''Behind the Headlines'' is a 1937 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Richard Rosson Richard Rosson (April 4, 1893 – May 31, 1953) was an American film director and actor. As an actor, he was known for the nearly 100 films he was in during the silent era. As a director, he directed the logging sequences in the 1936 film '' C ...

from a screenplay by

Edmund Hartmann Edmund L. Hartmann (September 24, 1911 – November 28, 2003) was a film and television writer and producer from the 1930s to the 1970s. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Washington University in St. Louis. He later married and ...

and J. Robert Bren, based on an original story by

Thomas Ahearn Thomas Ahearn, PC (June 24, 1855 – June 28, 1938) was a Canadian inventor and businessman. Ahearn, a native of Ottawa, Ontario, was instrumental in the success of a vast streetcar system that was once in Ottawa, the Ottawa Electric Railw ...

. It was produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, who released the film on May 14, 1937. The film stars

Lee Tracy William Lee Tracy (April 14, 1898 – October 18, 1968) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He is known foremost for his portrayals between the late 1920s and 1940s of fast-talking, wisecracking news reporters, press agents, lawye ...

and Diana Gibson, with a supporting cast which includes

Donald Meek Thomas Donald Meek (14 July 1878 – 18 November 1946) was a Scottish-American actor. He first performed publicly at the age of eight and began appearing on Broadway in 1903. Meek is perhaps best known for his roles in the films '' You Can't T ...

Paul Guilfoyle Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American television and film actor. He was a regular cast member of the CBS crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', on which he played Captain Jim Brass from 2000 to 2014. He retu ...

, Philip Huston and

Frank M. Thomas Frank Marion Thomas (July 13, 1889 – November 25, 1989) was an American character actor of stage, screen and television. He and his wife, actress Mona Bruns, both lived to 100 years old. He died the day before her 90th birthday; she died 11 y ...

Plot

Eddie Haines (

) is a big-city radio reporter, known for his on-the-scene reporting. He does it with a backpack radio and lapel microphone. His associate, Tiny (

Tom Kennedy Thomas or Tom Kennedy may refer to: Politics *Thomas Kennedy (Scottish judge) (1673–1754), joint Solicitor General for Scotland 1709–14, Lord Advocate 1714, Member of Parliament for Ayr Burghs 1720–21 * Thomas Kennedy, 9th Earl of Cassilis ...

), relays Haines' reports to the station with a radio-equipped car. Haines is romantically involved with a reporter for the ''Star'' newspaper, Mary Bradley ( Diana Gibson), whom he constantly scoops. Frustrated by this, Mary steals the pack radio and hides it in her car. Haines leaves his jacket with the microphone in a room where gangster Art Martin (

) and his crew are planning to rob a government gold shipment to the

United States Bullion Depository The United States Bullion Depository, often known as Fort Knox, is a fortified vault building located next to the United States Army post of Fort Knox, Kentucky. It is operated by the United States Department of the Treasury. The vault is used ...

at Fort Knox. Haines and Tiny overhear their plan, but so does Mary, eavesdropping on them. She goes to phone the ''Star'' with the story, but first encounters Potter (

), a Federal officer she had met before. Potter tells her that the Feds are onto the plot, and to kill her story. He offers in return to bring her along on the operation, and they drive to

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

in her car. There he turns her over to Martin and his gang: Potter is actually the mastermind of the plot. Haines and Tiny had tried to follow Martin from the meeting, but he evaded them. The gang successfully ambush and capture the armored truck carrying the gold, with Potter and Mary looking on from her car; then all of them drive to Potter's cave hide-out. During the ambush, Mary secretly drops her inscribed watch (a gift from Haines) on the roadside. Back east, Mary's editor thinks Haines has kidnapped her, but Haines sees a ticker report about the watch found at the crime scene, and they join forces with the Feds in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. Haines inquires among local associates of his underworld acquaintances back east, but they know nothing. In the cave, Mary takes to playing music on her car's console radio. Under cover of this, she uses the pack radio stolen from Haines to call for help. Her call interferes with the broadcast of the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

, and is overheard by Haines in a bar. When she calls again, Federal agents locate her approximate position by radio

direction finding Direction finding (DF), or radio direction finding (RDF), isin accordance with International Telecommunication Union (ITU)defined as radio location that uses the reception of radio waves to determine the direction in which a radio station ...

. Feds and state police surround the area, while Tiny cruises overhead in the Goodyear blimp, listening for more calls from Mary. She gets off another call, and he hears and traces it. Potter spots the pack radio, but Mary grabs it and locks herself in the armored truck, still broadcasting, leading Tiny to the track leading into the cave. The gang try to open the truck with a cutting torch, but the Feds arrive in time to save Mary. Haines embraces her, and puts her on the air to tell her story, but she tells the audience to read it in the ''Star''.

Cast

as Eddie Haines * Diana Gibson as Mary Bradley *

as Potter *

as Art Martin * Philip Huston as Bennett *

as Naylor *

as Tiny *

Doodles Weaver Winstead Sheffield Glenndenning Dixon "Doodles" Weaver (May 11, 1911 – January 17, 1983) was an American character actor, comedian, and musician. Born into a wealthy West Coast family, Weaver began his career in radio. In the late 1930s, he p ...

as Duggan * Ralph Robertson as Announcer *

Art Thalasso Arthur Thalasso (November 26, 1883 – February 13, 1954) was an American stage actor of vaudeville and musical comedy in the 1910s and, subsequently, a screen actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1919 and 1945. He was born the ...

as Bartender * Edith Craig as Bennett's secretary (Cast list as per AFI film database)

Reception

Harrison's Reports ''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City-based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publisher ...

'' gave the film a mostly positive review. Although they felt the story was a bit "farfetched", they thought the film was well-paced, with plenty of excitement, and an appropriate amount of humor interspersed throughout. ''

The Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informatio ...

'' gave it a positive review, referring to it as an exciting thriller, and especially lauding the performance of Tracy, calling him "effervescent and dynamic". They also praised Gibson and Meek's performances, as well as Rosson's direction. ''

Modern Screen ''Modern Screen'' was an American fan magazine that for over 50 years featured articles, pictorials and interviews with film stars (and later television and music personalities). Founding ''Modern Screen'' magazine debuted on November 3, 193 ...

'' gave it a less enthusiastic review, rating it at 2 out of 4 stars. They thought it was a run of the mill melodrama, only made worthwhile by the performances of Tracy and Gibson. They were also impressed with the acting of Meek, Hudson, Guilfoyle, and Kennedy. ''

Motion Picture Daily ''Motion Picture Daily'' was an American daily magazine focusing on the film industry. It was published by Quigley Publishing Company, which also published the ''Motion Picture Herald''. The magazine was formed by the merging of three existing Qui ...

'' was even less kind, calling the film's plot "far-fetched", and saying it was "just another film", good only as a second-feature. The ''

Motion Picture Herald The ''Motion Picture Herald'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1931 to December 1972.Anthony Slide, ed. (1985)''International Film, Radio, and Television Journals'' Greenwood Press. p. 242. It was replaced by the ''QP Herald ...

'' gave the film a very positive review, saying it "is fast-paced melodrama that never lets you down and builds to a most exciting climax." The ''Herald'' praised Tracy, and were particularly impressed with Gibson. They felt the weak point was casting Meek as the villain, although they felt he handled the role capably.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Behind the Headlines RKO Pictures films American drama films 1937 drama films 1937 films American black-and-white films Films about journalists Films produced by Cliff Reid Films directed by Richard Rosson 1930s American films