Scandal Sheet (1952)

Waste of time

Nice effects though.

Great Film overall

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

You'd think all the great (or merely good) noir films have been unearthed. Here's one I'd never even heard of. It's worth going out of your way to see."Scandal Sheet" is a model of simplicity, without a wasted word or scene, moving steadily and without distraction to the inevitable ending. The director makes no effort to play up the tension, which the audience generates by its knowledge of how it all has to end. For what's technically a melodrama, "Scandal Sheet" is remarkably un-melodramatic.The story is based on a novel by Sam Fuller, who also penned the screenplay. The dialog is efficient and lively -- but not unduly clever. Except for John Derek, * the acting is subdued (though Ms Reed does raise her voice at times -- though with good reason).Like other reviewers, I was disturbed by Donna Reed smoking.* Given the character's enthusiasm for his job, this is perhaps forgivable.

Scandal Sheet (1952) *** (out of 4) Exciting mystery about a hard-working reporter (John Derek) who starts to uncover a mysterious murder of a young woman at a "Lonely Hearts" dance. His editor (Broderick Crawford) doesn't think the story will add up to much but what the reporter doesn't know is that his very own editor is the murderer. This comes from a novel by Sam Fuller and there's enough good drama here and nice dialogue that you're almost shocked that Fuller himself didn't write the screenplay or direct it. Fuller's style of writing is all over this film so I'm guess that the screenwriters took a lot of this from the novel or perhaps they got a few tips from Fuller himself. Either way, this is a pretty good little mystery as we get to see the murder happen early on and then watch everyone else try to figure out all the clues. There are many twists and turns that pop up through the short 80-minute running time but they're all quite clever and work out nicely. The performances here are a major plus with Crawford turning in fine work as the editor. I'm not sure what it was but Crawford had some kind of uncanny ability to start sweating on time just like other actors could start crying on a cue. There were several scenes in the film where the heat is put on him and sure enough he's start sweating right then and there. This is just something that caught my attention but the actor is very tense in the role and has a fiery quality about him. Derek was also pretty good as the star reporter who doesn't know how much damage he's doing to his friend by not letting the story die. WE also get a young Donna Reed playing a reporter who doesn't like the fact that the paper is turning into a tabloid. Rosemary DeCamp, Henry O'Neill, Jonathan Hale and Harry Morgan turn in fine supporting performances as well. The screenplay is full of sharp dialogue and they also aren't scared to take several hits at the media. The battle between real news and tabloid material gets a few mentions throughout and we also see some rather frank dialogue with the reporters at the scene of the crime making jokes about the victim, which is something a lot of other movies weren't doing at this time. Fans of Fuller will certainly want to check this one out.

Enjoy the great acting of Broderick Crawford, (Mark Chapman) who is the editor of a popular newspaper and his star reporter is John Derek, (Steve McCleary) and a very attractive Julie Allison, (Donna Reed) who gives a great supporting role. Mark Chapman is a go getter for this popular newspaper and always manages to capture crimes of murder with the great assistance of Steve McCleary. However, Steve McCleary investigates a recent murder of a woman who has died rather mysteriously and delves deeply into its background and is able to determine the killer and the complete reason for the murdering of this woman. There are many twists and turns in this film and Broderick Crawford and Donna Reed give outstanding performances which make this a very interesting and enjoyable film to view from 1952.

This is just a great little movie by the auteur, Phil Karlson. It reminds me a little bit of "The Big Clock" (with Ray Milland/Charles Laughton) that takes place at a magazine empire where the hunted is also the hunter. Change the venue to a National Enquirer type newspaper and the stories are somewhat interchangeable. Regardless, this film is a neat foray into the noir genre and Crawford sweats it out with the best of them.John Derek and Donna Reed, a rather mismatched couple, play reporters on Crawford's paper who are searching for the killer of a woman who attended the newspaper sponsored lonely hearts gathering. Needless to say, they do not suspect that Crawford was once married to the victim and has handily done away with her. Henry O'Neil, a staple from movies of the 30s and 40s has a nice turn as a one time star reporter who has sadly become an alcoholic. He stumbles, literally, into the case by discovering a pawn ticket, inadvertently given to him by Crawford. The ticket leads to his murder and now Crawford is in for a penny, in for a pound.Derek and Reed do some fancy detecting and all is revealed. A very satisfying denouement takes place in the newspaper office and you can only hope that Derek becomes the editor with Reed at his side.Broderick Crawford does a masterful job as the hunter/hunted. We sometime forget that he was an Academy Award winner and many only remember him from his TV role on "Highway Patrol". This film is worth watching if you like a tight story with no frills. It's a dandy!!