"Key Witness" was Sam Katzman's inspiration for "Hot Rods to Hell" (1967). In both, wholesome (All-American) families are terrorized by over-age wimpy teenage hoods. Katzman replaced Jeffrey Hunter with a bottom feeding Dana Andrews, Patricia Crowley with Jeanne Crain, and Dennis Hopper with Paul Bertoya. He substituted a Corvette for the XK Jag and moved the action out of the family living room and onto the road. And for some reason "Hot Rods to Hell" became a revered cult classic (with its own website) while "Key Witness" was assigned to daytime TCM obscurity.
This despite a bigger budget and superior performances from pretty much the entire cast. Susan Harrison (as the delinquent teen girlfriend who starts all the trouble and keeps it going until the end) is especially good. Ironically, it is the much better acting for the camera directing in "Key Witness" that keeps it from cult status. With these lame scripts competent performances tend to spoil the fun.
The two films have equally preachy themes although "Key Witness" works harder to pound you over the head about the duties of a good citizen. That is what businessman Fred Morrow (Hunter) is; as the title character. Fred stops at a hangout in East Los Angeles (circa late 1950's) to use the phone. Along with a small crowd he witnesses a gang murder. The crowd is composed of ordinary but bad citizens who refuse to cooperate with the police. But Fred considers it his duty and when Hopper's gang learns his identity they begin a campaign to discourage him from giving further testimony.
To the tune of "Ruby Duby Du", the gang torments the family members until a final big showdown scene. Hopper's gang is a pretty strange outfit. Hopper looks as wimpy as he did in "Giant" (where he actually played a wimp). The gang is multi-racial and they kill a Hispanic kid who looks about 30 and about as Hispanic as David Soul. The teen gang inexplicably has a garage full of cars and Hopper drives a large V-Twin motorcycle (probably a Harley) in the opening scene.
If you suspend disbelief and allow yourself to get into it, "Key Witness" will get your reactionary juices flowing and prove relatively entertaining. Not campy enough to be a classic it can still provide some good laughs, if that's your idea of a good time.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
This despite a bigger budget and superior performances from pretty much the entire cast. Susan Harrison (as the delinquent teen girlfriend who starts all the trouble and keeps it going until the end) is especially good. Ironically, it is the much better acting for the camera directing in "Key Witness" that keeps it from cult status. With these lame scripts competent performances tend to spoil the fun.
The two films have equally preachy themes although "Key Witness" works harder to pound you over the head about the duties of a good citizen. That is what businessman Fred Morrow (Hunter) is; as the title character. Fred stops at a hangout in East Los Angeles (circa late 1950's) to use the phone. Along with a small crowd he witnesses a gang murder. The crowd is composed of ordinary but bad citizens who refuse to cooperate with the police. But Fred considers it his duty and when Hopper's gang learns his identity they begin a campaign to discourage him from giving further testimony.
To the tune of "Ruby Duby Du", the gang torments the family members until a final big showdown scene. Hopper's gang is a pretty strange outfit. Hopper looks as wimpy as he did in "Giant" (where he actually played a wimp). The gang is multi-racial and they kill a Hispanic kid who looks about 30 and about as Hispanic as David Soul. The teen gang inexplicably has a garage full of cars and Hopper drives a large V-Twin motorcycle (probably a Harley) in the opening scene.
If you suspend disbelief and allow yourself to get into it, "Key Witness" will get your reactionary juices flowing and prove relatively entertaining. Not campy enough to be a classic it can still provide some good laughs, if that's your idea of a good time.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.