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The Star Chamber

136 statements
25 feature instances
12 referencing feature instances

The Star Chamber	type	TVTItem
The Star Chamber	label	The Star Chamber
The Star Chamber	page	TheStarChamber
The Star Chamber	comment	Released in 1983 and directed by Peter Hyams, this crime drama starred Michael Douglas and Hal Holbrook. Michael Douglas is Stephen Hardin, a young superior court judge in Los Angeles who's frustrated with having to set guilty criminals free on technicalities. Hal Holbrook plays the older Judge Caulfield who initiates him into a group of judges who run an illegal secret court that reviews cases then votes to convict and sentence to death criminals they deem deserving. A hitman takes care of the rest.After they dispatch two murderers, Hardin brings his own case up, wherein two thugs who allegedly raped and killed a little boy were set free by a good faith error of the police in gathering evidence. The hitman is sent out again. At the same time, a separate investigation has turned up evidence that indicates the boy was killed by members of a child porn ring, not them. Hardin is horrified by the error, and tries to have Judge Caulfield call off the hitman. Caulfield puts forth the following reasons for not calling off the hit: in order to protect themselves, neither the court or the hitman know each others' identity; also, the intended victims are probably guilty of other crimes and their deaths are an acceptable outcome. Besides, the court has to be protected for it to serve good. Hardin says they at least can warn the men, but Caulfield sees this as an unacceptable risk for exposure. Hardin attempts to stop the men from being killed before it's too late...The title is from the name of a court in Late Medieval-Renaissance England notorious for the brutal, unaccountable methods it employed as a tool of the King's will, the Star Chamber, which is similar to that of the secret court in the movie-hence the name. It's also a term used for any unaccountable, inquisitorial proceeding, e.g. "star-chamber method."
The Star Chamber	fetched	2023-04-24T21:29:08Z
The Star Chamber	parsed	2023-04-24T21:29:08Z
The Star Chamber	processingComment	Dropped link to BuddyCopShow: Not a Feature - ITEM
The Star Chamber	processingComment	Dropped link to ProfessionalKillers: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
The Star Chamber	processingUnknown	ProfessionalKillers
The Star Chamber	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Star Chamber / int_1520ad7e	type	Jumping Off the Slippery Slope
The Star Chamber / int_1520ad7e	comment	Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: The turning point, stated above, if not before when Hardin and the rest go vigilante in order to pursue justice as they see it.
The Star Chamber / int_1520ad7e	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_1520ad7e	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_1520ad7e
The Star Chamber / int_204340fc	type	Vomiting Cop
The Star Chamber / int_204340fc	comment	Vomiting Cop: Rookie Officer Nelson, himself a father of a small boy, throws up after he and his partner see the remains of Daniel Lewin.
The Star Chamber / int_204340fc	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_204340fc	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_204340fc
The Star Chamber / int_211eedd	type	All Crimes Are Equal
The Star Chamber / int_211eedd	comment	All Crimes Are Equal: Subverted. We only see them go after freed killers, with the punishment that, in their view, fits the crime — death. This becomes a plot point when Hardin discovers two men with criminal records accused of child murder are actually innocent of the murder.
The Star Chamber / int_211eedd	featureApplicability	-0.3
The Star Chamber / int_211eedd	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_211eedd
The Star Chamber / int_27f10418	type	Impersonating an Officer
The Star Chamber / int_27f10418	comment	Impersonating an Officer: The hitman, unless he actually is a police officer.
The Star Chamber / int_27f10418	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_27f10418	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_27f10418
The Star Chamber / int_2c1f1138	type	He Who Fights Monsters
The Star Chamber / int_2c1f1138	comment	He Who Fights Monsters: What Hardin starts to feel they're becoming when the court won't stop the killing of two innocent men in order to protect themselves and because they rationalize them as likely deserving it anyway.
The Star Chamber / int_2c1f1138	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_2c1f1138	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_2c1f1138
The Star Chamber / int_34579385	type	Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work
