''Five Star Final'' is a 1931 American
pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
film about the excesses of
tabloid journalism
Tabloid journalism is a popular style of largely sensationalist journalism (usually dramatized and sometimes unverifiable or even blatantly false), which takes its name from the tabloid newspaper format: a small-sized newspaper also known as ...
directed by
Mervyn LeRoy
Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. In his youth he played juvenile roles in vaudeville and silent film comedies.
During the 1930s, LeRoy was one of the two great practitioners of ...
and starring
Edward G. Robinson,
Aline MacMahon (in her screen debut) and
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...
. The screenplay was by
Robert Lord and Byron Morgan based on the 1930
play of the same name
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* Pla ...
by
Louis Weitzenkorn
Louis Weitzenkorn (May 28, 1893 – February 7, 1943) was an American writer and newspaper editor. He wrote a play about journalism, ''Five Star Final'', that became a hit on Broadway in 1931. It was adapted as a movie, and Weitzenkorn subsequentl ...
. The title refers to the practice of newspapers publishing a series of editions throughout the day, with their final-edition front page having five stars printed and the word "Final." "Five Star Final" is also a
font
In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design.
In mod ...
introduced during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and then favored by newspapers for its narrow type.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
remade the film in 1936 as ''
Two Against the World'', also known as ''One Fatal Hour'', starring
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...
in Robinson's part and set in a radio station instead of at a newspaper.
[TC]
Notes
/ref>
The film was nominated at the 5th Academy Awards (1931/1932) for Best Picture
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
, but lost to ''Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America.
Grand Hotel may refer to:
Hotels Africa
* Grande Hotel Beir ...
''.
Newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...
was greatly offended by the film, which he interpreted as a thinly veiled attack on him and his operation. He retaliated by publishing negative reviews in his papers and pressuring theaters not to show the film.
Plot
Joseph W. Randall is the managing editor of the ''New York Evening Gazette'' tabloid newspaper who has been trying to legitimize the paper by reducing sensationalism and improving the reporting, but circulation has dropped dramatically. When owner Bernard Hinchecliffe plans to boost sales with a retrospective series on a 20-year-old murder, hoping to revive the scandal, Randall reluctantly agrees. He had covered the original story about stenographer Nancy Voorhees, who shot her boss after he reneged on his promise to marry her. Her pregnancy won the jury's sympathy, and she was acquitted.
Unaware of impending doom, Nancy is now married to Michael Townsend, an upstanding member of society, and her daughter Jenny, who believes that Townsend is her father, is about to marry the son of a socially prominent family, Philip Weeks.
Randall throws himself into the assignment. To dig up dirt about Nancy, he assigns unscrupulous reporter "Reverend" T. Vernon Isopod, who masquerades as a minister and wins the confidence of the bride's parents on the eve of the wedding. They have read the headlines promising a series on the murder. Nancy is horrified at the renewed interest in the scandal, and the family members confess their concerns to Isopod, whom they mistake for a church representative, and give him a photo of Jenny. Michael realizes the horrible mistake just as Isopod leaves, and he phones the church.
Randall's secretary Miss Taylor is so disgusted that she gets drunk at a local speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies.
Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...
and then tells Randall what she thinks of the whole affair. Isopod comes in late, drunk and brimming with information. Randall swings into action, mocking up a photo layout.
Randall sends reporters Ziggie and Carmody to cover the Townsend apartment. The Townsends, hoping to prevent the revelation of the full story and save the marriage, make separate appeals for help. Mr. Townsend visits the church rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
, who promises support, and Nancy phones Randall, begging him to drop the story, but he refuses, telling her that it is too late. Nancy kills herself by taking poison, and Michael comes home and discovers her body in the bathroom. When Jenny and Philip visit soon after, Michael does not inform them of the suicide and pretends to have a phone conversation with Nancy. After sending Jenny and Philip away, he enters the bathroom and also commits suicide. Carmody and Ziggie climb into the apartment from the fire escape. When they open the bathroom door, they take a photograph and call the information into Randall, who wants the story for the five-star final.
The next day, Phillip's parents tell Jenny that the wedding will be called off, but Phillip arrives and defies them. Randall gets drunk and feels like a murderer. He tells the night desk to drop the story.
Hinchecliff is leery of the bad publicity that may result from the inquest, but his underlings are thrilled at the upsurge in numbers and want to offer Jenny $1,200 for the rights to tell her mother's story. Randall opposes the idea. Jenny visits the paper and demands that the men tell her why they killed her mother. A guilt-ridden and disgusted Randall tells her that they were killed for the purpose of circulation. Jenny points a gun at Randall but Philip appears just in time to prevent her from pulling the trigger. Phillip then angrily delivers a chilling speech that ends: "You've grown rich on filth and no one's ever dared rise up and crush you out." He threatens to hunt them down and kill them if his wife's name is ever mentioned in the paper again.
Randall denounces Hinchecliffe and resigns. He runs out and Miss Taylor follows him.
A copy of the ''New York'' ''Evening Gazette'' trumpeting the news that the suicide victims have been buried is shown swept away in the rain.
