L'inexorable enquête

Broderick Crawford stars in this exciting film noir from 1952..Fast paced & keeps viewer in suspense till the end..Excellent cast, including Crawford, handsome John Derek, intelligent beautiful, Donna Reed.and Harry Morgan..However..ROSEMARY DeCAMP, is outstanding in her brief but important scenes.. This is unlike her other screen work..Rosemary ,for me, steals the show!.Worth seeing ..Thanks again to TCM for showing this today on Broderick Crawfords day a fine, underrated actor . I started watching @ 20 minutes after film began ( I don't usually do this)and I was "hooked" as I saw Rosemary DeCamps close up at rally for "forlorn lovers" DeCamp recognizes Crawford ,her former husband, who has now changed his name and persona.. I stopped everything and could not stop watching till the end I wont tell you what happens.I hope TCM shows again soon so I can view the scenes I missed at the beginning

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!!

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-

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.

Remarkably solid little crime/actioner. Derek is a weasely but apparently attractive young reporter for a city paper. He's convinced that his boss and mentor, ballsy editor Crawford, is a swell guy who can teach him the business, but he doesn't know that he's also a murderer, hiding a previous marriage through his crime. When the reporter initiates a sensational search for the identity of the killer, he comes closer to the truth, but places others in danger as he unwittingly informs the murderer of his every step by telegram and phone.

Solid suspense, sparse action, good script make for a B++ film.