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6.3/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.3/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. No Living Witness remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you love dusty 1930s crime flicks where everyone talks like they have a train to catch, No Living Witness is worth a quick watch today. 🎬
But if you can't stand crackly audio and guys in oversized suits shouting about horse races, you will absolutely hate it.
The plot is pretty simple. An assistant district attorney tries to stop his girlfriend's dad from getting absolutely ruined by a crooked lawyer in a racetrack scam.
Noah Beery plays the bad guy here, and honestly, he looks like he's having the time of his life being terrible. He has this one laugh that sounds like a lawnmower starting up.
Gilbert Roland is also in this, looking incredibly cool even when the script gives him almost nothing to do.
There is some scenes where the sound recording is so bad you can hear the actors' shoes squeaking on the studio floor. I actually love stuff like that.
It makes the movie feel alive, like a play that got captured by accident. 🎭
The racetrack scam itself is hilarious because it relies on people being incredibly gullible. The dad just hands over his money like he's buying a loaf of bread.
You kind of want to shake him.
There is a scene in an office where a secretary is typing in the background, but she is clearly not hitting any real keys. Her fingers are just dancing in the air above the typewriter. 😂
I watched that instead of the main characters arguing about contracts. It went on for like two minutes.
This movie does not have the emotional weight of something like Without Benefit of Clergy, which actually tries to make you feel things.
Instead, it just barrels forward at a crazy speed.
Some of the dialogue is so fast it feels like a rap battle. Especially the scene in the courtroom near the end where everyone starts shouting at once.
The movie is only about an hour long, which is the perfect length for a B-movie from 1932. It does not overstay its welcome.
Is it a masterpiece? No way.
But it has that greasy pre-code charm that you just do not get anymore. If you like old melodrama like The Risky Road, you will find something to smile about here.
Just do not expect a great mystery. The bad guys are obvious from the very first frame.
