as he opens the bedroom door and discovers his wife's lifeless body.) There are plenty of comic relief characters, with names like Ziggie and Kitty, and even a droning switchboard operator with a recurring part.

The Hays code obviously hadn't completely kicked in yet, because there is dialog here that is racier than films of the later 30s (such as fairly open discussions about illegitimacy). Take for instance Robinson's final line, accompanied by a telephone thrown through his boss's glass door.

It's all played for melodrama, but it works, helped along by clever camera work and lighting, and a no-frills script.

Way ahead of it's time

[metalrox_2000 · 7/10 · 30 December 2009]

Hard to imagine the message of this film, since some 75 or so years later, Princess Diana was killed in a car crash trying to escape paparazzi.

The film's premise is simple. The owner of a second tier newspaper wants to find some way to boost circulation. He appoints an editor played by film legend Edward G. Robinson to dig up the dirt on an old story. Twenty years ago, a woman named Nancy Voorhas shot and killed her lover.

Trouble is that Voorhas has moved on, and has a brand new family. When she learns that the story is coming to public light yet again, she pleads for Joseph Randall (Played by Robinson)to drop the story. And the behest of the newspapers owner, he refuses. With all of the questions and pressure surrounding her, Voorhas commits suicide.

What is left is for Joseph Randall to question if it was all worth it. Was it worth the life of Nancy Voorhas to sell extra copies of a newspaper? Robinson gives a speech at the end of the film that really was ahead of it's time, and was perhaps a foreshadowing of an age where celebrities are stalked, and people famous for a crime are forever hounded by that moment. The Joseph Randall character resigns his post, and states that he and the paper's editor played a role in the death of Nancy Voorhas, and should take the rightful blame.

This is a must own film for any fan of Edward G. Robinson, and should be considered one of the landmark and greatest films of all time. It's rare to find on DVD, but if you should find it, buy it. You won't be disappointed.

Aline MacMahon deserves praise

[kidboots · 10/10 · 29 July 2008]

This is what made Edward G. Robinson so great. He could take any role and make it unique and also from the start he could kid his "tough guy" persona (which he doesn't do here)!!!! Aline MacMahon also deserves praise. This was her first film and she was perfect in the role of Miss Taylor - Randall's "conscience". Yes, she soon started to play kindly aunts and best friends but she was vital to any film that she was in and in this film, next to Robinson, she is the highlight. Adorable Marian Marsh, who had just had a hit as Trilby in "Svengali" went on to star in several hits of the early 30s. In this film she plays the daughter Jenny Townsend and her high light is the end - "Why did you kill my Mother????"

Joseph W. Randall (Edward G. Robinson) is managing editor of the Evening Gazette, the biggest scandal rag in the city. He is determined to make the paper more respectable and because of that the circulation is down. "you are trying to get above our readers... Say if I sat on a cigar box I'd be above them!!!". The paper's owner "the sultan of slop" decides to resurrect a 20 year old murder case where a young woman Nancy Voorhees killed her boss. She stood trial but was let off because of her baby. The paper wants to know what became of her. She is now married to a bank manger (H.B. Warner) who loves her dearly and stood by her. Her daughter, Jenny is about to be married to Phillip (Anthony Bushell) whose parents are in high society.

Boris Karloff is really creepy as Isopod, a defrocked priest - "don't drive in taxis with him!!!" He poses as a priest interviewing the parents of the bride - in reality trying to get a scoop for the paper. Jenny's parents confide in him, thinking he really is a priest and of course Isopod takes it to the papers.

The story makes front page news on the day of the wedding. Phillip's parent visit and command that the wedding be called off. Nancy, the mother, calls the paper, and by the use of a triple screen you see how her pleas go unanswered by everyone, except Miss Taylor. Her husband goes to see a friend who says he will do all in his power to stop the story but it is too late for Nancy, who has taken her own life.

"Why did you kill my mother!!!!". Even though Phillip has stood by her, Jenny is distraught and goes to Randall's office planning to kill him. After a huge show down that will leave you emotionally breathless a glass door is broken and Randall goes off with Miss Taylor - "if you want my opinion - take me to a speakeasy some night - I won't be working for you then"!!! - to start a clean life away from the gutter of the scandal rag that has "more huddles on this paper than on the Notre Dame team!!!!"

The door that was broken was the door to the owner's office - not the door out of the office.

Highly recommended.

Stop The Presses!

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 20 September 2014]

Another reviewer mentioned that this was ahead of its time and they were right. Most of these fuzzy black-and-white 1930s movies about detective, reporters, and one or another particeps criminis seem hastily flung together. They're pretty crummy. You await the outcome only because you're barely curious. It's like waiting for a particularly dull jigsaw puzzle to be completed, just because you've already invested so much time in it.

