The Famous Ferguson Case

"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.

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.

Upon its release, this film was quickly dismissed as "trite" by "Variety". In its day, it must have seemed like a rehash of commonly-debated issues regarding the press. From our point of view, it comes across as preachy and overcooked, but it still is an interesting glimpse into the concerns of the last century.

A small newspaper in suburban Cornwall, north of New York City, is run by Bruce Foster (Tom Brown) and his girlfriend, Toni Martin (Adrienne Dore). They dream of making it big in the city and leaving the small town behind. When a local murder case falls into their laps, Bruce sends the story out, including intimations of marital impropriety. Before long, hordes of reporters descend on the town, because the victim was a notable New York financier.

There are two camps of reporters: those looking for the truth and those looking for the sensational. Bruce and Toni fall under the influence of the big-city newsmen, as does County Attorney Jeffries (played admirably by character actor Clarence Wilson).

By the time the case goes to trial, the film has painted a black or white picture of the two methods of reporting. One side is respectful of journalism and legal proceedings. The other is dishonest, cynical, manipulative, and corrupt. Another big-city journalist named Maisie (Joan Blondell) travels between the two camps and provides commentary on the transgressions of the sinful. The film ends in expansive speeches, tragedy, karmic retribution, and the departure of the outsiders from Cornwall. And a touch of hope.

There is plenty of moralizing in this film, but there are also some fine moments. They may not stir the heart, but they are food for thought.

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 (1932)

** (out of 4)

A great idea is pretty much wasted due to a weak screenplay in this melodrama from Warner. Wall Street big shot Ferguson is shot and murdered inside his summer home and his wife (Vivienne Osborne) tells the police that she was tied up by some robbers. The case gets some of the biggest newspaper reporters in the country and soon they're putting the pieces together without any evidence and they think the better story would be that Mrs. Ferguson's rumored lover (Leon Ames) was behind the killing in an attempt for them two to knock off the husband. THE FAMOUS FERGUSON CASE kicks off with a prologue warning newspapers about not seeking the truth and instead coming up with fake stories to sell papers. It seems this warning would be even more understandable in 2012 but sadly the film takes a rather interesting story and does very little with it. I think the idea of showing how crooked reporters are could have made for a very interesting story but sadly the screenplay here comes off rather lazy at times and by the time the film's over it's just a tad bit too much to believe. The biggest problem is that the prosecutor here is just so downright stupid that he allows the reporters to pretty much tell him who to charge, tell him what happened and he's also dumb enough to have the reporters write his court speeches. This here is just so sloppily written that I didn't believe the situation for a second. Another problem is that the film clearly wants to get its message across and there's just a tad bit too much preaching instead of actually delivering a strong story to get the point across. The entire cast offers up very good performances but I'd say Joan Blondell is pretty much wasted in her role. Tom Brown is very good as the one good reporter trying to learn the truth and Adrienne Dore is good as his partner who starts to get a big head for fame. Ames is extremely good as the man drawn into this mess. The film picks up a little speed towards the end and this includes a terrifically directed sequence where the reporters are confronted by someone they've damaged. I won't spoil what happens but it's quite powerful but it's a shame the rest of the film wasn't this strong.