Sued for Libel

This is a terrific RKO B, directed by sure-footed Leslie Goodwins. Aside from excellent performances (including one of Richard Lane's best as a REALLY fast-talking reporter), this picture has an ace radio dramatist who happens to dabble in magic on the side. Hmmmm...remind you of anybody?? Kent Taylor even shaved off his moustache to further pull off the Welles masquerade. A cute nod to the very popular Mercury Players, who were popular on CBS in 1939. The funny part is that Taylor works for a powerful publisher! Paging Mr. Hearst. Paging Mr. Kane. Talk about shades of things to come. Anyway, all that aside it's a fairly clever mystery and a great chance to see OLD DARK HOUSE's Lillian Bond go totally off her nut. And Thurston Hall has a wonderfully comic bit in the first reel. This is pure B-fluff, but if you enjoy great contract players doing their thing as they can only do it, you'll have fun with SUED FOR LIBEL.

The studios cranked out a lot of this type of film in the 1930s and 1940s, and this is an example of how cheap and silly they could be. The film overuses what begins as an interesting plot device - a radio dramatization of the news - so that it becomes flatly ridiculous. The story is way too complicated and progressively harder to follow as the picture progresses. The acting ranges from colorless (Kent Taylor) to hilariously over-the-top (Lilian Bond). In short, this is a real time-waster.

Morgan Conway has just been acquitted for murder, but reporter/broadcaster Kent Taylor gets the wrong dope and reports a guilty verdict. This puts him and his organization in the bind for slander. It also annoys DA Roger Pryor, who thought the case was wrapped up. They cooperate on a thorough investigation of Conway, but have a tough time finding anything to pin on him.

It's a decent reporter-chasing murderer mystery, with the usual assortment of possible suspects, and a girl Friday in Linda Hayes, with the prospect of a romantic liaison. There's some details about both Conway and Taylor being amateur magicians, which goes nowhere. With Lilian Bond, Richard Lane, Thurston Hall and Keye Luke.

This taut mystery, filmed just before "noir" began, is genuinely suspenseful. It has a wonderful jazzy rhythm.

The scenes in which a radio show is being broadcast are fun and -- it seems -- accurate. Keye Luke is as always an asset, here as one of the radio players.

Linda Hayes is a great, angular heroine, looking a bit like Katharine Hepburn. And Lillian Bond, in a crucial role, looks fabulous --especially with the wind blowing her hair in a convertible. She looks a little like Clara Bow and a lot like someone who could have been a star in the 1970-90s.

Calling all cars: Be on the lookout for this little gem!

"Sued for Libel" is a B-movie starring mostly unknown or little-known actors. And, like many other Bs, it's was quickly made and the script could have used a bit of tightening.

The film begins with a hearing in which the defendant, Albert Pomeroy (Morgan Conway) is acquitted of murder. However, Steve Lonegan (Kent Taylor) is told that Pomeroy was convicted and announces this on his radio show. What's worse, he gives details which simply aren't true at all...and, not surprisingly, the radio station is being sued for libel. Can Steve prove that he was right or will the station pay out millions because it defamed an innocent man? Or, is there some other option?

The story is quite good and despite the no-name actors, the acting is very good. I liked the film quite a bit. However, I also think that towards the end, the film did start to have some issues with believability. It just seemed a bit too tough to believe the twists that occurred and the ending seemed a tad too pat. Still, the film is very good for a B and is worth your time.