Scandal Sheet
United States
1952
82 Min
Black and White
1.37:1
English
Synopsis
A newspaper man, Mark Chapman (Broderick Crawford), takes over an ailing New York daily newspaper, the fictional New York Express, and revives it as a scandal sheet by staging a number of publicity stunts. The man’s wife, whom he left penniless years ago, resurfaces and threatens to blackmail him. He kills her, accidentally, but then tries to cover it up.
Meanwhile, the paper’s star reporter Steve McClearly (John Derek) begins investigating the unsolved murder. As McClearly, and feature writer Julie Allison (Donna Reed) dig deeper, the noose begins to tighten around the killer’s neck.
A former Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Express, Charlie Barnes, who has become alcoholic, stumbles upon Chapman in the Bowery, who gives Barnes a cash handout. Accidentally included in the handout is a pawn shop receipt for the dead woman’s suitcase. Barnes claims the suitcase and finds that Chapman is the murderer, and calls Allison and McCleary. McCleary thinks that Barnes is too drunk and is calling in a phony story, which angers Barnes and makes him threaten to take the story to a competitor, the fictional Daily Leader. Chapman hears about Barnes going to the Leader and accosts Barnes near the Leader headquarters and Chapman then murders Barnes. —Wikipedia
Director
Phil Karlson
Phil Karlson (July 2, 1908, Chicago, Illinois – December 12, 1985, Los Angeles, California was a film director known for his no-nonsense film noirs. Karlson directed 99 River Street,Kansas City Confidential and Hell’s Island all with actor John Payne in the early 1950s. Other films include Rocky (1948), The Phenix City Story (1955), 5 Against the House (1955) and The Young Doctors (1961).
Phil Karlson was the son of popular Irish actress Lillian O’Brien.
He studied painting at Chicago’s Art Institute, and law, at his father’s request, at Loyola Marymount University in California.
Karlson got into the film industry working as a prop man while a law student. After working a number of film jobs, including being an assistant director for a number of Abbott and Costello films, Karlson directed his first film in 1944 and in 1948 directed the first film starring Marilyn Monroe, Ladies of the Chorus. He worked on a number of low-budget projects for Monogram Pictures and… read more
Wall
Displaying 0 wall posts.
Related Films
Fans
Displaying 3 of 3 fans.
Lists
Displaying 5 of 5 lists.
Reviews
No reviews yet — Write the first
Forum
Displaying
0 discussion topics.