Five Star Final

Released Sep 26, 1931

1h 29m

Crime

Drama

List

91%

Tomatometer

11 Reviews

79%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

To increase newsstand sales, "New York Evening Gazette" managing editor Joseph Randall (Edward G. Robinson) is pushed to revive a 20-year-old murder case involving Nancy Voorhees (Frances Starr), who shot the father of her child for his infidelity. Nancy is now married and happily planning the marriage of her daughter, Jenny (Marian Marsh). Randall sends unscrupulous reporter T. Vernon Isopod (Boris Karloff) inside to get the scoop, but publishing the story has disastrous consequences.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Edward G. Robinson means a lot to this entertainment.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Mervyn LeRoy directed, doing a lot better with the newspaper chatter than with the long stretches of melodrama.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Mordaunt Hall

New York Times

This production races along without a desultory instant.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

TV Guide

This is an offbeat but fascinating film which pillories the transgressions of the muckraking tabloids so popular in the 1920s.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 31, 2012

Full Review

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

A blistering indictment of tabloid journalism and built around one of Edward G. Robinson's most compelling performances.

Rated: 5/5

Apr 28, 2011

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Mervyn LeRoy's expose of greedy tabloid journalism was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, but is not as compelling as the similarly-themed The Front Page, though Edward G. Robinson is good.

Rated: C+

Feb 21, 2008

Full Review

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Mark B

Once you get past the speech patterns -- did people ever really talk like this, outside of the movies? I wonder... - it's not a bad story. Robinson waits for the entire film before he finally gets to chew the scenery, and it's worth it. (#452 in my "watch all Best Picture Nominees" bucket list)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/25/24

Full Review

acsdoug D

I'm usually not a big fan of movies about newspapers and I liked this one quite a bit. Yes, some of the dialogue and the acting appear dated, but the story is interesting and the production is well done.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

Full Review

Louisa E

This wasn't too bad. I like Edward G. Robinson's acting style. The last part was so impactful to me and the performance of H.B. Warner. I wish we had more backstory on the Townsend's to make it a bit more powerful but it the theme came over loud and clear. Still a problem to this day. 7.2/10.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Any film that explores the dark side of journalism should be applauded. It was a very well done and powerful film. Well made, well written, and strongly acted. Anybody that loves Robinson, Karloff, and LeRoy will be happy. This was a relevant subject at the time and is relevant now. Some acting is patchy. Nancy is a dull character and Starr has very little warmth. Occasionally it's a little corny but those moments are seldom. It's stylishly filmed and has good atmosphere and grit. The decision not to use music was good and there was some clever use of sound effects, the sound of machines being almost eerie. LeRoy allows the drama to remain gripping throughout the film and the film is leanly and intelligently scripted. Moreover the story is absorbing. What is shown here is very disarming and honest with the film being quite uncompromising which helps make it more powerful.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

For an very old film it was decent. Some of it was hard to hear and since it was so old no subtitles which was frustrating with the NY accents and what not. The script and some of the acting is very dated. However, the message of the film was good and still perhaps even more relevant today. Instead of the newspapers, which have largely died out today we have the internet spreading gossip and news in split seconds. The media has no bounds today and everything can be twisted for political or financial gain regardless how it ruins ppl's lives, especially with cancel culture. You can become famous in 20 seconds with a viral video but just as fast be torn apart with cancel culture. I wish this film would be remade today. I'm guilty of liking some trashy entertainment just as much as the next person as a guilty pleasure, but there is a point where it goes too far and the line is getting thinner and thinner as everyone's lived become more exposed with social media today. I enjoyed the main character's tick too with OCD and the symbolism it carried, reminded me of Macbeth. Worth a viewing.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

steve d

It still works really well.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Mervyn LeRoy

Director

Edward G. Robinson

Randall

H.B. Warner

Michael Townsend

Marian Marsh

Jenny Townsend

Anthony Bushell

Phillip Weeks

George E. Stone

Ziggie Feinstein

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Synopsis

To increase newsstand sales, "New York Evening Gazette" managing editor Joseph Randall (Edward G. Robinson) is pushed to revive a 20-year-old murder case involving Nancy Voorhees (Frances Starr), who shot the father of her child for his infidelity. Nancy is now married and happily planning the marriage of her daughter, Jenny (Marian Marsh). Randall sends unscrupulous reporter T. Vernon Isopod (Boris Karloff) inside to get the scoop, but publishing the story has disastrous consequences.

Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: First National Pictures
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 26, 1931, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 18, 2016
Runtime: 1h 29m

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