Broderick Crawford, Donna Reed, and John Derek all work for a "Scandal Sheet"

Scandal Sheet (1952) is an American film noir directed by Phil Karlson and starring Broderick Crawford, Donna Reed, and John Derek. The strong supporting cast includes Rosemary DeCamp, Harry Morgan, and Strother Martin.

Mark Chapman (Crawford) is a newspaperman with a lot of experience in the business. He has turned the New York Express into a successful paper by focusing on the sensational. Steve McCleary (Derek) is the paper’s ace reporter and likely successor to Chapman. Julie Allison (Reed) is the features editor who is growing weary of the paper’s turn toward yellow journalism.

When Chapman is confronted by his estranged wife (DeCamp), things begin to unravel. Will Chapman become the subject of his own scandal sheet?

Phil Karlson (1908 – 1982) was a Chicago-born and raised American film director specializing in B pictures at various studios. Karlson was the original choice to direct Dr. No (1962) but his salary requirements were too high. He made a series of successful films noir with actor John Payne in the 1950s. He directed Elvis Presley in Kid Galahad (1962), one of the biggest box office success of that year. Later in his career, he directed Dean Martin in two films in the Matt Helm series, The Silencers (1966) and The Wrecking Crew (1968). He had a huge success in 1973 with Walking Tall. Its success made him a very rich man since he owned a percentage of the film. Other films directed by Karslon include Hornet’s Nest (1970) starring Rock Hudson, and Ben (1972).

Broderick Crawford (1911 – 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actor. Born in Philadelphia to a show business family, Crawford acted with his parents on stage and then established himself as a talent on his own by winning acclaim as Lenny in the original Broadway production of Of Mice and Men in 1937. He later moved to Hollywood and began acting in small roles and bit parts throughout the 1940s. He finally got his chance at stardom in All the King’s Men (1949), the film version of Robert Penn Warren’s award-winning novel. The film was a big hit and Crawford won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Willie Stark. Now a star, Crawford starred in more prestigious productions including Born Yesterday (1950) receiving top-billing over co-stars Judy Holiday and William Holden. Crawford became a television icon as Dan Matthews in the police dram Highway Patrol (1955 – 1959.) 

Donna Reed (1921 – 1986) was an American actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the war drama From Here to Eternity (1953). But perhaps she is best known to film fans as Mary Hatch Bailey in Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) co-starring James Stewart. Reed enjoyed success on television as Donna Stone, a housewife in the sitcom The Donna Reed Show (1958 – 1966). She won a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Star in 1963. Later in her career, Reed replaced an ailing Barbara Bel Geddes as Miss Ellie Ewing Farlow in the 1984 – 1985 season of Dallas.

John Derek (1926 – 1998) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. Derek who said he never liked acting, appeared in over 30 films during his career. Some of the films Derek starred in include All The King’s Men (1949), Prince of Players (1955) where he played John Wilkes Booth, and The Ten Commandments (1956) as Joshua. Derek quit acting in the late-1960s to focus on directing and photography.

Donna Reed, John Derek, and Broderick Crawford

Scandal Sheet trivia

• William Holden was supposed to co-star with Broderick.
• Director Howard Hawks was attached to the project early on; he want Cary Grant and Humphrey Bogart as the male leads.
• Scandal Sheet was adapted from the novel The Dark Page (1944) by Samuel Fuller.
• John Payne was also in the running to star due to his successful relationship with director Karlson.

To watch the film on YouTube, clicked the link below.

To join the discussion on September 12, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation with a link to the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion questions

1. Did this feel like a film noir to you? If not a film noir, what category would place it?
2. What did you make of the newsroom setting? Was it realistic to you?
3. Was there a performance that stuck out to you or was more memorable than the others?
4. Did anything about the film surprise you?

The Ten Commandments on the big screen

I wasn’t going to see Cecil B. DeMille’s production of The Ten Commandments on the big screen presented by Turner Classic Movies, Fathom Events, and Paramount Pictures. I’d seen it a dozen times on TV and thought it might not hold up in the 21st-century. On almost a whim, I decided to go and was glad I did.

At the bus stop, I met a woman who was also going to see the movie. We talked about it on the way there and chatted about the other classic movies we saw on the big screen recently. At the theater, I met a member of my film club and a neighbor. The audience was quite diverse. There were old folks with walkers and canes, parents with small children, and single folks, like me.

During the introduction of the film by TCM’s Ben Mankiewicz, we learned that we were going to see The Ten Commandments in its original road show version—overture, intermission, entr’ act—which was the way many movies were shown back in the day when I was a kid. The lights went down and the overture played the stirring score by Elmer Bernstein and I was hooked.

Moses and Rameses, two princes of Egypt

The epic directed by the legendary DeMille was his last film; he died three years after the film’s release. Sure there are parts of the film that are stilted and a bit hokey by today’s acting conventions, but I found most of the film very powerful. I was surprised at how emotionally I reacted to the movie. The plight of a people in bondage, living under a cruel leader, eventually finding freedom and redemption, still resonate—at least it did with me. It was like Sunday school come alive. I found myself remembering Bible verses and the stories from the book of Exodus.

Anne Baxter as Nefritiri

I always used to make fun of Anne Baxter’s uttering of the line, “Oh Moses, you stubborn, splendid, adorable fool!” But for some reason, it didn’t seem so campy on the big screen. And I must say, Baxter’s performance as Nefretiri—one of the most sought after roles of the 1950s—is all in. She really brought the Egyptian queen to life. The other performances were equally strong. Charlton Heston as Moses is impressive and he has the physical stature necessary for such a role. Yul Brynner is equally impressive as the vain and power-hungry Rameses II. Both have genuine screen presence and the commanding voices to match. Edward G. Robinson is properly sinister as Dathan. Yvonne DeCarlo—years before she became a TV icon on The Munsters—as Sephora and Moses’ wife is radiant. Then there’s John Derek as Joshua and Debra Paget as Lilia. Derek seems saddled with the most stilted spiritual sounding dialogue, but again, somehow on the big screen, it worked for me.

The scenes in Egypt were impressive, especially the Exodus. The sheer number of extras involved in that scene is staggering; I can’t imagine how difficult it was to get all of that on film. Did they get it in one take? I doubt it. The film employed a lot of blue screen and matte backdrops. Sometimes these devices were noticeable and obvious, but at other times not so much. With the parting of the Red Sea scene, the blue “halo” from the rear screen process photography gave it a “miraculous” look.

Moses confronts Rameses

The restoration that Paramount did in 2010 is near perfect. The film looked brand new and I can only imagine what audiences in 1956 though. Of course, 1956 was a simpler time and scenes that we think are corny or campy today weren’t back then. But the size and sheer spectacle of the production must have been extraordinarily impressive. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards (it won one for Best Visual Effects) and was the top-grossing film of the year. It still ranks high on the list of all-time movie moneymakers, coming in at number seven when grosses are adjusted for inflation.

If you’ve never seen a movie like The Ten Commandments on the big screen, you should. It really makes a difference.

There’s another screening of this classic film this Wednesday. Click the link to see if it’s showing in your area.

Backstory: Many top actresses were considered for the role of Nefritiri, including Audrey Hepburn Ann Blyth, Rhonda Fleming, Colleen Gray, Vivian Leigh, and Jane Russell. For the role of Sephora, the stars considered were Anne Bancroft, Linda Darnell, Grace Kelly, Barbara Hale, Patricia Neal, Ruth Roman, Jean Peters, and Barbara Rush.