Similar to at least one or two other fantastic film noirs, Scandal Sheet is based on a novel, “The Dark Page”, by Samuel Fuller, and there’s an extra edge to it that allows the whole thing to feel like a Fuller movie, despite him not being involved in the direction, or even in adapting it from page to screen.
Broderick Crawford plays Mark Chapman, a man who has changed the fortunes of the newspaper he is in charge of, mainly by choosing to capitalize on scoops and any chance to sensationalize the worst crimes they cover. Steve McCleary (John Derek) and Julie Allison (Donna Reed) both work for the paper, which puts their own relationship through some ups and downs, and they seem more than up to the task when they’re tasked with investigating the murder of Charlotte Grant (Rosemary DeCamp). We viewers know something that they don’t know, however, and that is the identity of the murderer. It’s their boss, Chapman.
Written by Ted Sherdeman, Eugene Ling, and James Poe, three writers with numerous separate credits that you should check out, Scandal Sheet manages to bounce along between the main plot points with a lightness of touch offsetting the more unpleasant aspects. Maybe it’s due to the behaviour of the newspaper staff seeming somehow more repugnant than the people they are trying to bring to justice, clarified in an opening scene that shows McCleary and a photographer (Biddle, played by Harry Morgan) deceiving a grieving woman into giving them some juicy info. Or maybe it’s just the pacing, with momentum building throughout the second half of the movie towards a very satisfying final sequence, punctuated by a wonderfully cynical “punchline”.
Director Phil Karlson may not always be on top form, but his work is well worth your time when he is, as is the case here. Helped by the script, and some great leads, Karlson delivers something fun, but not without moments of tension to remind everyone that the main characters are getting closer to danger as they get closer to discovering the murderer they are trying to track down. The busy newspaper office environment helps, lulling you into a false sense of security before scenes set later on in the evening, when the rest of the staff have gone home, leaving only the people most heavily involved in trying to crack the case.
Derek and Reed are good enough in their lead roles, although the latter is the one who shines much brighter than the former, and you become more invested in their safety as they become more determined to solve the murder. Crawford is excellent, a brooding presence always doing his best to stay one step ahead of his employees. Having maintained a facade for many years, he becomes meaner and more desperate as the net closes in around him (metaphorically). DeCamp is very good in the one or two scenes she has, and Morgan is a welcome addition (although that’s more to do with Morgan as an onscreen presence, rather than his character). There is also a great turn from Henry O’Neill, playing a down-on-his-luck/alcoholic former reporter named Charlie Barnes who may end up inadvertently discovering the truth before anyone else.
Like many (the best?) film noirs, this gets everything done within a relatively brisk runtime - about 82 minutes - and has a brilliantly bittersweet resolution. It has also made me want to hunt down the source material, and any more writing from Sam Fuller that I can check out.
8/10
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