Except for an unnecessary and hysterical ending, this one is exceptional. Robinson is the editor of a New York tabloid. The owners are all over him for the paper's low circulation, so Robinson orders his reporters to dig up the story of a twenty-year-old murder, a love tragedy, and find the woman who shot her philandering paramour. Dig into it. Find out where she lives, what happened to her, and we'll run a daily special on her crime and her current life.

It's not such a hot idea from a moral point of view, a little like "Absence of Malice." The murderer, Nancy Voorhees, now Nancy Townsend (Frances Starr), has established a new life with a good man (H. B. Warner). Nancy's daughter, Marian Marsh, is a student at Hunter College and is supposed to marry a devoted young man from a family of social standing. The story wrecks their happy lives and leads to two suicides. Robinson, at the urging of his secretary, Aline MacMahon, tells off his bosses, throws a telephone through a glass door, and quits.

A few observations. Almost everyone overacts, but that's to be expected in a year when sound was hardly established and silent-movie conventions prevailed. Frances Starr is especially egregious in this regard. There are moments when her performance looks like a parody.

Robinson is introduced washing his hands, and MacMahon remarks that he does it compulsively, several times a day. (Cf., Lady MacBeth.) Prohibition was still the law in 1931, yet everybody saunters in and out of Corcoran's to have a drink. Robinson keeps a pint stashed in his desk drawer.

There are some nice pre-code tickles in the dialog. Ziggie Feinstein is arranging a taxi race from the Bronx to mid-town and he's already fixed it. "I'm going to let an Irishman, a Jew, and a Wop win." When a low-life employee threatens to quit, Robinson gets to quote the Bible: "O, Death, where is thy sting?" Of his secretary, who sits and glares at him disapprovingly, "Don't just sit there like a visible conscience." And: "God gives us heartaches; the devil gives us whiskey." I don't claim these are flights of poetry, just that you're unlikely to find lines even of this level of originality as Philo Vance goes about solving a mystery.

One of the lower forms of reporter is the silkily sinister Boris Karloff, who poses as a priest in order to get the dish -- when he's sober. The character's name is "Mr. Isopod." It's hard to believe that was an accident. In Greek it means "even footed" or even, by extension, "even handed," whereas in fact he's a scurrilous skank.

Despite its age, the film still is relevant today

[planktonrules · 10/10 · 6 June 2005]

It's amazing to see that the sleazy tabloids we deal with today are not that different from the one portrayed in this picture. They will do ANYTHING and sink to ANY depths to cover a story--especially if it includes sleaze, innuendo and outright lies. In this case, they resurrect an old story and destroy an innocent woman just to sell a few more papers--resulting in a horrible tragedy that was completely preventable.

Although some of the supporting cast is only fair, most are excellent and the lead played by Edward G. Robinson is what makes the picture. He is a pig living in the filth his readers want until he and his paper just push too far and Robinson can no longer live with himself. His rather histrionic reaction is amazing to watch--not so over the top but just full of fury and intensity. A must see little sleeper of a film.

FYI--Humphrey Bogart did a very good remake of this movie a few years later ("Two Against the World"). It's also very good but I would advise seeing the Robinson version first--after all, in most cases the original is better than the remake and this is no exception.

"Well there's some guys that furnish the manure, and some guys that carry the flowers".

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 3 September 2011]

It wasn't very long into this picture that I realized I had seen it before, only the first time it was called "Two Against The World" starring Humphrey Bogart. First National Pictures apparently decided to do a remake of "Five Star Final" in 1936, and selected a radio venue to retell the story. Bogey has the Robinson role, and virtually everything about the film is a dead on copy, as a twenty year old murder case is revived in a fifteen chapter radio play. Quite honestly, if you've seen one of these pictures, you've seen them both, but don't let that dissuade you from doing just that. Robinson and Bogart are two of my favorites, so neither should be denied your attention. By the way, the TV title of the Bogey flick is "One Fatal Hour", so if it shows up on Turner Classics, you know you've got the right one.

There's one inherent problem with these films from the Thirties that prove to be quite distracting. Consider the wedding day of Jenny (Marian Marsh) and Phillip (Anthony Bushell). The early edition of The Gazette carries the announcement of the upcoming Nancy Voorhees murder case. Even though the pictures of Jenny and Phillip are prominent on the front page, they both make it through the entire day without becoming aware of it. Nancy Voorhees (Frances Starr), now Townsend, attempts to get the newspaper to kill the story, and failing, takes her own life. Beleaguered husband Michael (H.B. Warner) also commits suicide after sending the young couple off to the church, saying he'll meet them there later with Nancy. Front page headlines of the double suicide hit the street the same day! OK, there was a late edition of the paper, but seriously, the real time concurrence of events as they happen with their reportage in the paper is just too much of a stretch.

