Une dépêche Reuter

Of all the studios of the 1930s-40s, I think Warner Brothers did a particularly good job with biopics during this era. The films tended to get the facts pretty much correct and the stories also are exciting to watch. A few of these wonderful biopics are "The Story of Louis Pasteur", "Dr. Clitterhouse's Magic Bullet" and this film, "Dispatch from Reuters"...and they are well worth your time.

Julius Reuter (Edward G. Robinson) was the man for the creation of the international news service, Reuters. The story shows his company's evolution during the 19th century from a carrier pigeon service to a news agency supplying the world's newspapers with the facts.

Aside from Robinson NOT sporting the huge muttonchops that the real Reuter had, he did a marvelous job making the title character human AND extraordinary. Excellent direction, supporting actors and the overall polished look of the movie make it well worth your time.

I saw this again the other night after many years and was impressed at how entertaining it was. It moves at a cracking pace (so typical of Warner Bros style) and has a great cast of fine character actors (especially Albert Bassermann, Nigel Bruce and Otto Kruger) supporting Edward G Robinson in the title role, who gives a nicely understated performance.

The telescoping of events and the dramatic license with facts are to be expected in a film from this period, and in the main, the film presents a stirring account of how the transmission of news grew in the 19th century. Some reviewers here criticise Warners for not mentioning Reuter's conversion from Judaism to Christianity but anyone thinking a Hollywood studio would tackle such a complex subject in 1940 is expecting far too much. The direction by Dieterle is first rate and the pace is brisk, with the hand of Hal Wallis very obvious in the snappy editing and excision of any superfluous material.

Much was made on the historical accuracy of the sets such as the London Stock exchange) and certainly, the recreation of the House of Commons in London while smaller than the real thing, looked very convincing.

There is much else to enjoy here if you are a movie buff of Warner films from this period. When Reuter & Max are walking through the city near the beginning, we see many of the famous standing sets on the Warner back-lot at the time, including :- the Casa di Bonnyfeather and canal at Leghorn (built for Anthony Adverse): the large church structure built circa 1930, with the pillars & big flight of steps that featured in so many films including The Roaring 20s (Cagney dies on those steps at the end) and Deception (Bette Davis runs up those steps at the beginning) and we even see the large Nottingham Castle Gate with portcullis built for The Adventures of Robin Hood in 1937. Some of these sets were still standing as late as 1975! Above all, there is Max Steiner's terrific score. This tale clearly resonated in him and he produces one of his most arresting and dramatic works, with a superbly heraldic Main Title which reappears throughout at key points of the story, and also Steiner's most gorgeous waltz (for Reuter's wife played by the lovely and underrated Edna Best) that betrays his Viennese background. Steiner's score for REUTER cries out for a modern recording, yet few ever mention it when discussing his work for films.

I think it is one of his finest, the equal to Now Voyager, All This & Heaven Too and Big Sleep. If the film were shown more, maybe it would be noticed by the CD companies.

So, while this may not be the greatest of the Warner bio-pics, it is certainly unjustly overlooked. Let us hope it reaches DVD soon.

Speed and truth was always the motto of Reuter's news agency, and those two characteristics certainly dominate this film, especially speed. Everything is fast here, the dialog keeps constantly firing off, and everything keeps happening at once. Whether you like journalism or not, it's a great story of faith and stubborn integrity constantly fighting incredulity and stupidity, and although it turns out critical at times, the truth always gets through in the end. Edward G. Robinson makes a great portrait of the fantastic news reporter who started with carrier pigeons, being called the "pigeon fool", but always followed the development and made his progress with it. Edna Best makes the endearing part of his wife, Eddie Albert is more interested in writing poems than in his master's craze about pigeons, Nigel Bruce makes a wonderful sponsor and friend both in need and in times of crisis, and there are other grand old actors contributing also. The height of the drama is the murder of President Lincoln and its stormy reactions, and William Dieterle has made a good job of it. This one of those classical biopics of Hollywood from the 30s on.

Dispatch from Reuter's, A (1940)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Minor bio-pic from Warner features Edward G. Robinson as Paul Julius Reuter, the man who started off with pigeons and then building Europe's fastest news wire service. The late 30's and early 40's were full of biography movies and this one here is somewhat entertaining but there's just not enough here to make it really worth seeing. I know a few things about Reuter's life that wasn't included in this film and I can only guess that the subject wouldn't have interested folks in 1940. With that said, I'm really not sure what Jack Warner himself would have found so interesting about the story actually filmed. The main story has Reuter trying to stay ahead of other people and a big finale about his report on the Lincoln assassination and whether or not it's true. There really never is any drama that builds from any of the situations, although I will admit the stuff with the pigeons was pretty good. The film covers a wide range of years but the time itself never seems to move in the film. Not for a second did I believe I was watching something taking place in the 1820's and this really takes away from the atmosphere that should have been created. Robinson turns in a fairly good performance but I did expect more from him. He fits the role quite well but not once did I feel too much passion coming from him. Edna Best serves as the wife but doesn't really add too much. Eddie Albert does the best work of the cast with Gene Lockhart, Otto Kruger, James Stephenson and Nigel Bruce rounding out the supporting players. Child star Dickie Moore has a brief part in the film. I'm sure a good movie might be made with this story but sadly it's not this one.

Edward G. Robinson was a most interesting movie star in classic film history. Like Bogart, James Cagney, and Spencer Tracy, he was a character actor who became a leading man. That didn't and doesn't happen to many actors or actresses. Robinson could do anything - he could be mean, pathetic, a blowhard, a loser, hilarious, whatever the role called for. Along with his Warners colleague, Paul Muni, he did his share of biopics. "A Dispatch from Reuters" from 1940 is one.

Robinson plays Julius Reuter. Since this film is really about the news agency he founded, much of Reuter's life is left out. Of interest, he was a German Jew who moved to London and ultimately converted to Christianity (before marrying Ida, who was a Christian), taking the first name of Paul. He also became a naturalized British citizen and was named a Baron by Queen Victoria. He had three sons, and the last member of the Reuter family, the widow of one of his grandsons, died in 2009.

Anyway, to get back to the film - there was some dramatic license taken, but the basic story is accurate. Reuter did start out with carrier pigeons, and the film does follow the evolution of the agency accurately as far as his news beating the ships, etc.

Edward G. Robinson is excellent as Julius, and though it's unclear how much of a struggle the real Reuter had in getting clients, Robinson shows determination and ambition throughout the film. I have to agree with one of the reviewers on this site who thought the Eddie Albert character was too lazy to have continued to be employed. Albert is good, though, as is the rest of the cast -- Albert Basserman, Edna Best, Gene Lockhart, Nigel Bruce, Otto Kruger, and Montagu Love.

Entertaining film.