The Adventures of Nellie Bly

When this film begins, a disclaimer appears on the screen announcing that certain liberties were taken with the story to make it more cinematic. This is a nice way of saying the film isn't quite true...which is odd since the life of Nellie Bly is very impressive and shouldn't need embellishing. I'd sure love to know how this film differs from the actual life of Bly.

Elizabeth Cochran Seaman was a woman who was WAY ahead of her time. She wanted to be a reporter and didn't let the fact that all reporters were men stop her. This film shows her efforts to become employed at one of New York's biggest newspapers as well as her exploits...all done using her pseudonym, Nellie Bly (Linda Purl). The biggest thrust of the film were with Bly's exposees--where she became various people in order to infiltrate and expose various abuses at the time (such as the working poor, inmates in an asylum and street walkers). The film does NOT follow her entire life...just a portion. When I read up on her, I was surprised that after retiring young, she had a very interesting life...and eventually returned to the newspaper business.

At first, I thought Ms. Purl was just too cute to play Bly, though when I looked at photos of the actual Bly, she was rather cute as well. I am not trying to be sexist here...I just falsely assumed whoever played Bly shouldn't look like a pretty actress. My stupid mistake and a film that does the woman justice--well made and well worth seeing despite some twisting of some of the facts.

Linda Purl channels Nelly Bly, a true-to-life early women's libber who proves that the fair sex can become a police beat reporter. Eschewing assignments in the leisure and fashion sections of her newspaper, she ventures into investigative reporting, a journalism category in which she pioneered. She volunteers to go undercover to investigate and consequently expose the abuses going on in a women's asylum.

Production value is high with careful stagesetting of architecture and mode of transport characterizing New York of the 1880s.

I've always wondered why Purl, who projects magnetically on screen, didn't become a bigger actress. From starring roles on TV, she later slid into supporting roles. In any case, I was an early fan and I intend to view more of her quite extensive body of work.

I worked on several Sunn Classic productions in the late seventies and early eighties and this one was the most elaborate I experienced with them. I agree that Linda Purl is an under-appreciated actress. She also was a generous and gracious person who was a pleasure to work with.

Oddly, although this movie was filmed entirely in the Salt Lake City area, it was never carried by the local station. I've often wondered why they did preempt its one showing when so many locals were had been waiting so long to see it.

Sunn Classic may not have made any real "classics" but this is the one that came closest.