What you might better concentrate on here are the performances. Edward G. Robinson in a non-gangster role as Gazette editor Randall is quite compelling. A surprising presence in the picture is Boris Karloff as a sleazy tabloid reporter taking on the Voorhees assignment with relish. Of the remaining support cast, editor Randall's secretary (Aline MacMahon) raises eyebrows early when she comments on a female reporter's firing because she was 'flat-chested', then uses her hands to gesture the bosomy figure of her prospective replacement, Kitty Carmody (Ona Munson). You never know what hidden gems you'll find like this in pre-Code films, so it's worth the effort just for that.

Other reviewers for the film on this board make a point of mentioning Jenny Townsend's confrontation with the newspapermen at the finale. It's a stirring rebuttal against the sleazy sensationalism of tabloid journalism, and an indictment of the press in the culpability of her mother's death - "Why did you kill my mother"? It's enough to make Randall quit, and it would have been a kicker if he stormed out of The Gazette with Miss Taylor in tow the way Bogart did with his secretary in the later picture. Instead, the story closes with a copy of The Gazette being swept up in a gutter, hostage to the rest of the trash that has a way of accumulating in the grime of the city.

Fervent and Justified Indictment of News Media

[jacksflicks · 9/10 · 20 March 2001]

A decent woman and her husband are driven to suicide by the jackals of the press. There is no satisfaction in the end, for the press is relentless in its exploitation of human suffering, wallowing in hypocritical sanctimony and drunk with power, due to its stranglehold on information and its corruption of the political process. The only satisfaction given us in "Five Star Final" is a rhetorical one and, mercifully, the survival of a few brave souls willing to pick up the debris of lives destroyed by the Gazette, the tabloid journal of the film.

Edward G. Robinson plays a ruthless, yet conscience-ridden editor, who too late realizes that crusading journalism - investigative reporting we call it these days - is often just a pretext for pandering to the vulgar public's taste for road kill. I like Robinson in this kind of role better than Robinson the gangster type. He has a brow that is far more affecting when tightly knit in anguish than in fierceness. And his last scene is a tour de force of cathartic fury, which director Mervin LeRoy frames effectively, so that the audience shares in the emotional release.

Also not to be missed is Boris Karloff's sleazy, resourceful hatchet man, who insinuates himself into private lives like a pickpocket. There are other fine performances, notably that of H. B. Warner, who is touching as a tormented victim of publicity. Another standout is Anthony Bushell, as the fiancé of Warner's daughter. He could have played the usual pretty-boy lug, but instead brings sensitivity to an otherwise stock character.

Viewers might be put off by some of the acting technique of this early (1931) talkie. Gestures tend to melodramatic here, due to most of the cast's coming from silents, in which pantomime is important, or the stage, where one must project into back rows. But it's easy to overlook this minor irritant.

Everyone saw the news media's apotheosis of itself in "All the President's Men". For a balanced view of the media, they should see more films like "Five Star Final," a gem whose neglect no doubt delights the jackals of the press.

Good Drama

[Michael_Elliott · 13 March 2008]

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.

A fast, melodramatic second half not to be missed!

[secondtake · 7/10 · 5 March 2014]

Five Star Final (1931)

There is one main reason to watch this—Edward G. Robinson. I almost didn't continue after the first fifteen minutes because this newspaper office drama was so filled with convenient stereotypes and one-liners it was drab.

Then came the obsessive-compulsive reporter played by Robinson, Mr. Randall. He's intense, and he's not in the movie nearly enough. There is a wonderful quirky part by Boris Karloff (a few months before doing Frankenstein's monster). And a slew of decent smaller parts keep it interesting like Aline MacMahon, playing a stenographer (and in her first film role) and Marian Marsh who plays the daughter with increasing intensity right up to the highly volatile last scene.

This is the heyday of the unsung Mervyn LeRoy, a director with at least two unsurpassed movies ("Three on a Match" and "I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang"), not including his work on "Wizard of Oz." He has a dozen other really good films to his name, and this one survives despite some filler and a slightly functional approach to the acting and staging. This was the day when directors (and their crews) were pressed to shoot movies in a couple weeks or so, and it shows.

I only wish you could see the second half of this movie alone. It gets more dramatic, and more intense (and the one painfully wooden actress dies), and it really drives home the point against yellow, abusive journalism. The first half is stale enough to turn off a lot of viewers, I'm sure, and it brings down my overall impression of the totality. Luckily, if you make it to the end, you nearly forget the forgettable beginning and will leave with a good taste in your mouth.

And all the drinking in the movie? "God gives us heartache, and the devil gives us whiskey," Randall says as he downs a shot. He's seems to be standing at an ordinary bar, not an illegal speakeasy. But the year is 1931, just before the end of Prohibition. (The premiere was September 1931.) Drink is a frank and normal reality in much of the movie as people swig from bottles in their desk and meet at the bar after work, and it's an eye-opener to counteract the more extreme portrayals of alcohol in the movies. And of course, it's normal for the viewer in the theater at the time as well, part of the general feeling that the time had come to change the laws (which Roosevelt did in early 1933).

So, see this if you like pre-Code films, but stick it out through the more mundane parts. It's worth it.

