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Brilliant and Forgotten: A Look Back at ‘The Star Chamber’

 

 

As an unapologetic GenXer I realize one of the differences between ours and basically all other generations was our ability to “discover” far more movies that so many others missed out on. Obviously, the video store along with constant repeats on platforms like HBO and Showtime continually exposed us to a lot of great movies. Having access to a variety of films, especially ones we probably shouldn’t have been watching at certain ages, helped make us into what we are today:

Cool.

One of those discovered films that made us cool and deserves a second look is Peter Hyams’s 1983 dramatic crime thriller, The Star Chamber.

The Star Chamber is an enthrallingly moody and brutal film about conflicted Superior Court Judge Steven Hardin, played by Michael Douglas. Judge Hardin is a man torn between following the law and what’s morally right. Although Judge Hardin uses the law to shield himself from the scrutiny of his tough decisions, even he can’t hide from the horror of seeing vile, guilty men continually walk free on legal technicalities.

The muddy moral question at the center of the film gets even murkier when Hardin is approached to join a secret society who pass the ultimate judgment on the ones that got away. This clandestine cabal of fellow judges, “The Star Chamber,” sets out to right all of their own wrongs. The justification for this comes in one of several great lines in the film spoken by Hardin’s mentor played by Hal Holbrook, “Someone has kidnapped justice and hidden it inside the law, now who’s better qualified to find it than we are, you tell me that?”

The essence of The Star Chamber is boiled down to the film’s tagline: They meet. They judge. They execute.

Douglas, along with a plethora of amazing supporting actors, is terrific in this film. The uneasiness and outright pain Hardin goes through is palpable as he’s wracked by the weight of his decisions. Hardin chain smokes, becomes distant from his incredibly supportive wife (played by Sharon Gless in an early role), and even seeks absolution from the father of the murdered son whose killers went free on a technicality.

I think it’s fair to say this is some of Douglas’s best work. This film came in between The China Syndrome and what would become his eighties breakout stardom with films like Romancing the Stone, Fatal Attraction, and Wall Street (which won win him a well-deserved Oscar). His work here stands up next to all of his best in my opinion. When Douglas’s Hardin is at his most desperate, he’s approached by his mentor, fellow judge Caulfield (played by Holbrook).

Hal Holbrook is great in everything he’s in. He simply has instant credibility. I’m sure this is one of the reasons Hyams hired him to play Caulfield. Holbrook delivers exposition like nobody else can. Holbrook’s Caulfield explains how a group of superior court judges meets in secret, passes judgement, then hires a hit man to meter out that justice, with such ease you not only get it, you find yourself nodding along. Hyams used Holbrook to do the exact same thing six years earlier in his high-concept film Capricorn One. Holbrook doesn’t waste a second of this performance pounding the table or shouting, he never needs to. Holbrook has such gravitas and is clearly believable as Hardin’s mentor the second he’s on screen.

The supporting cast is a who’s who of the very best. Charles Hallahan (The Thing, Going in Style, Dante’s Peak) and David Proval (Mean Streets, The Sopranos) are excellent as the two cops who make the traffic stop of their careers. Jack Kehoe (Midnight Run, The Sting) is fantastic as the defense attorney to the indefensible. Don Calfa (Return of the Living Dead, Weekend at Bernie’s) and Joe Regalbuto (Missing, Murphy Brown) are marvelous as two pretty slimy criminals. Other strong supporting performances include Larry Hankin (Breaking Bad, Barry) as another aggrieved detective, Otis Day (Animal House) as Stanley Flowers the car thief, and John DiSanti (Absence of Malice) as Detective Wickman, who provides some much-needed levity to an otherwise very heavy film.

Otis Day (Knights not included)

The one supporting performance that stands out above the rest is that of the stalwart James Sikking. Sikking plays Dr. Harold Lewin, the emotionally tortured father of a slain son who died horribly at the hands of kidnappers who tortured him, forced him to perform in a child porn flick, before ultimately murdering him and dumping his body like garbage. Although, thankfully none of this is seen, there is a reason this film is rated R. This awful crime is given the weight it deserves through the humanity and pain of Sikking’s off-the-charts performance.

Sikking is so good in this film I watched his scenes twice. When Dr. Lewin tries and fails to take justice into his own hands you feel great and horrible for him at the very same time. Sikking, previously having been in Hyams’s Outland with Sean Connery and would go on to star opposite Gene Hackman in Hyams’s underrated train movie Narrow Margin, is a marvel to watch. He is an obvious good luck charm to Hyams.

Another standout performance is the film’s third lead, Detective Lowes, played by the late great Yaphet Kotto who, like Holbrook, plays this with quiet cool.

His character is driven to solve this awful case despite being on the verge of total exhaustion. When asked when the last time he ate was he answers “Yesterday.” Not wanting to sleep or eat until he brings justice is as compelling as it is sympathetic. His shared scene with Douglas is a masterclass from the two actors. I’ve often thought if this movie were to spin off (more on this later), following the cases of Detective Lowes would be the best path to take.

Besides sheer entertainment, The Star Chamber offers up some pretty interesting moral questions. This film will deliberately toy with your own allegiances to the characters and perhaps even make you question your stance on vigilante justice. Vigilante justice is something that is usually a surefire hit in film genre. Let’s face it, we like to see bad people get theirs, especially when they smile on their way out of the courtroom. Comic book heroes like The Punisher and Batman were built on decades of loyal fans scratching this very itch. But Hyams takes it all a step further. The Star Chamber is not a comic book, it’s not set in a Fast and Furious reality, it’s set in actual reality. The film will most likely promote great discussion about the difference between guilt and innocence vs. guilt and innocence in the eyes of the law.

Not enough credit is given to the work of Peter Hyams.

His films are always extremely well shot and beautifully lit. Hyams never met a smoke machine he didn’t like especially when it comes to cutting the screen with sharp angles of natural light. Of course, the rest of the film is in shadow and sometimes outright darkness, but it’s worth it to see the rich atmosphere it provides for the world of all his films. This is especially true for The Star Chamber.

It was announced back in 2020 that a TV series based on the concept for The Star Chamber was in development at Amazon Studios and Fox 21 Television Studios. Written by Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air) this series will follow a female appellate court judge in San Francisco who will lead the shadowy group of judges while struggling to balance her obligation to the law and her family. While I wish this series nothing but success, I highly encourage you to seek out the original source material.

The Star Chamber is often in rotation on cable and TV and can be purchased on several video platforms. Seek out this hidden gem, you won’t be disappointed.

Fred Shahadi is an award-winning filmmaker, playwright, and television writer living in LA.

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