The Star Chamber / int_34579385	comment	Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: As Monk and Coombs catch up to Hardin in the warehouse during the final foot chase and are about to shoot him, the hitman shows up and blasts both of them, saving Hardin from being killed. Granted, the hitman was there specifically to kill them, and was going to shoot Hardin, too, but still....
The Star Chamber / int_34579385	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_34579385	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_34579385
The Star Chamber / int_34f590c9	type	Off on a Technicality
The Star Chamber / int_34f590c9	comment	Off on a Technicality: Shown twice, and pushes Hardin over the edge. All the other murderers the court judges qualify as well, and this is how they justify their acts, bringing justice (in their view) to people who escaped it legally.
The Star Chamber / int_34f590c9	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_34f590c9	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_34f590c9
The Star Chamber / int_35ab4cec	type	You Watch Too Much X
The Star Chamber / int_35ab4cec	comment	You Watch Too Much X: This exchange, when Detectives Wiggan and Mackey are about to pursue Hector Andujar:
The Star Chamber / int_35ab4cec	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_35ab4cec	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_35ab4cec
The Star Chamber / int_3994d78b	type	Irrevocable Order
The Star Chamber / int_3994d78b	comment	Irrevocable Order: A major plot point is the inability to call off a hit on a couple of lowlifes when they turn out to be innocent of child murder.
The Star Chamber / int_3994d78b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_3994d78b	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_3994d78b
The Star Chamber / int_5d3e7c6	type	Kangaroo Court
The Star Chamber / int_5d3e7c6	comment	Kangaroo Court: The titular court, naturally. Its self-appointed members decide based on the prior evidence whether a defendant was guilty (they always vote yes on this) and sentence him to death, all in secret of course, with a hitman to carry it out.
The Star Chamber / int_5d3e7c6	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_5d3e7c6	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_5d3e7c6
The Star Chamber / int_6d332aea	type	Driven to Suicide
The Star Chamber / int_6d332aea	comment	Driven to Suicide: A judge early on in the film, who shoots himself in the restroom after a banquet in his honor, presumably out of guilt over his involvement with the titular secret vigilante court. Harold Lewin also kills himself in prison offscreen after he accidentally shoots a cop in an attempt to kill his son's (accused) murderers.
The Star Chamber / int_6d332aea	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_6d332aea	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_6d332aea
The Star Chamber / int_71bf37e3	type	Vigilante Militia
The Star Chamber / int_71bf37e3	comment	Vigilante Militia: An unusual example in the titular "Star Chamber", who are a bunch of judges who secretly review cases to decide whether or not the criminal is worthy of execution, then pay a hitman (though a proxy) to carry out the deed.
The Star Chamber / int_71bf37e3	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_71bf37e3	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_71bf37e3
The Star Chamber / int_7315fd38	type	Covers Always Lie
The Star Chamber / int_7315fd38	comment	Covers Always Lie: The DVD cover shows Michael Douglas as Judge Hardin holding a pistol. Hardin never holds a pistol in this movie, not even once.
The Star Chamber / int_7315fd38	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_7315fd38	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_7315fd38
The Star Chamber / int_82384b1	type	Never Hurt an Innocent
The Star Chamber / int_82384b1	comment	Never Hurt an Innocent: Hardin refuses to see two men die who are innocent of this particular rape and murder, though possibly guilty of others (we find out later they have committed serious crimes, though murder is not shown to be one.) Caulfield, on the other hand, argues they can't risk exposing themselves and have to pursue the greater good-plus as stated the criminals were guilty of something, in an impromptu debate on morality.
The Star Chamber / int_82384b1	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_82384b1	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_82384b1
The Star Chamber / int_a70223	type	Karma Houdini
The Star Chamber / int_a70223	comment	Karma Houdini: The murderer from the first Off on a Technicality case Hardin tries never reappears again, and avoids both conviction and the attention of the Star Chamber.
The Star Chamber / int_a70223	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_a70223	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_a70223
The Star Chamber / int_a80ad52c	type	Hanging Judge
The Star Chamber / int_a80ad52c	comment	Hanging Judge: All the Star Chamber judges. The only crime they deal with is murder and the punishment for each one is death.