Why did you kill my mother?

[lastliberal · 8/10 · 6 February 2008]

This Oscar-nominated film (Best Picture) shows the dark side of journalism as a paper delves into the past of a woman (Frances Starr) who was impregnated by her boss and acquitted of his murder.

Edward G. Robinson (Little Caesar) is a newspaper editor that is interested in boosting circulation and is not concerned with the lives he destroys in the process. He goes after Nancy Voorhees (Starr), who is now Nancy (Voorhees) Townsend and is not concerned that she has not told her daughter (the doll-faced Marian Marsh), who is now about to me married, about her past.

Robinson was absolutely brilliant in the role and ably assisted by Boris Karloff and Oscar-nominated actress (Dragon Seed) Aline MacMahon in her first film.

A classic showing the seedy side of journalism.

Pre-code melodrama about the tabloids

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 27 March 2009]

The exploitativeness of tabloids is always a good subject, even back in 1931. "Five Star Final" is about a ruthless editor (Edward G. Robinson) who hounds a woman involved in a 20-year-old murder with tragic results. The film sports a good cast, including Boris Karloff, Mae Marsh, Ona Munson, Aline McMahon, and H.B. Warner.

Robinson, as the editor, decides to do a series on an old murder and track down one of the people involved, Nancy Vorhees. She is now married with a daughter about to get married. The film looks at the effect it has on the lives of everyone in the family.

I am not as enthusiastic about this film as some of the posters here, though I imagine it was very hard-hitting for 1931. The acting is very melodramatic, and while I appreciated the devastating effects of the story, I really thought a bad situation was made much worse by the behavior of the girl's parents at the end of the film.

It wasn't until the mid-thirties that the class system in America began to disintegrate, so it's still quite evident here, with the way the young woman's future in-laws react to the scandal and Robinson's analysis of black readers.

At the time the film was made, any publicity was looked down upon - today it's considered a great thing, though I don't suppose involvement in a murder would be. You might get a book deal out of it, though, and a TV movie. Nancy Voorhees today could have given the paper an exclusive interview and become a sympathetic character. But it was such a disgrace, and people seemed to have no understanding or compassion.

It's hard to judge the performances because the acting style and the dialogue are so different from even a few years later. Of all of them, Aline McMahon, as the cynical secretary, comes off the best.

Definitely worth seeing.

Newspaper morality tale

[AAdaSC · 5/10 · 16 April 2019]

It's an obvious storline with one message - the press is too intrusive. That's it. Embelish it with some awful acting and it's not very good. Throw in reporter Boris Karloff (Isopod) and you get a bit of a laugh that brings things up into the ok category.

"Why did you kill my mother!", "Why did you kill my mother?" Why doesn't someone kill Marian Marsh (Jenny) who plays an irritating miss goody-two shoes. Her scene at the end of the film is embarrassing. Her mother, as played by Frances Starr (Nancy) is even worse. She is an awful actress that elicits no sympathy whatsoever. It is her story that is being dragged up in the press once again in order to sell papers. My goodness, she is such a frustrating bore. There is no way anybody would have any inclination to read about this waste of space. And then there is H. B. Warner (Michael) as Starr's partner. Wow - the poor acting just never ceases!

The good - editor Edward G (Randall) and Karloff. One of their scenes together at the beginning provides the film's standout moment of genuine entertainment. Watch how Robinson just can't help himself from smiling, laughing even, during his entire scene and dialogue delivery with Karloff. He must have been thinking - "This Karloff guy is hilarious" and he just can't contain himself. It's top quality. Shame these two can't quite overturn almost everybody else's abysmal acting.

KARLOFF IS AN EXPELLED DIVINITY STUDENT!

[whpratt1 · 12 April 2003]

Viewed this film years ago on a late late T.V. show and was able to tape it. The author of the original play, Louis Weitzenkorn, was once the managing editor of the New York Evening Graphic, a yellow journalism tabloid which gave him the idea for the main character of Hinchecliffe former publisher of the New York Mirror. The film was remade as Two Against the World in 1936. Bernard Hinchecliffe(Oscar Apfel) owner of the notorious scandal sheet, the GAZETTE and his managing editor, Joseph Randall(Edward G. Robinson), is ordered to boost the circulation by doing a story on the Vorhees case. Years ago, Nancy Vorhees(Francis Starr) murdered the man who betrayed her. Randall seeks the services of T. Vernon Isopod (Boris Karloff), an expelled divinity student. Isopod disguises himself as a clergyman and enters the Townsend home, gaining their confidence. Ona Munson, veteran film actress of the 1930's and 1940's along with Boris Karloff fullfil their newspaper duties perfectly. Five Star Final is a great film classic because of the great acting of Edward G. Robinson.

