STOP THE PRESSES! Great Newspaper Movies

Absence of Malice (1981)

A businessman becomes the subject of a criminal investigation when a story about him is purposely "leaked" to an investigative reporter. Starring Paul Newman, Sally Field, Bob Balaban; produced and directed by Sydney Pollack. Rated PG.

Ace in the Hole (1951)

An early look at the impact of mass media in the public arena, featuring the story of a cynical and manipulative journalist, who creates a media storm around the fate of a man trapped in a cave-in. Starring Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Bob Arthur; written, produced and directed by Billy Wilder. Not rated.

All the President's Men (1976)

The true story of how Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post uncovered the White House involvement in the Watergate break in. Starring Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden; directed by Alan J Pakula. Oscar-winner for Jason Robards Jr as Ben Bradlee, editor of the Post. Rated R.

The Big Clock (1948)

A hotshot crime magazine editor inadvertently becomes the subject of a murder investigation after spending an evening with his boss' mistress. Starring Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Sullivan; directed by John Farrow. Based on the novel by Kenneth Fearing. Not rated. Remade in 1987 as No Way Out starring Kevin Costner and Gene Hackman.

Call Northside 777 (1948)

A Chicago reporter finds himself stuck in a decade-old murder investigation when he follows a newspaper ad offering a cash reward for information leading to the arrest of the killer. Exciting docu-drama. Starring James Stewart, Richard Conte, Lee J. Cobb; directed by Henry Hathaway. Not rated.

Citizen Kane (1941)

An all-powerful press magnate, Kane, dies in his fabulous castle Xanadu, his last word being "Rosebud", which leads a reporter to seek the meaning behind the word and find the meaning of Kane. Prominant publisher, William Randolph Hearst, saw the film as a thinly disguised version of his career and attempted to suppress it. Starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton, Dorothy Comingore; produced and directed by Orson Welles. Welles' masterpiece. Consistently on 10 Best Movies lists.

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

A reporter sent to Europe to cover a peace conference falls in love with a diplomat's daughter, but discovers that her father is the head of a Nazi spy ring. Starring Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall; directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Not rated.

The Front Page (1931) VHS

Earle Williams, a convict about to be executed, escapes, throwing the criminal court building into chaos. Newspaper reporters try to "scoop" the story by holding Williams in a roll-top desk in the press room. First movie version of the hit Broadway play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. Starring Adolphe Menjou, Pat O'Brien, Mary Brian; directed by Lewis Milestone. A 1974 version starred Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, and the incomparable His Girl Friday (1939) did some gender-switching with Cary Grant as the editor, Walter Burns, and Rosalind Russell as the reporter, Hildy Johnson. Not rated.

His Girl Friday (1939)

A re-make of The Front Page with the main character as a girl reporter. The editor wants his top reporter to cover the impending execution of a murderer rather than get married and leave the job. Starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Directed by Howard Hawks. Not rated.

I Love Trouble (1994) VHS

Two reporters in hot competition find themselves thrown together to crack a murder case and uncover a billion-dollar fraud. Starring Julia Roberts, Nick Nolte, Saul Rubinek; directed by Charles Shyer. Rated PG.

It Happened One Night (1934)

A rich young woman marries an idle playboy against her father's will. Her father holds her captive on his yacht but she escapes and, while on her way to New York, becomes entangled with an unemployed news reporter. One of the all-time great screwball comedies. Starring Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly; directed by Frank Capra. Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Screenplay. Not rated.

Libeled Lady (1936)

It all starts when society diva Loy slaps newsman Tracy with a libel suit. Tracy enlists fiancée Harlow and down-on-his luck Powell in a counter maneuver involving a rigged marriage, a phony seduction, a fabulously funny fishing scene, fisticuffs, broken promises and hearts and eventually, true love for all. Starring Jean Harlow, William Powell, Myrna Loy; directed by Jack Conway. Not rated.

Meet John Doe (1941)

Gary Cooper portrays a former baseball player whose misfortunes have changed his life. Barbara Stanwyck, a news reporter, interviews "John Doe.” Her report falls into the hands of a crooked politician who exploits "John Doe" by making him a good will ambassador in a phony political drive, leaving Cooper on the brink of suicide. Directed by Frank Capra. Not rated.

