Deadline - U.S.A. (1952)

Director:

Richard Brooks

Writer:

Richard Brooks (writer)

Release Date:

14 March 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

With his newspaper about to be sold, crusading editor Ed Hutcheson tries to complete an exposé on gangster Rienzi.

Plot Keywords:

Editor | Gangster | Newspaper | Pressure | Underworld

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Ed Hutcheson
Ethel Barrymore	...	Margaret Garrison
Kim Hunter	...	Nora Hutcheson
Ed Begley	...	Frank Allen
Warren Stevens	...	George Burrows
Paul Stewart	...	Harry Thompson
Martin Gabel	...	Thomas Rienzi
Joe De Santis	...	Herman Schmidt
Joyce Mackenzie	...	Katherine Garrison Geary
Audrey Christie	...	Mrs. Willebrandt
Fay Baker	...	Alice Garrison Courtney
Jim Backus	...	Jim Cleary

Also Known As:

Deadline (UK)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

New York Daily News Building - 42nd Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

James Dean appears in a tiny non-speaking role in the film as a press boy.

Quotes:

Ed Hutcheson: A profession is a performance for public good. That's why newspaper work is a profession

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bacall on Bogart (1988) (TV)

surprisingly timely

A very good movie about The Day, a newspaper publishing its last editions, and its aggressive attack on a known mobster. Humphrey Bogart does an excellent job as the editor, and Ethel Barrymore gives a wonderful, regal performance as the widow of the publisher, whose daughters are now demanding that the paper be sold to a competitor.

The film brings up, a mere 53 years ago, issues that are relevant today - the tabloids versus real, factual news, and the meaning of a free press. These debates continue today, but unfortunately, it seems that the tabloid type of journalism is winning. As for a free press - our press might be freer than many, but it isn't entirely free. As anyone who lost money in the great savings and loan scandal can tell you, important stories disappear from the front pages all the time.

Bogart's strong performance is the engine that keeps this film going, and there's a nice performance by Kim Hunter as his ex-wife. Deadline USA reminds us of the good old days, when you could believe what you read in the New York Times.