Good Warners muckraking

[marcslope · 7/10 · 9 February 2016]

Typically fast-moving, bold Warners early talkie, helping cement its rep as the "socially conscious" studio, this is an indictment of tabloid journalism, focusing on an unscrupulous managing editor (Edward G. Robinson, superb) forced into an attack of conscience when the society wedding he's ordered an expose on--the mother of the bride murdered a boyfriend 20 years ago--results in a double suicide. Also typical of the studio, it's a tad too broad--the victimized family is just too nice, too perfect, and the murderous mom made too sympathetic. And the bride (Marian Marsh), when finally in a position to attack the paper, overacts. But it's a lively look at a hardy old form of journalism, with some excellent supporting performances--Boris Karloff as a deceitful reporter, the always-perfect Aline MacMahon as the secretary who loves boss Robinson--and a pretty realistic look at 1931, what with the speakeasies, the evening editions, the society pages. And the indictment of the tabloids hasn't dated a great deal; is what Rupert Murdoch does so very different?

Pre-Code Tale Stops The Presses

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 11 June 2005]

The muckraking editor of The Gazette revives an old murder case (with a FIVE STAR FINAL) to increase the paper's circulation.

Movies have long been fascinated with the fast-paced action of the journalistic newsroom and have mined stories about newspaper shenanigans for both comedies & dramas. Here, from First National Pictures, was one of the earliest talkies to have a real success in exploring the medium. The action is fast and the dialogue fits. The film goes further, however, reaching beyond the newspaper staff and focusing on a family who becomes the victim of untrammeled yellow journalism.

Pugnacious Edward G. Robinson gives a vivid portrayal of the unscrupulous editor who slowly begins to develop a soul when he is confronted by the turmoil his decisions have on the lives of innocent folks. Seemingly incapable of giving a bad performance, Robinson fascinates as he chews the scenery with his full-throttle performance. The always sterling Aline MacMahon scores as his wise, levelheaded secretary who nurses a secret love for him. Their scenes together are riveting.

In supporting roles, creepy Boris Karloff plays an alcoholic reporter without any morals whatsoever. Wisecracking Ona Munson has fun with her role of a floozy who becomes a girl reporter. Oscar Apfel is good as the paper's spineless owner. Rat-faced George E. Stone is rather repulsive as the guy who sends out the goons to strong-arm newspaper vendors on the street.

H. B. Warner & Frances Starr both shine as an innocent couple whose lives are made a misery by the rapacious Gazette. Playing their daughter, Marian Marsh has a terrific scene at the film's climax when she confronts the three newspapermen who destroyed her home. Sturdy Anthony Bushell appears as her steadfast society boyfriend.

Movie mavens will recognize little Frank Darien as an eager undertaker. And that's blonde Polly Walters as the Gazette's kooky-voiced telephone operator.

Breaking News: Old Movie Still Packs Punch.

[1930s_Time_Machine · 7/10 · 29 December 2022]

I woke my dog up who was sleeping next to me when at 1am I involuntarily clapped my hands in applause as this ancient yet very entertaining film finished!

Five Star Final is made by Mervyn LeRoy - he was called Warner's boy wonder and brought to life the vision of his boss, Daryl Zanuck that their films should grittily reflect social problems, corruption, inequality and crime. In this one he exposes the the insidious evil of the muck-raking gutter press - the other gangsters. The story concerns an unscrupulous editor digging up dirt which destroys a whole family. After all these years, despite not being a perfect film, it still packs a punch making you angry and indignant.

Unlikely TWO SECONDS which LeRoy made with Edward G the following year which is almost a perfect film, this, like LITTLE CAESAR which he made again with Edward G a few months earlier isn't. A year is s long time in early Hollywood - technological innovations were evolving almost daily so this film looks about ten years older than TWO SECONDS. Mervyn LeRoy however still had fun placing some lovely bits of symbolism (some subtle, some very unsubtle) into his motion picture. The main problem with this film is the unevenness of the acting. The transfer to talking pictures, even at Warners was still causing issues in 1930 - some actors just couldn't get used to it. Edward G Robinson was one who could and that makes his performance natural and authentic rather than a theatrical performance. He is helped in this by a fabulous, fast paced and witty script. For example when his boss tells him that an editor should not sit on a pedestal above his readers. His reply is: If I sat on a cigar box, I'd be above that lot.

Those of us used to seeing Boris Karloff just doing his usual dark and menacing thing, such as in the massively over-rated CRIMINAL CODE will be pleasantly surprised to see him doing a great little role in this. He's actually really amusing as the sneakiest, smarmiest and most despicable reporter of the city. He, along obviously with Edward G and also Aline MacMahon (in her first role) come across as completely authentic - these three seem totally at ease in their characters whereas the others seem to treat the microphone as some terrifying demon on the set which needs to be searched for and shouted at. It was shot in 1930 and it's understandable that a lot of the more established actors find these new-fangled talking pictures quite uncomfortable.