Cast
* Edward G. Robinson as Joseph W. Randall
* Marian Marsh
Marian Marsh (born Violet Ethelred Krauth; October 17, 1913 – November 9, 2006) was a Trinidad-born American film actress and later an environmentalist.
Early life
Violet Ethelred Krauth was born on October 17, 1913, in Trinidad, British ...
as Jenny Townsend
* H.B. Warner
Henry Byron Warner (born Henry Byron Lickfold, 26 October 1876 – 21 December 1958) was an English film and theatre actor. He was popular during the silent era and played Jesus Christ in '' The King of Kings''. In later years, he successfu ...
as Michael Townsend
* Anthony Bushell
Anthony Arnatt Bushell (19 May 1904 – 2 April 1997) was an English film actor and director who appeared in more than 50 films between 1929 and 1961. He played Colonel Breen in the BBC serial ''Quatermass and the Pit'' (1958–59), and al ...
as Phillip Weeks
* George E. Stone
George E. Stone (born Gerschon Lichtenstein; May 18, 1903 – May 26, 1967) was a Polish-born American character actor in films, radio, and television.
Life and career
Stone was born Gerschon Lichtenstein in Łódź, Congress Poland, into ...
as Ziggie Feinstein
* Frances Starr
Frances Grant Starr (June 6, 1881 – June 11, 1973) was an American stage, film and television actress.
Early years
Starr's parents were Charles Edward Starr and Emma (''née'' Grant). She had two half sisters, and her father died when s ...
as Nancy (Voorhees) Townsend
* Ona Munson
Ona Munson (born Owena Elizabeth Wolcott; June 16, 1903 – February 11, 1955) was an American film and stage actress. She starred in nine Broadway productions and 20 feature films in her career, which spanned over 30 years.
Born and raised in ...
as Kitty Carmody
* Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...
as T. Vernon Isopod
* Aline MacMahon as Miss Taylor
* Oscar Apfel
Oscar C. Apfel (January 17, 1878 – March 21, 1938) was an American film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1913 and 1939, and also directed 94 films between 1911 and 1927.
Biography
Apf ...
as Bernard Hinchecliffe
* Purnell Pratt
Purnell Pratt (October 20, 1885 – July 25, 1941) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1914 and 1941. He was born in Bethel, Illinois and died in Hollywood, California.
Partial filmography
* ''The Great D ...
as Robert French
* Robert Elliott as R.J. Brannegan
* William H. Strauss
William H. Strauss (June 13, 1885 – August 5, 1943) was an American film actor active in the 1920s and 1930s. A character actor he appeared in a variety of supporting roles.
By 1928, Strauss had acted on stage and screen for more than 30 y ...
as Jerry - Bartender
;Cast notes
* This was the first film that Marian Marsh made under that name; she had previously appeared as Marilyn Morgan.[
* Aline MacMahon made her film debut in ''Five Star Final''.][
]
Production
The film was based on a play written by Louis Weitzenkorn
Louis Weitzenkorn (May 28, 1893 – February 7, 1943) was an American writer and newspaper editor. He wrote a play about journalism, ''Five Star Final'', that became a hit on Broadway in 1931. It was adapted as a movie, and Weitzenkorn subsequentl ...
after his stint as editor of Bernarr Macfadden
Bernarr Macfadden (born Bernard Adolphus McFadden, August 16, 1868 – October 12, 1955) was an American proponent of physical culture, a combination of bodybuilding with nutritional and health theories. He founded the long-running magazine pub ...
's ''New York Evening Graphic
The ''New York Evening Graphic'' (not to be confused with the earlier '' Daily Graphic)'' was a tabloid newspaper published from 1924 to 1932 by Bernarr Macfadden. Exploitative and mendacious in its short life, the ''Graphic'' exemplified tablo ...
'', a sensationalist tabloid of the 1920s. The play ran for 175 performances on Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in 1930 and 1931.
Producer Hal B. Wallis
Harold Brent Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing '' Casablanca'' (1942), '' The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and ''True Grit'' (1969), along ...
wanted the press room set to appear authentic, and sent Warner Bros. staff members to study the design of two actual newspaper offices. The film was in production from April 14 through May 11, 1931.
The film was made in the same year as was '' Little Caesar'', Robinson's breakthrough film. Cast member Boris Karloff also broke through with his iconic portrayal of the monster in ''Frankenstein
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...
'' later that same year.
Box office
According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $665,000 domestically and $157,000 foreign.
Awards and honors
''Five Star Final'' was nominated for an Outstanding Production Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
in 1931/1932 at the 5th Annual Academy Awards and was named by ''Film Daily'' as one of the ten best films of 1931.[Allmovi]
Awards
/ref>
References
External links
*
*
*
* 1893-1993
*
{{Mervyn LeRoy
1931 films
1931 crime drama films
American black-and-white films
American crime drama films
American films based on plays
1930s English-language films
Films about journalists
Films about tabloid journalism
Films directed by Mervyn LeRoy
First National Pictures films
Films set in New York City
Films with screenplays by Robert Lord (screenwriter)
Warner Bros. films
1930s American films