Mr Deeds Goes to Town (1936)

Longfellow Deeds, a small-town poet, inherits $20 million from his uncle and wants to give it away to needy people. Petty moochers, greedy relatives, conniving lawyers and big executives, who all want a piece of the pie, attempt to have Deeds declared incompetent. And a hot-shot girl reporter fans the flames. Starring Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, George Bancroft; directed by Frank Capra. Not rated.

Nothing Sacred (1937)

A young woman diagnosed with "radium poisoning" is given a last fling in New York City for two weeks, but it all turns into a publicity hoax. A screwball classic. Starring Carole Lombard, Fredric March, Margaret Hamilton; written by Ben Hecht, directed by William A Wellman. Not rated.

The Paper (1994) VHS

A star-studded cast in a stop-the-presses comedy that brings the fast paced, cutthroat, frequently hilarious world of newspaper journalism vividly to life. Starring Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Marisa Tomei, Randy Quaid; directed by Ron Howard. Rated R.

The Pelican Brief (1993)

Two Supreme Court justices have been assassinated. One lone law student has stumbled upon the truth. An investigative journalist wants her story. Everyone else wants her dead. Starring Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Sam Shepard; directed by Alan J Pakula. Rated PG-13.

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself. Sophisticated comedy marking Katherine Hepburn's return as a star. Starring Cary Grant, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey; directed by George Cukor. Not rated. Remade as a musical, High Society, in 1956.

Platinum Blonde (1931)

A glorious spoof of the newspaper business in New York City during the Depression -- Ann Schuyler, a wealthy socialite, meets reporter "Stew" Smith and the two fall madly in love. The comedy begins as she tries to transform him from a ruffian newsman into a convincing gentleman. Starring Loretta Young, Robert Williams, Jean Harlow; directed by Frank Capra. Not rated.

Roxie Hart (1942) VHS

To try and kick-start her show-business career, our heroine admits to a Chicago murder. But although Cook County don't seem to let dames swing, and even with top slippery lawyer Billy Flynn, it's all something of a gamble. Starring Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, George Montgomery; directed by William A Wellman. Not rated. Musicalized decades later as Chicago.

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

A powerful film about a ruthless journalist and an unscrupulous press agent who'll do anything to achieve success. Set in a blistering, jazzy NYC. Starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison; directed by Alexander Mackendrick. Not rated.

The Tarnished Angels (1957)

A First World War flying ace named Roger Schumann is reduced to making appearances on the crash-and-burn circuit of stunt aerobatics. His family are forced to live like dogs while Shumann pursues his only true love, the airplane. When Burke Devlin, a reporter, shows up on the scene to do a "whatever happened to" story on Shumann, he is repulsed by the war hero's diminished circumstances and, conversely, drawn to his stunning wife. Starring Rock Hudson, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone; directed by Douglas Sirk. Not rated.

Teacher's Pet (1958)

A school-of-hard-knocks newspaperman who despises journalism schools is forced by his boss to visit a night school journalism class. Smitten by the course's lovely professor, he enrolls masquerading as a novice and soon becomes her prize pupil, all the while trying to make her his own prize. Starring Clark Gable, Doris Day, Gig Young; directed by George Seaton. Not rated.

Woman of the Year (1943)

In this hilarious excursion into the battle of the sexes, Tracy plays Sam Craig, the down-to-earth sportswriter of the New York Chronicle. As Tess Harding, the paper's bright international columnist, Hepburn makes his life miserable. As soon as they start taking swipes at each other in their columns, there is little peace between them. In the office and in the bedroom the squabbling continues, until their problems are overcome by their deep love for each other. Starring Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn in the first of their pairings; directed by George Stevens. Not rated.

Zodiac (2007)

A serial killer in the San Francisco Bay Area taunts police with his letters and cryptic messages. The four men most affected by the killer are San Francisco PD Homicide detectives David Toschi and William Armstrong, and the San Francisco Chronicle reporters Paul Avery and Robert Graysmith. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards; directed by David Fincher. Based on the book by Robert Graysmith. Rated R.

4/10

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