So is this worth watching? Yes, it's not one of the best but it's definitely up there with all those other Warner Brothers - Zanuck classics from LITTLE CAESAR (which actually isn't as good as this), PUBLIC ENEMY, CHAIN GANG, THREE ON A MATCH and let's not overlook TWO SECONDS.

Journalism's dark side

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 28 April 2020]

Have for some time regarded Edward G. Robinson very highly as an actor, he was often a scene stealer in support and he had more than enough presence when he was a lead. Seeing Boris Karloff in a prolific year for him and Aline MacMahon in her first film added to the interest. As well as that it was directed by Mervyn LeRoy, who also directed 'Random Harvest' (a particularly wonderful film of his). Any film that explores the dark side of journalism should be applauded.

'Five Star Final' managed to be a very well done and powerful film. Well made, very well written and strongly acted, on the most part regarding the acting with a couple of exceptions. Anybody that loves Robinson, Karloff and LeRoy will be more than delighted. The subject is a bold one and well worth addressing, it was very relevant at the time and is also very relevant now. Even more so now and even worse than back then, scarily so.

The film is not perfect by all means. Some of the acting is patchy. Nancy is a dull character and Frances Starr has very little warmth and presence in the part. Ona Munson's character annoyed me to no end and Munson overdoes it.

Occasionally 'Five Star Final' is a little corny, but thankfully those moments are hardly any.

It is stylishly filmed and has a good amount of atmosphere and grit. The decision to not use music was a good one, meaning that in my view the dialogue and subject resonates more without worrying about potential intrusiveness. There are some clever use of sound effects, the sound of machines being almost eerie. LeRoy really allows the drama to remain gripping throughout the entire film and the film is leanly and intelligently scripted.

Moreover, the story is very absorbing. Personally don't think it has dated at all and absolutely agree with everybody that says that its theme is still relevant today (as said already one could say that it is more so today and to a degree that is enough to shock, can't believe that there are people still that believe everything they believe in the press). What is shown here, meaning the dark side of journalism, is very disarming and honest with the film being quite uncompromising which helps make it all the more powerful.

Robinson is truly excellent in the lead role and nothing short of magnetic. Matched more than ideally by shifty Karloff, an extremely impressive debuting MacMahon and heartfelt HB Warner. Marian Marsh also gives a brave performance and is very moving in her final scene which is agreed one of the dramatic highlights.

To conclude, very well done. 8/10

Bringing up the past

[nickenchuggets · 6/10 · 5 March 2023]

Oftentimes I'll get done watching a movie and have a rather negative opinion on it, only to go online and see most people think it's great. This film is one of the last ones I would expect to feel this way about, as not only is it pre code, but it includes Edward G Robinson, an actor who was the lifeblood of some of history's greatest films ever. Five Star Final is about a newspaper company in New York digging up an incriminating story about a woman in order to get her convicted, which didn't happen the first time around. Although the story is 20 years old, the paper stops at nothing in their pursuit of what they deem justice. Robinson plays Joseph Randall, the main editor of the NY Evening Gazette. In an effort to make the paper more credible, he tries to incorporate more accurate reporting, but the paper becomes less popular as a result. Randall's superior, Mr. Hinchecliffe decides to get the paper's popularity back on track by starting a serial on a 20 year old murder case involving a woman named Nancy Voorhees and the time she killed her boss. In the original trial, Nancy was let go because she was about to have a baby and the jury pitied her. As of right now, Nancy is married to a wealthy guy named Michael and has a daughter named Jenny (Marian Marsh), who is going to marry soon. Randall agrees to do the story on Nancy and sends a reporter named Vernon Isopod (Boris Karloff) to her house in order to get information. Isopod poses as a harmless clergyman and succeeds in fooling Nancy and Michael, getting the former to give her a picture of Jenny. Only after Isopod leaves does Michael understand the consequences of what he's just done. Meanwhile, Taylor (Aline MacMahon), Randall's secretary, goes to a speakeasy to drink in order to try and forget what the paper is doing. It's clear she doesn't support their acts towards Nancy. Nancy later tries to call Randall and convince him to stop the story from being published, but he says it's already gone out. Unable to bear the public humiliation, she commits suicide in her bathroom. When Michael finds her, he shoos Jenny and her boyfriend Philip away and also kills himself. Two reporters then enter from the window and find the bodies. When Randall finds out, he knows he's hit the jackpot in terms of an interesting story. Philip's mother and father then attempt to get him to break off his engagement to Jenny, saying they don't want him to marry the daughter of a heartless killer. He stands his ground. After seeing all the trouble this story has been causing, Randall orders it to be dropped. Even though Hinchecliffe himself is also tired of the story by this point, his reporters aren't and want to give Jenny over a thousand dollars in order to obtain exclusive rights to her mother's story. Instead, Jenny herself shows up to Randall's office and screams at Randall and Hinchecliffe for their parts in killing her mother. She almost shoots Randall, but Philip takes her away. Randall, disillusioned and sickened by what Hinchecliffe has done (and made himself do), shouts him out of his office and resigns. Taylor decides to go with Randall. Despite this film being made the same year as Little Caesar, Robinson's most iconic role, I felt that he doesn't really offer much here that will impress you until the final minutes of the movie. I liked seeing how angry he got with Hinchecliffe at the end, but aside from this, I felt his part didn't fit him. When I think of him, I don't imagine someone who edits newspapers. I found most of the characters to be obnoxious, particularly one of the reporters that works for Randall, and Nancy's so called tragic death got no sympathy from me. Are we supposed to forget that she killed her employer? I felt like Jenny and Taylor were the best characters, especially the latter since she is sardonic throughout most of it. One thing I just can't put past me though is how Karloff's character is named isopod, which are a family of very unsettling looking crustaceans which live in the ocean. I'm better off without this image in my head every time he's onscreen. Overall, I seem to be in the minority when I say that Five Star Final is not among Robinson's finest moments, but newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst thought it was below average as well, so my viewpoint isn't entirely unique.

