70,000 Witnesses
| 70,000 Witnesses | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ralph Murphy |
| Screenplay by | Garrett Fort Robert N. Lee Allen Rivkin P.J. Wolfson |
| Produced by | Charles R. Rogers |
| Starring | Phillips Holmes Dorothy Jordan Charlie Ruggles Johnny Mack Brown J. Farrell MacDonald Lew Cody David Landau |
| Cinematography | Henry Sharp |
| Music by | Harold Lewis |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 69 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
70,000 Witnesses is a 1932 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Ralph Murphy, written by Garrett Fort, Robert N. Lee, Allen Rivkin and P.J. Wolfson, and starring Phillips Holmes, Dorothy Jordan, Charlie Ruggles, Johnny Mack Brown, J. Farrell MacDonald, Lew Cody and David Landau. It was released on September 9, 1932, by Paramount Pictures.[1][2] The film's sets were designed by the art director David S. Garber.
In the film, a star player of college football collapses during a game. He dies shortly after, and his death is initially ruled accidental. But a police detective wants to re-enact the football game, in an attempt to find who killed the player.
Plot
Buck Buchanan plays football for State, but his criminal brother Slip Buchanan has placed a whopping $350,000 wager on University defeating State in the upcoming big game.
Slip attempts to coerce his brother into drugging a star teammate, Wally Clark, so he is unable to play. Buck refuses to do so, but is distracted on the field of play by his suspicions that Slip will find another way to do Wally harm.
Sure enough, just as Wally is about to score a State touchdown, he collapses at the 5 yard line. As 70,000 spectators look on, Wally is carried from the field and expires. A doctor rules the death accidental, but a police detective, Dan McKenna, is so convinced of foul play, he has the players reassembled and the entire football play re-enacted, solving the case.
Cast
- Phillips Holmes as Buck Buchanan
- Dorothy Jordan as Dorothy Clark
- Charlie Ruggles as Johnny Moran
- Johnny Mack Brown as Wally Clark
- J. Farrell MacDonald as State Coach
- Lew Cody as Slip Buchanan
- David Landau as Dan McKenna
- Kenneth Thomson as Dr. Collins
- Guinn "Big Boy" Williams as Connors
See also
References
- ^ "Movie Review - 70 000 Witnesses - Murder on a Football Field. - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
- ^ "70,000 Witnesses". afi.com. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
External links
 | This article about a mystery film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1932 films
- 1932 mystery films
- 1930s sports films
- American black-and-white films
- American football films
- American mystery films
- Films directed by Ralph Murphy
- Paramount Pictures films
- 1930s English-language films
- Films with screenplays by Garrett Fort
- 1930s American films
- English-language sports films
- Mystery film stubs