The Star Chamber / int_a80ad52c	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_a80ad52c	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_a80ad52c
The Star Chamber / int_bbfaa837	type	Knight Templar
The Star Chamber / int_bbfaa837	comment	Knight Templar: Hardin, though the rest of the judges fit this to a far higher degree.
The Star Chamber / int_bbfaa837	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_bbfaa837	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_bbfaa837
The Star Chamber / int_bd79d896	type	Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot
The Star Chamber / int_bd79d896	comment	Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: After Flowers is arrested for car theft, he spills on several other crimes he's committed, including stealing Monk's van under the orders of the men who really killed Danny Lewin.
The Star Chamber / int_bd79d896	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_bd79d896	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_bd79d896
The Star Chamber / int_beb9a361	type	Anti-Hero
The Star Chamber / int_beb9a361	comment	Anti-Hero: Judge Hardin, and possibly the rest of the judges.
The Star Chamber / int_beb9a361	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_beb9a361	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_beb9a361
The Star Chamber / int_cb9aeb6a	type	Vigilante Man
The Star Chamber / int_cb9aeb6a	comment	Vigilante Man: The father of the murdered boy, who attempts to murder the two men accused of murdering his son after they're released on a technicality, but shoots a cop accidentally who stops him instead (who had arrested the suspects earlier along with his partner in fact).
The Star Chamber / int_cb9aeb6a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_cb9aeb6a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_cb9aeb6a
The Star Chamber / int_e4760ebc	type	I Regret Nothing
The Star Chamber / int_e4760ebc	comment	I Regret Nothing: At least one of the other judges openly states this when Hardin finds out the men he brought to them are guilty.
The Star Chamber / int_e4760ebc	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_e4760ebc	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_e4760ebc
The Star Chamber / int_e567510d	type	Determinator
The Star Chamber / int_e567510d	comment	Determinator: How Detective Lowes describes himself:
The Star Chamber / int_e567510d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_e567510d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_e567510d
The Star Chamber / int_f6698528	type	Vigilante Execution
The Star Chamber / int_f6698528	comment	Vigilante Execution: Both of clearly guilty murderers who got off on technicalities. The father of the murdered boy also attempts these when the suspects get off this way, but ends up instead shooting a cop by accident when he tries to stop him.
The Star Chamber / int_f6698528	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_f6698528	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_f6698528
The Star Chamber / int_fd4f8299	type	Well-Intentioned Extremist
The Star Chamber / int_fd4f8299	comment	Well-Intentioned Extremist: Judge Hardin and the rest are frustrated by the legal loopholes which help killers go free, wanting to bring them all to justice. Their methods, however...
The Star Chamber / int_fd4f8299	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_fd4f8299	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_fd4f8299
The Star Chamber / int_name	type	ItemName
The Star Chamber / int_name	comment
The Star Chamber / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
The Star Chamber / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	The Star Chamber / int_name
The Star Chamber / int_name	itemName	The Star Chamber

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

The Star Chamber	hasFeature	Hanging Judge / int_809331b5
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	Impersonating an Officer / int_809331b5
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	Irrevocable Order / int_809331b5
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	Jumping Off the Slippery Slope / int_809331b5
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	Never Hurt an Innocent / int_809331b5
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	Professional Killer / int_809331b5
The Star Chamber	seeAlso	The Star Chamber
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	Vigilante Execution / int_809331b5
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	Vigilante Man / int_809331b5
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	Vigilante Militia / int_809331b5
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	You Watch Too Much X / int_809331b5
The Star Chamber	hasFeature	All Crimes Are Equal / int_809331b5

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