Great Acting

[Dr. Ed-2 · 10/10 · 31 May 2002]

from a solid cast makes this film a must see. No wonder this earned a best-film Oscar nomination! Edward G. Robinson turns in another terrific performance as the tough editor of a sleazy NYC newspaper. Marion Marsh starts out iffy but her final scene is excellent. Frances Starr, H.B. Warner, Aline MacMahon (of course!), and Boris Karloff are all excellent as well. Nice comedic support from Polly Walters as the operator and Harold Waldridge as the office boy. But it is Robinson who carries this ensemble film through its twists and turns and has a few swell lines as well. The only problem is Ona Munson, who is pretty dreadful as the pretty dreadful character of Carmody. Marsh is remembered for her Trilby to John Barrymore's Svengali, but this is a better performance. And what a shame Starr made only 3 films! Her telephone scene is a cinematic classic!

It's All about the Circulation

[romanorum1 · 7/10 · 2 October 2014]

The film is a pre-code talkie based upon a hit Broadway play that was written by a former newspaper managing editor. Long ago early talkies became dated (archaic sound, stagy performances) even though their messages may still be valid. So while we may dismiss the old-fashioned melodramatics of "Five Star Final," the movie message still holds true. Reckless news reporting is still a topic today, whether to improve television ratings, perk up website "hits," or advance a failing newspaper's circulation.

"Evening Gazette" publisher Bernard Hinchecliffe (Oscar Apfel), concerned because of a drop in circulation (circa 300,000), approaches intense Managing Editor Randall (Edward G. Robinson) to spice up issues with more "human interest stories" (meaning seedy stuff). Circulation and advertising execs French (Purnell Pratt) and Brannagan (Robert Elliott) concur with Hinchecliffe. So Randall cracks under pressure from his bosses and rekindles a twenty-year old sensational murder case. That involved a pregnant stenographer Nancy Voorhees (Frances Starr) who shot her adulterous lover for not marrying her. Hinchecliffe wants a follow-up story as to how Nancy is living. Of course, the fact that reopening the nearly forgotten case will hurt innocent people falls off the deaf ears of the three bigwigs. Nancy, who has moved on with her life, is living a quiet existence with bank cashier husband Michael Townsend (H.B. Warner) and college student daughter Jenny (Marian Marsh). Jenny does not know that (1) her mom once murdered a man and that (2) Mr. Townsend is not her biological father. Now Jenny is marrying nice-boy Philip Weeks (Anthony Bushell), son of well-to- do parents. His adamant father is a successful machinery manufacturer; neither he nor his heinous wife wants any bad publicity.

To uncover the latest information on Voorhees, Randall hires sleazy reporter Kitty "Legs" Carmody (Ona Munson) and teams her with amoral undercover reporter Isopod (Boris Karloff). Isopod was formerly kicked out of divinity school. Using some of the most sordid tactics seen in early talkies, the latter takes the unsuspecting Townsend couple into his confidence (bad mistake) and so they provide him with the information that he needs. Soon the story hits the headlines just before the planned wedding and results in more than one tragedy and a volatile finale.

Robinson was good as usual, and he is better here than when snarling (and without any virtues) as a gangster in those stereotypical and violent movies that starred him. Here he is constantly washing his hands and drinking at Corcoran's speakeasy (The Volstead Act is still in force), symbolic of his guilty conscience bubbling just below the surface. Aline MacMahon, as outspoken stenographer Taylor in love with Randall, is satisfying also. So was pretty Marion Marsh ("Why did you kill my mother?"). Karloff succeeds as the repulsive reporter. Catch his signature line when he enters Randall's office: "Good e-e-evening." Known for sharp dialog, sexual innuendo, and social satire, "Five Star Final" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, but it lost to "Grand Hotel". Like many early talkies it is quite histrionic.

