Broderick Crawford is the publisher of a "Scandal Sheet" in this 1952 noir directed by Phil Karlson and also starring Donna Reed, John Derek, and Rosemary DeCamp.

Crawford plays Mark Chapman, a ruthless tabloid publisher who is bringing along a young, ambitious reporter, Steve McCleary (Derek). When a woman (DeCamp) who attended the tabloid's Lonely Hearts Dance is found dead, McCleary investigates further and finds out that she was murdered. He's determined to track down the killer, not realizing that the murderer is very close by.

Good, fast-paced noir from Columbia. Lovely Donna Reed plays Julie, who writes features and eschews the tabloid side, while the hunky Derek is a guy who loves to go after a good story and is interested in Julie. Harry Morgan is a photographer. Henry O'Neill plays Charlie, a formerly great, not drunk journalist who knows more than he should. The acting is good all around.

Crawford was one of those character actors whose talent brought him to leading roles. We boomers will know him forever as the star of "Highway Patrol" and his barking "10-4." Reed, Morgan, and DeCamp went on to make their marks on television, and Derek would retire from acting on concentrate on promoting his beautiful wives.

Based on a story, "The Dark Page" by director Sam Fuller, this film is well done, and if you like noir, you'll enjoy it.

1952's 'Scandal Sheet' had a lot going for it. Have for as long as can be remembered, ever since seeing the likes of 'The Wizard of Oz' in single digits, loved classic film. The story sounded really intriguing, with it being the sort of film that would immediately appeal to me due to the genre it fits under being a favourite. The cast was also appetising, with there being a lot of talent involved that have all done fine work in other films and with a few being atypically cast.

'Scandal Sheet' sounded like my kind of thing, and was in execution exactly my thing. While it will never be a favourite of mine or a milestone of the genre, it is in my view nonetheless a very good film that deserves to be better known today and is well worth tracking down. There are so many things that are done right in 'Scandal Sheet', and the best aspects are outstandingly done. Not everything works, but they are outweighed by what is done well.

Beginning with what doesn't quite work, to me the weak link is John Derek. Who is rather bland in his role, one that needed a lot more gravitas than what Derek provided and when he does try to give that it feels forced, and his character is not only not particularly interesting he is also very difficult to find any kind of appeal in.

Donna Reed's character also seemed underwritten, with a lot of rapid fire dialogue but not much else.

However, everything else is done incredibly well. Broderick Crawford is cast perfectly in the lead role, he has a great intense charisma and really like how he doesn't hold anything back while not overdoing it. Reed generally does charm as a voice of reason kind of character and Henry O'Neill brings a lot of human depth to a character that could have been overdone or caricaturish. Rosemary DeCamp excels in an atypical gritty but never melodramatic role. The direction is always solid and has a good eye for atmosphere.

It's a good looking film, especially the eerie lighting and tight editing. Some stylish camera work too. The music is haunting enough while not spilling out the emotions. The story is always compelling with the short, but not too short, length flying by and is full of pulling no punches suspense. It doesn't come over as too simple, but it also doesn't try to do too much and doesn't feel over-crowded. Personally did not find the ending awkward and the final image was memorable. The script doesn't have any fat and while it is lean and taut it still allows time to breathe. Some of it has wit, but much of it is very gritty.

Overall, very good. 8/10.

I sought out this film for two reasons. First, it was written by Sam Fuller and I have been trying to watch as many of his films as I can--they are, with only a few exceptions, great films. Second, I have always liked Broderick Crawford, as he had a way about him--portraying unrelentingly tough guys. With my love of film noir, it's a natural that I'd love seeing his ugly mug! Well, after finishing this film, I found that I wasn't disappointed. The writing, direction and acting were all very good.

Crawford stars as a man who has been brought in to save a dying newspaper. To make it successful, he gives the public what it wants--scandal, sleaze and violent content. While many of the paper's stockholders can't stand what he's done to make the paper solvent, he has made them rich--and it's hard to argue with success--even at this price.

One of Crawford's reporters is John Derek. Usually I don't like him in films, as he's just too pretty. Here, however, he was just fine--pretty, sure...but fine. Derek specializes in sniffing out cases and one new case really intrigues him. An unidentified woman is found dead. It clearly looks like an accidental death but Derek's instincts tell him it was staged to look that way, so he pushes and pushes investigators to dig deeper. Yes, it turns out she was murdered...but WHO did it and WHY is what makes this film very, very intriguing.

In addition to Crawford and Derek, the film also stars Donna Reed and Henry O'Neill. Reed plays a woman who is like the voice of conscience in the movie--always appalled at Crawford's methods and making it clear that she wants no part of this degradation of the paper. O'Neill, however, is the more interesting guy. In the 1930s and 40s, O'Neill had very steady work and was a familiar face at MGM in supporting roles (having appeared in 177 films and TV shows during his career). By 1952, his career was on the decline and his output reduced significantly. Here, he makes a bit of a last hurrah AND gets to play a role that stretched his abilities--playing a down-and-out drunk whose character evolves and shows great depth during the course of the movie.

Overall, the film is taut and exciting. Whether or not you'd call it film noir is a tough one, as definitions vary tremendously. Considering that the cops are purely secondary characters and there isn't the same criminal atmosphere in the film as noir, I'm not sure I'd call it noir. But, it is at least noir-like and is sure to please anyone who likes the grittier sort of film Hollywood did so well during this era.