Scandal Sheet (1952)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Scandal Sheet (1952) – P. Karlson

Phil Karlson directed this “newspaper noir” adapted from the novel (The Dark Page) by Sam Fuller (a director in his own right).  In fact, if you watch The Big Red One (1980), Fuller’s late autobiographical war film, you’ll find that one of the characters has just had his first novel accepted by a publisher – this was Fuller’s own experience, having his book bought up by Howard Hawks (who did not go on to direct it) when he was a young kid fighting overseas.  The story is high melodrama, in line with Fuller’s usual approach, but Karlson makes it a bit more mainstream and less didactic than Fuller might have.  Broderick Crawford stars as a tabloid editor going for the sensational and tawdry headline to boost subscription rates who soon finds himself hoisted on his own petard when he accidentally kills his long estranged wife (resurfacing under an alias) and his own paper begins a high profile investigation, looking for the unknown killer.  So, the noose tightens around his neck, slowly but surely, led by reporters John Derek and Donna Reed.  Karlson handles the well-scripted plot admirably and the supporting cast are all top notch. Better than I expected.