A curious item of note involves pint-sized George E. Stone who plays contest manager Ziggie Feinstein. Now Ziggie calls up Dinky Ginsberg complaining about "a wise Arab" on 46th Street who owns a rival newsstand. "Take a couple of brass knuckles and do your stuff. Wow, the guy's a thug! Ziggie then calls City Commissioner Jim Donovan on the telephone to "lay down a route" as he will stage a one thousand-car cab race from the Bronx to the City Hall. Feinstein's reward to Donovan is a case of "cut" scotch. So much for the Volstead Act! Now Randall had earlier quipped that the race will kill a hundred people. But Ziggie is persistent, and tells Donovan that he already has the race fixed: "I'm gonna let an Irishman, a Jew, and a Wop win." Whoaaaa, now we know the flick's pre-code! And where is the protest for such a slur?

Largely forgotten precode was a Best Picture Oscar nominee

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 8 February 2008]

This largely forgotten film stars Edward G. Robinson and was one of the Best Picture Oscar nominees in 1931-1932. Robinson plays the editor of a newspaper whose publisher instructs Robinson to come up with a story that will increase circulation. Robinson's solution is to track down a woman who killed the father of her child twenty years before when he refused to marry her, but she was acquitted, largely because of her child. She has since married, and her daughter is on the eve of her own marriage and has no idea of her mother's past. Robinson's "what ever happened to" idea is a success, but at a horrible cost to the family involved.

Not on DVD or VHS, the film uses some techniques that were rather odd for Warner Bros at the time, considering that their urban dramas usually were very fast-paced. To begin with, the film makes a big production of introducing Robinson to the audience, having the other players talk about him at length, and even showing a shot of just his hands as he washes up before he makes his big entrance. Then - the whole movie proceeds to switch its dramatic center more to the family that Robinson's newspaper is writing a scandal piece on and its tragic effect on them.

Robinson and Boris Karloff - in an odd turn as an alcoholic reporter just prior to his star-making role in Frankenstein - have acting in the age of sound down to a fine art. However, the actors playing the roles of the family targeted by Robinson's scandal sheet seem to be hold-overs from the silent era, the best known being silent star H.B. Warner. Their speech is somewhat slow and over-dramatic, and their gestures exaggerated, but not ridiculously so. This might have been to contrast them with the hard-boiled occupants of the newsroom, but it makes the film look like it has two entirely different directors.

Primitive But Powerful

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 6/10 · 22 November 2022]

What do I mean by primitive? Well, there was a certain period of time, starting right about when this film was made, through perhaps 1935 that the new business of talkies began maturing. It varied a great deal during that 4-5 year period, but slowly movies were getting better scripts and better actors. Unfortunately, that maturation had not yet come to the folks who made "Five Star Final". So for me, that would be a death knell.

But two other factors 'saved' the film for me. First, an interesting cast (including early performances by Edward G. Robinson and Boris Karloff) and a fdw select scenes that were dramatically done.

Let's start with the actors. Earlier that year Robinson had hit the big time with his portrayal of "Little Caesar", and here he continued to show real promise...and not as a gangster. Karloff is another matter. Awkward at best, almost embarrassingly so. I was interested in seeing H. B. Warner, a character actor some might remember from "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Lost Horizon"; he's okay here. Aline MacMahon is good as the secretary, but then again she was always good in early films. The rest of the actors do their jobs, some good, some not so good.

The plot is interesting: a city paper exploits a family, the mother of which was once involved in a murder case. And the results are tragic...enuf said...watch the film. It's handled pretty well, but there are a couple of scenes that were, frankly, ahead of their time...including the scene where the mother goes to...well, again, watch the film. But that scene is a humdinger in the way that they filmed it!

I do need to single out one actor for what I thought might very well be the worst acting job in the history of American cinema -- Anthony Bushell. He seems to have been around for a long time, although I wasn't familiar with him. But here...he stunk!

This is a great, though primitive, look at yellow journalism. And it's deadly serious. I wish I could give it at least a '7', but it's just not sophisticated enough to earn higher than a '6'.

Grossly overrated

[Ed-Shullivan · 2/10 · 21 February 2020]

I have tried, Lord knows I have tried, but I have never found Edward G Robinson to be an actor even rating a Grade B actor, let alone a Grade A actor. Five Star Final is a schmaltzy film that circulates around a newspaper editor (Robinson of course) who will stop at nothing to get the scoop on his competition to sell more papers. He is handed a story to follow up on by the papers owner about a young couple's upcoming social event marriage but the story is really about the new bride's mother being a convicted (past) murderer who hides her maiden name with her wealthy husbands married name.

You can guess the outcome, but this Five Star Final would only be fit to use on the bottom of the cat litter box because it stinks as did Edward G. Robinson. How he ever made 100 plus films is beyond wonderment because I always thought back in the 1930's and beyond, the box office dollars dictated the stars of the day and not for someone like a cardboard actor of Edward G. Robinson's lack of ability.

Now do you want to know how I really feel about Five Star Final? See below rating.

2 out of 10