Two Against the World

In this drama from Warner Brothers and director William C. McGann, a radio station, looking for a ratings boost, decides to dredge up an old scandal to use as the basis for a salacious program, leading to tragedy. Station manager Sherry Scott (Humphrey Bogart) and his secretary Alma (Beverly Roberts) decide to try and right the wrong.

This is a cheap, less-than-an-hour remake of 1931's Five Star Final, with the setting switched from newspaper office to radio station. It manages to lose the emotional heft of the earlier film, and the rote direction and condensed script don't allow Bogart to do much with a role that Edward G. Robinson played so well previously. Beverly Roberts came across as a less-talented, more-grating Mercedes McCambridge. I'd recommend this one for Bogart completists only.

One Fatal Hour (1936)

** (out of 4)

A woman who committed murder 20 years earlier but kept it a secret from her daughter fears that an upcoming radio broadcast of the event could cause more trouble. The radio manager (Humphrey Bogart) and his bosses refuse to cancel the program, which causes the woman's fears to come true. A remake of Five Star Final starts off very slowly but rebounds in the second half due to some hard hitting questions and some really good acting. Also known as Two Against the World.

You can catch this on Turner Classic Movies ever few years and it's worth watching but be sure to check out the original film first.

I saw this last night on Turner Classic Movies (TCM). I had never heard of it before, and was quite surprised to find it so engrossing.

Bogart does a star turn as a city-wise cynical editor who reluctantly goes along with his greedy radio-network boss in this incisive "B" programmer. About 12 years before he played similar city-wise cynics to perfection in movies like Deadline USA, Knock On Any Door, The Barefoot Contessa, and The Harder They Fall, Bogie already had the star qualities down pat.

In order to boost ratings, and bring their somewhat high-brow programming to a more popular level, WUBC, "the Voice of America", pushes a tell-all radio mini-series about a woman who was acquitted 20 years ago by a plea of self-defense of killing her husband. Not willing to be discreet in order to save the woman's and her husband's reputations, the station uses underhanded methods to reveal all to all listeners, and as luridly as possible.

As a time capsule, I also found it very illuminating of male-female mores in the workplace in the mid-1930's. Although beyond Henry O'Neill, I'm unfamiliar with the supporting cast, the players were uniformly excellent, and the direction was taut.

If you like this kind of movie at all (e.g., A Face In The Crowd, An Inspector Calls, etc.), don't miss the opportunity to see this one.

Sherry Scott (Humphrey Bogart) is a tough programmer at The United Broadcasting Company. The owner wants more popular lower class programs. He wants to do a program about an old murder, the Gloria Pembrook murder case 20 years earlier. Sherry has to make up the murder drama about the woman and his secretary Alma Ross (Beverly Roberts) does not approve. It turns out that Gloria was justified in shooting her husband. She got the new name Martha Carstairs and her daughter Edith is about to marry Malcolm Sims Jr., heir to a big steel fortune. The fear of this program "Sin doesn't pay", leads to tragedy.

The premise is intriguing and has relevance for today. Only the morality is viewed differently today. In fact, it could be seen as quaint but it still matters. It gets a bit preachy at the end. It may be more convincing if Bogie could turn down the indignation by a hair. He should leave it to Reynolds and the doctor to make an ass of themselves.

This cheapo remake of the terrific Five Star Final suffers from terrible acting. Humphrey Bogart stars as the manager of a sleazoid radio station that is desperate to boost sagging ratings. The owner decides to have a series of morality plays written about a famous murder case from 20 years ago. So they hire the fake preacher (Harry Hayden) to track down the murderess, who was acquitted and has been living quietly under a fake name. The preacher arrive on the daughter's wedding day, but the ruthless radio station refuses to back off exposing the mother and ruining their lives.

Bogart is always good. Hayden is good the the slimy preacher, and Henry O'Neill is good as the father. Everyone else is just awful. Helen McKeller wins no sympathy (crucial for the role), Linda Perry is a lousy actress, Beverly Roberts is OK but always looks old, Claire Dodd and Hobart Cavanagh have no parts, Carlyle Moore is a dud as the boy friend, Virginia Brissac is miscast as the society mother, Robert Middlemas overacts as the station owner.

This one comes in under an hour but is a pale copy of the original which boasted dynamic performances by Edward G. Robinson, Aline MacMahon, Frances Starr, and Boris Karloff. But it's always worth watching Boagrt.