Scandale à la une

This made-for-TV piece moves quickly and has an arsenal of great acting talent. Caught between a stalled writing career in the "legitimate" publishing world, and an offer she can't refuse, Helen Grant (Pamela Reed) gets in over her head with a seedy but successful tabloid. The new job takes her on a wild ride, and us right along with her. Usually a supporting actress, Ms. Reed holds her own in the lead here. In fact she is the perfect pawn for the crafty Mr. Fallen (Burt Lancaster) who pulls all her strings. Burt is brilliant.

It is a story of two kinds of betrayal: to others and to one's own self. The movie makes you ask, "What's my price to sell out my ideals?" Strong performances by Robert Urich and Lauren Hutton as well. Very watchable. I rate it an 8/10.

Though she is third billed, Pamela Reed is the real star of this unpleasant but apparently realistic and very well-acted movie.

Disclosure: I was once a "World Famous Psychic" for Globe magazine. But I have two friends who wrote for the National Enquirer. I know stories from them that give me insight into the accuracy of "Scandal Sheet."

One friend had been a journalist, had even been among the last to leave Vietnam; there's even a photo of him on the Internet in his war correspondent costume -- and over his real name.

When he went from his Los Angeles home to Florida to work for the Enquirer, he changed his last name. Understandably, in my opinion.

He was sent, as one of his first assignments, to New York to do a story on Gregory Peck, who was making a movie. He spoke to Mr. Peck in the lobby of their hotel and Mr. Peck very politely said, "I never speak to that publication," a common enough retort, I believe.

My friend called down to Florida to explain and was told, "Hey, you're supposed to be a reporter. Get that story!"

He then called Mr. Peck's room, and this time Mr. Peck was not so polite in his refusal.

My friend couldn't take any more and resigned from the Enquirer. And took a job at the Weekly World News.

The other friend told interviewees he was from a certain news agency, and probably told most of them he would sell his story to whoever would take it -- which was always the Enquirer.

He told me of getting a 3 a.m. phone call from an irate Whoopi Goldberg, giving him a sound reaming for interviewing her daughter.

There really is not much honor or honesty in those supermarket tabloids, and "Scandal Sheet" does a good job of demonstrating that.

I cannot warmly recommend the movie, except to say it is awfully well done, the acting is great, some of the scenery, that around Santa Barbara, is beautiful, but the ugliness barely qualifies as entertainment.

If you do want to see it, it's available at YouTube. I saw it on a DVD, which I'm donating to my local Friends of the Library. I don't want it in my house.

Burt Lancaster was great in Sweet Smell of Success. The producers of this film, Scandal Sheet, try to reproduce that chemistry with Burt Lancaster as the publisher of a major scandal sheet. Tabloids now are digital, but that does not reduce their popularity. The vast majority of US citizens are less than college-educated, and are working class stiffs who need a bit of excitement in their lives once in awhile.

Tabloids, digital or in print like the one portrayed in this 1980s film, gave these working class people something easy on the mind to read and contemplate. They were not about to read War and Peace with their meatloaf. Lancaster is good here, as is Pamela Reed, as the legitimate writer who understandably takes a high-paying job on the West Coast to write for a magazine she has ethical problems with. A preposition is a bad word to end a sentence with. Just let that go by. Oh God, now I am stuck with this endless poor joke I put in. Help! Someone stop me from going off. OK, enough; I will get back to the review before the article is over.

Anyway, Burt and Pamela are very good in their roles, but the film is a bit predictable (unlike Sweet Smell of Success). Other than that, an enjoyable 90 minutes of watching two very good professional actors.

The review process is not always such a simple task as would be in watching a film like "Scandal Sheet".Scandal Sheet which by its very nature will most definitely keep you watching as to the outrage and sheer perversion of the tabloid headline industry.It is as well very near a real crime in the bait tactics it attempts to employ as the lure to Helen Grant with a hidden and unscrupulous motive in her hire to get a story about Ben Rowan.This is not only a shameful illusion but has the ultimate underpinning of killing two birds with one stone.It further provides the real conceit of an attempted murder and the parading a right to know or some sort of free speech argument to masquerade this treachery as the getting of a story.This was,historically speaking a film like this,a story about yellow journalism however it is more than mere yellow,it is red.What this film is claiming is unjust but it is not on the surface what it is measuring,it is more than mere hysteria the film is measuring your coffin.The film much to perhaps no ones surprise is soliciting for purposes of committing a crime and even more so its undersirable underpinning allows nothing and no one to be above such consideration.The dead are ridiculed and there passing are shamefully paraded as if there be but no one here to claim otherwise. The film Scandal Sheet requires participation so that it may gain circulation and so it is in circulation that it has gained the measure of contempt that needs to be addressed.Reality,like this film has become something of a cultural vampire literally stealing the life from civilization.The issue of a false witness is what this tabloid is in fact and even more so it requires that we participate merely by unwittingly approving if in spirit only but agreeing nonetheless in its supposition that this world is as disgraceful as any Sodom and Gomorrah story that the Holy Bible provides for.This mix-up of idealogical thinking is a warning to any serious theological consideration because what this boldness has done is open the door.The mouth that roared is going to be silenced because of this film and whatever freedoms it will attempt to use as its right to do what this film claims it does will be struck down with its being put out of business.The mouth and its influence will be no more thanks to this great film.Its claims upon the souls of humanity will need to take a step back before I shoot and that shot will in fact be from the barrel of a gun and forever end the real misbelief that there is anywhere that would allow for a house of prostitution to be the equal to a house of worship.This film is a celebration of the end time though not exactly as forecast however there will be a mouth no more with accompanying influence going the way of the world.I found this film in a bin in a supermarket for $2.95.It is what it is.So be it!

In a recent biography of Burt Lancaster , Henry Winkler who was the producer of Scandal Sheet said that he wanted Burt Lancaster for the part of the supermarket tabloid media mogul in the film. Winkler said he imagined what J.J. Hunseker which was one of Lancaster's most acclaimed roles in the 50s in Sweet Smell Of Success would do in this day and age's media.

I think Scandal Sheet provides the answer as Lancaster channels his old role as the Broadway gossip columnist based on Walter Winchell to the 80s. Here Lancaster is the mega rich owner of a supermarket channel rag and he hires Pamela Reed who is a freelance writer published in more respectable journals for his publication. Reed is a single mother of Bobby Jacoby and there are way too much fringe benefits and salary to refuse.

The real purpose in hiring her was to get the inside dope on fading film star Robert Urich. Reed knew Urich and his wife Lauren Hutton back in the day.

Hutton has been offered a big movie role, but she won't do it without Urich and no movie company will insure him. Hutton has put up her salary as the guarantor of Urich. As for Urich he's a man trying to kick the alcohol habit. It all ends badly.

The lure of money and the good life it can bring is the real subject of Scandal Sheet and Pamela Reed is the real protagonist of the movie. The reason for watching Scandal Sheet is to see how she handles it. Integrity is nice and honorable, but it can be expensive.

The Urich/Hutton part of the story is based I believe on Greta Garbo and John Gilbert. Garbo tried to rescue Gilbert who was falling into dissipation as his career was circling the bowl after talkies came in. She insisted on and did Queen Christina with Gilbert and while he got good reviews it did nothing to save his career. There's a bit A Star Is Born in this as well.

In the supporting cast look for Peter Jurasik as Lancaster's second in command. What a lizard that one is, but a great performance.

Scandal Sheet is a disturbing, but excellent made for TV film.