''-30-'' (released as ''Deadline Midnight'' in the UK) is a 1959 film directed by

Jack Webb John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, Television director, director, and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Joe Friday, Sgt. Joe Friday in the Dragnet (franchise) ...

and starring Webb and

William Conrad William Conrad (born John William Cann Jr., September 27, 1920 – February 11, 1994) was an American actor, producer, and director whose entertainment career spanned five decades in radio, film, and television, peaking in popularity when he s ...

as night managing editor and night city editor, respectively, of a fictional

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

newspaper, loosely based on the real-life (and now defunct) ''

Los Angeles Herald-Examiner The ''Los Angeles Herald Examiner'' was a major Los Angeles daily newspaper, published in the afternoon from Monday to Friday and in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays. It was part of the Hearst syndicate. It was formed when the afternoon ' ...

.''

Title

-30- -30- has been traditionally used by journalists in North America to indicate the end of a story or article that is submitted for editing and typesetting. It is commonly employed when writing on deadline and sending bits of the story at a time, v ...

" is used to signify "the end" or "over and out". It originates from several code tables for telegraph operators, but is traditional in the journalism field and is still used to indicate the end of transmitted news stories and

press release A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...

s and can frequently be found in formal corporate documents posted on websites and delivered electronically or via print.

Plot

The movie is set between approximately 3 p.m. and just after midnight on a day in November 1959. Managing Editor Sam Gatlin and his staff put together the early edition of the Examiner, a morning newspaper in Los Angeles. During a particularly active news night, Gatlin and his second wife (of three years), Peggy, disagree about adopting a seven-year-old boy named Billy. Peggy can't have children and wants to adopt. Gatlin's young son from his first marriage had been killed several years before, presumably in some sort of accident. Gatlin tells Peggy he can't ever let himself love another child because losing that child, too, would destroy him. Longtime reporter Lady Wilson's grandson pilots a military bomber from Honolulu to New York, intending to set a speed record. A child is lost and feared drowned in the L.A. sewers during this night's torrential rainstorm; Gatlin composes a warning headline with a two-page-wide picture of a storm drain: "DANGER, KIDS! STAY OUT OF THESE! One little girl didn't!". Copy boy Earl Collins considers quitting after failing to place a $1 bet for city editor Jim Bathgate concerning how many babies a famous Italian actress would give birth to that day. It ends up being twins, at 50-1 odds. Bathgate demands and gets an IOU from the woefully underpaid Collins to cover the $50 Bathgate would have won, but Bathgate tears it up, smiling to himself, on his way out of the newsroom at the end of the film.

Cast

as Sam Gatlin *

as Jim Bathgate * David Nelson as Earl Collins *

Louise Lorimer Louise Lorimer (born Louise Knapp Pinkham, July 14, 1898 – August 12, 1995) was an American actress who played character roles on Broadway, in films, and on television in a career lasting over six decades. Life and career Born Louise Knapp Pi ...

as Lady Wilson *

Nancy Valentine Nancy Valentine (born Annette Valentine; January 21, 1928 – July 31, 2017) was an American actress, known for her roles in ''The Black Castle'' (1952), ''Deadline Midnight'' (1959) and '' Small Town Girl'' (1953). Biography Valentine was born ...

as Jan Price *

Whitney Blake Whitney Blake (born Nancy Ann Whitney; February 20, 1926 – September 28, 2002) was an American film and television actress, director, and producer. She is known for her four seasons portraying Dorothy Baxter, the mother, on the 1960s sitco ...

as Peggy Gatlin * James Bell as Ben Quinn * Joe Flynn as Hy Shapiro *

Richard Bakalyan Richard Bakalyan (January 29, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor who started his career playing juvenile delinquents in his first several films. Early life Richard Bakalyan was born on January 29, 1931, in Watertown, Massachuset ...

as Carl Thompson *

Dick Whittinghill Noral Edwin "Dick" Whittinghill (March 5, 1913 – January 24, 2001) was an American film and television actor, recording artist and radio DJ in the United States. His early music career included membership in The Pied Pipers vocal group whic ...

as Fred Kendall * John Nolan as Ron Danton * Richard Deacon as Chapman *

Howard Culver Howard Culver (June 4, 1918 – August 4, 1984) was an American radio and television actor, best known as hotel clerk Howie Uzzell during the entire run of TV's ''Gunsmoke''. On radio he starred in the title role of the Western adventure series '' ...

as Walt Ashton *

Fay McKenzie Eunice Fay McKenzie (February 19, 1918 – April 16, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She starred in silent films as a child, and then sound films as an adult, but perhaps she is best known for her leading roles opposite Gene Autry ...

as Mrs. Jason *

Ronnie Dapo Ronald L. Dapo (born May 8, 1952) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Flip Rose in the American sitcom television series '' Room for One More''. Life and career Dapo was born in Plattsburgh, New York. At the age ...

as Billy *

William Tracy William Tracy (December 1, 1917 – June 18, 1967) was an American character actor. Early life and career Tracy was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is perhaps best known for the role of Pepi Katona, the delivery boy, in ''The Shop ...

as Unnamed Writer * Phil Gordon as unnamed character * Mark Scott as unnamed character *

Olan Soule Olan Evart Soule (February 28, 1909 – February 1, 1994) was an American actor, who had professional credits in nearly 7,000 radio shows and commercials, appearances in 200 television series and television films, and in over 60 films. Soul ...

as Vince *

Dick Cathcart Charles Richard Cathcart (November 6, 1924 – November 8, 1993) was an American Dixieland trumpet player who was best known as a member of ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' in which he appeared from 1962 to 1968. Cathcart was born in Michigan City, In ...

as unnamed character * Marshall Kent as Mr. Jason *Alan Reynolds as Newspaper Employee *Donna Sue Needham as Lucille Greghauser *John Truax as Newspaper Employee

References

External links

* * 1959 drama films 1959 films American black-and-white films American drama films American films English-language films Films about journalists Films directed by Jack Webb Films set in Los Angeles Mark VII Limited films Warner Bros. films {{1950s-drama-film-stub

Title

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links