SCANDAL SHEET, one of 1952s three newspaper-centered dramas, tells you right from its title that there’s something rotten in that paper you wrap fish in. The others—Richard Brooks’ Deadline-U.S.A. and Samuel Fuller’s Park Row— like this show journalism to be not just challenging but challenged. In those stories editors with idealism under their tough hides fight the good fight. In this one, truth is captive to the unscrupulous who bore from within the profession to cheapen and distort it, profit motive over public service. Paging Rupert Murdoch.

“You can find a needle in a haystack–if you look long enough.”

New York City. ‘Mark Chapman’ (Broderick Crawford), editor of the ‘New York Express’ has turned the once-respected but readership-lagging paper into a sales success by going for the throat (or other vulnerable/receptive regions) as a sensationalistic tabloid. His ace dirt-tosser is ‘Steve McCreary’ (John Derek), all-in for selling syrup, sleaze and slaughter. Steve’s fond of another Express reporter, straight-shooter ‘Julie Allison’ (Donna Reed), who hopes Steve will wise up and can’t abide their browbeating boss. When Steve finds a recent death to be suspicious, his instincts lead him to follow trail crumbs, unaware that they lead to a much different kind of dead end.

“You know that wasn’t a bad looking dame. Too bad the guy used an axe on her head. Spoiled some pretty pictures for me.”

Directed by Phil Karlson, the first of ten respected noir entries he’d manage over the next eight years, this was tri-written by Ted Sherdeman (Them!, Hell To Eternity), Eugene Ling and James Poe (Attack, The Bedford Incident) based on “The Dark Page’, a novel written eight years earlier by Park Row‘s ex-reporter-turned moviemaker Sam Fuller. Both Deadline-U.S.A.(boosted by Humphrey Bogart) and Fuller’s overlooked Park Row gallantly opted for optimism over odds but this warning shot is closer to the previous year’s acid bath The Big Carnival/Ace In The Hole with Billy Wilder’s reporter ‘Ace Tatum’ (Kirk Douglas at his most heelish) feeding chum to the chumps, i.e., us. *

Buckle up for 82 minutes of snappy exchanges, rising tension and taut performances. Crawford’s in his brusque element, Derek is smoothly confident, Reed assured and unaffected. The supporting players are all strong, with a special nod to Rosemary DeCamp, who makes the absolute most of her two brief scenes: she was cheated of a Supporting Actress nomination. Well-crafted picture has a great final shot.

Tagging spot #137 in ’52, with a gross of $2,400,000. Photographed by Burnett Guffey. With Henry O’Neill (excellent), Harry Morgan, James Millican, Jay Adler and Don Beddoe.

* Phil Karlson, gloves off—Kansas City Confidential, 99 River Street, Tight Spot, Hell’s Island, 5 Against The House, The Phenix City Story, The Brothers Rico, The Scarface Mob, Key Witness.

A venomous stepchild of this movie can be observed in the grueling Nightcrawler from 2014.