The Famous Ferguson Case

This is not "dull, trite and talky" as noted at the time by Variety, but a typically engaging 1932 Warners drama. The murder of a wealthy man in his country home is big news, especially since his wife seems to have quarreled with him that night about her boy friend. Two camps of reporters descend on the small town; the yellow journalists and the more responsible press. Joan Blondell is one of the bad crew, and is Kenneth Thomson's girlfriend, at least until the small town girl takes a shine to him. There are some nicely done scenes, particularly Blondell's cynically telling her rival what to expect from Thomson. She really belts it out in her inimitable style. Nearly as good is where Thomson himself tells the new girl what to expect; that he's an alcoholic and a manic depressive. It's good because he's pretty much telling the truth at the same time he's handing her a line. Tom Brown doesn't leave much of an impression as the local cub reporter, and the story cheats a bit on the solution of the murder. But the reporters' milieu, the good character-player line-up, and the general energy and pace of the production certainly make this worth seeing.

This film was a pleasant surprise. Unlike some films of that era it had plenty of substance to keep my mind engaged past "The End" and just enough style to keep my taste buds involved.

It did have it couple of speed bumps. In the beginning ; it had me running for my reading glasses and at one point; I was waiting for someone to ask me if they can hear an "Amen". However for the most part it was front page stuff.

Although made it 1932, it served as a premonition of the corporate sponsored goofiness to come not only with the tabloids like the National Enquirer but also with the established mainstream media outlets like the Washington Post, NY Times, CNN, MSNBC and of course Fox News. Sometimes it feels that these days when it comes to journalism; Yellow is now the color of choice.

In a small upstate New York town, Marcia Ferguson (Vivienne Osborne) and local bank teller Jed Brooks (Leon Ames) are seen about town being maybe just a little too friendly to one another given that both are married to other people. Then Mr. Ferguson comes back from New York City unexpectedly - he's a big banker there and this is the Fergusons' summer home. That night shots are heard fired from the Ferguson home, a man is seen fleeing the scene, and the authorities find Mr. Ferguson dead on his bedroom floor with Mrs. Ferguson bound and gagged in her bed. She says two very distinctive looking burglars are the culprits, and that they have taken her six carat diamond ring. These are the facts of the situation, which a young local newspaperman, Bruce Foster, lays out in a story he does.

With Mr. Ferguson being such an important person, the press from New York City descend on the town. They aren't happy with the story being just about a burglary gone wrong with the burglars being unknown and at large. They want this to be about two lovers - allegedly Mrs. Ferguson and Jed Brooks - killing Mr. Ferguson and making it look like a burglary and then set about to make that be the story. They flatter and cajole the county attorney into action, and at first they similarly flatter and dazzle the local newspaper reporter Bruce Foster. But then he realizes that one of these big city reporters is romancing his sweetheart away from him with talk of the big city and plenty of booze. As a result, Foster has both a professional and a personal change of heart and sets out alone to determine the actual facts of the case. Complications ensue.

Nothing was sacred with Warners' precodes, because no institution is without corruption and the cynicism in Depression weary audiences was quite high, and this time WB takes aim at the press. It's not quite as good as Five Star Final from the previous year, but still it's a fine ensemble effort with some gut-wrenching moments, especially at the end.

There was some really interesting camera work in this one to the point that I was sure the director must be Michael Curtiz, but it was in fact Lloyd Bacon. If I have any complaint it's that Tom Brown is just too baby faced to be playing the part of the small town reporter, plus he is actually only 20 at this point.

"The Famous Ferguson Case" is a movie that attacks many reporters--showing them to be a group of selfish, amoral ghouls who would murder their own mothers to sell a story! Along the way, they destroy and besmirch people with abandon.

Bruce Foster (Tom Brown) stars in this story, though oddly he's billed very low in the credits. Regardless, he's excellent as a naive young man who hopes to become a newspaper reporter. His chance comes when Mr. Ferguson is murdered and he's the first one on the scene. Because he broke the story, the veteran reporters who soon arrive take him under their wing...and he gets to see their yellow journalism first hand. In order to make a story where there isn't one, the leader of these scumbags convinces the simple-minded District Attorney to prosecute the man's widow...insinuating that the murder was a crime of passion and that Mrs. Ferguson and her supposed lover did it! The problem is that she's innocent...and the man identified by the press as her lover isn't! But do they care? Not really. Will the true story ever come to light? And, if it does, what about that young reporter?

Like "Five Star Final" (1931), this film is a great indictment of the press--or at least the sleazy element why would do anything...anything to sell papers. And, like this other excellent film, it's rather timeless and still resonates well today. Although "The Famous Ferguson Case" occasionally pulls its punches (such as in the prologue), the film is a hard-hitting story....with plenty of entertainment as well as several shocking moments...such as the hard to watch fainting scene.

Joan Blondell, Grant Mitchell, and the very young Tom Brown star in this early talkie from First National/Warner Brothers. When the bank bigshot is found moidered, the small town newspaper sends the story out on the wires, and all the bigtime reporters converge. Of course, they just want a story, any story, so they have already made up their minds about what happened. We even hear them talking about what might happen if the facts don't match their news stories. The coppers try to race to find out what really did happen, while the newspaper hounds from the big cities try to manipulate the local prosecutor and anyone involved. Will the truth get out before the big trial is over? Pretty fast moving. Good Story, if a bit exaggerated. Didn't win any awards, but those first few years of Oscars were hit or miss anyway. Directed by Lloyd Bacon, who started as an actor in the EARLY days of the silent films, and made the switchover to director, and sound. Story by Courtney Terrett. Made me think of Citizen Kane, when the reporters and publishers were not held to such a high standard of fact checking.