L'inexorable enquête

I mean that just about everything he does he steals every scene he's in.

Broderick Crawford was just a huge personality on and off screen that I imagine other actors, being around him, kinda had a feelin' they didn't have a chance of stealin' a scene away from him. He was just that good an actor.

This little film is no different. He plays a newspaper editor with somethin' to hide.Throughout the film he has to make sure no-one finds out his little secret from his past. Enter his favorite little cub reporter who thinks of like a son and a woman's columnist who thinks he has just sunk the paper's integrity by printing scandalous news and not the real news people wanna read. She basically see's right through him but not all the way...well until the end.

Check this one out. It's a winner for sure. I was pleasantly surprised.

A suspenseful little newspaper thriller about a bullish editor of a trashy paper (Broderick Crawford) who inadvertently engineers his own downfall when he commits murder and his young protégé (John Derek) dives into the case, smelling a sensational story that will send the paper's circulation skyrocketing.

This film is full of little twists and turns that made me gasp and laugh out loud as they heaped one surprise on top of another. Crawford gives a convincing performance as a man who's taught his underlings too well: he has to try to figure out a way to make Derek give up on the case without making it too obvious that he wants the story buried. Derek is given an unconvincing love interest in the form of Donna Reed. She works at the paper too, but despises Crawford's management of it and sees a little too much of him rubbing off on her boyfriend for her own comfort. Derek is such an ass, it's inconceivable that Reed would want to give him the time of day. But the inconsistency in her character serves as only a minor distraction; it doesn't torpedo the film.

Phil Karlson provides the fluid direction, and keeps things moving at a brisk pace.

Good fun.

Grade: A-

A very good and fast paced film that deals with a newspaper editor assigning his top reporter on a murder case, with a great ending to this film!! I noticed that the first two commentors were harping about Donna Reed smoking on-screen. Heck far, there is more to this film than THAT!! I did not hear any crying around from those two about Harry Morgan smoking a cigar in this film. Great performances all around and a performance by Rosemary De Camp, that is against the grain, as she always seemed to play the sweet motherly types, but not in this one!! Don't miss this one if it appears on television!!

Watch Crawford sweat this one out! Great fun with Broderick Crawford as managing editor of a "Scandal Sheet" newspaper, with John Derek and Donna Reed on staff as reporters. The film uses the technique of showing the murderer's identity as the crime is committed (it's editor Crawford); then we watch him squirm as the reporter hero (Derek) and heroine (Reed) try to identify the killer and cover the story.

Mr. Crawford must give the "Lonely Heart Killer" big coverage in his tabloid newspaper, or risk suspicion. When a possible witness turns up, things get complicated. Henry O'Neill is great as a washed-up old drunk who used to work for Crawford's newspaper. The film has a great style… beautiful black and white photography directed by Phil Karlson. Recommended viewing!

******** Scandal Sheet (1952) Phil Karlson ~ Broderick Crawford, John Derek, Donna Reed

I sought out this film for two reasons. First, it was written by Sam Fuller and I have been trying to watch as many of his films as I can--they are, with only a few exceptions, great films. Second, I have always liked Broderick Crawford, as he had a way about him--portraying unrelentingly tough guys. With my love of film noir, it's a natural that I'd love seeing his ugly mug! Well, after finishing this film, I found that I wasn't disappointed. The writing, direction and acting were all very good.

Crawford stars as a man who has been brought in to save a dying newspaper. To make it successful, he gives the public what it wants--scandal, sleaze and violent content. While many of the paper's stockholders can't stand what he's done to make the paper solvent, he has made them rich--and it's hard to argue with success--even at this price.

One of Crawford's reporters is John Derek. Usually I don't like him in films, as he's just too pretty. Here, however, he was just fine--pretty, sure...but fine. Derek specializes in sniffing out cases and one new case really intrigues him. An unidentified woman is found dead. It clearly looks like an accidental death but Derek's instincts tell him it was staged to look that way, so he pushes and pushes investigators to dig deeper. Yes, it turns out she was murdered...but WHO did it and WHY is what makes this film very, very intriguing.

In addition to Crawford and Derek, the film also stars Donna Reed and Henry O'Neill. Reed plays a woman who is like the voice of conscience in the movie--always appalled at Crawford's methods and making it clear that she wants no part of this degradation of the paper. O'Neill, however, is the more interesting guy. In the 1930s and 40s, O'Neill had very steady work and was a familiar face at MGM in supporting roles (having appeared in 177 films and TV shows during his career). By 1952, his career was on the decline and his output reduced significantly. Here, he makes a bit of a last hurrah AND gets to play a role that stretched his abilities--playing a down-and-out drunk whose character evolves and shows great depth during the course of the movie.

Overall, the film is taut and exciting. Whether or not you'd call it film noir is a tough one, as definitions vary tremendously. Considering that the cops are purely secondary characters and there isn't the same criminal atmosphere in the film as noir, I'm not sure I'd call it noir. But, it is at least noir-like and is sure to please anyone who likes the grittier sort of film Hollywood did so well during this era.