Newspaper editor Bogart, approached by a young graduate fresh out of journalism school, sizes the kid up. "So, ya wanna be a reporter, huh...?" He seems more than a bit bemused. "It ain't the world's OLDEST profession," he tells the kid: "But it is the BEST." Unfortunately, Bogart's paper is about to go under. "A free Press is like a free Life," he muses: "It's always in danger." Considering the gutless state of most of Today's Fourth Estate, it's not only in danger, it's all but dead and buried. In a fact-free society like this one, who needs a newspaper...? (That's a rhetorical question, by the way.) Oh, there are still a handful of newspapers capable of shaking up the Powers That Be, but the clock seems to be ticking ever so inevitably toward a time when all NEWS will be determined by Corporations. Listen closely and you can almost hear it: tick, tick, tick...

Better than average newspaper drama from the Fifties. Seems to be a more or less forgotten Humphrey Bogart film, which is too bad. I couldn't find it on DVD anywhere, and watched it on a tape I made from cable ten or more years ago. The film has three intertwining plot arcs done very skillfully by screenwriter (and director) Richard Brooks. Martin Gabel plays the bad guy, a mobster who is suitably menacing, without overdoing it. Icon Ethel Barrymore puts in a fine turn as the newspaper heiress, and the lovely Kim Hunter shines as Bogey's ex-wife. Bogart is outstanding as the crusading newspaper editor, doing everything possible to save his paper, and bringing low the criminal element. Definitely worth seeing, if you can find it.

Deadline - U.S.A. (1952) *** (out of 4) Hard hitting if overly political drama from writer/director Richard Brooks. Humphrey Bogart plays an editor of a major newspaper who learns that the company is being sold. With nothing else to lose, the editor goes after a racketeer (Martin Gabel) who has been fixing elections. I really wasn't sure what to expect from this film but I pleasantly surprised to see how much I enjoyed it. Brooks' script has some terrific dialogue that manages some nice speeches but also has some nice action along the way. Bogart turns in one of his best performances in a rather low-toned character that doesn't resort to shouting. There's a lot of acting through body movement and facial gestures, which makes the character feel all the more deep. The supporting cast is equally good and includes Ethel Barrymore, Kim Hunter and Ed Begley. If you look fast you can spot James Dean at the start of the film standing behind Jim Backus who would play his father in Rebel Without a Cause.

"Deadline U.S.A" is the story of a newspaper facing extinction, though it delves into a neat little crime story that graces page one prominently during it's final days. What's interesting is that the gangster drama doesn't involve Humphrey Bogart as a mobster or a law man; he's the editor of 'The Day', a paper put on the selling block by an owner family at the advice of their financial attorney. The family's matriarch, portrayed by Ethel Barrymore eventually sees the light of 'Day' so to speak, as you know she will. Her conversation with Bogey near the end of the film is a classic tribute to freedom of the press and the role of newspapers as society's watchdog.There's another side story going on as well, though it's not entirely necessary. Ed Hutcheson (Bogart) attempts to reconcile with ex-wife Nora (Kim Hunter), and though it appears he's hit a roadblock, winds up winning her back in the end. It's never made clear however what the turning point in the relationship was, since Nora was planning to remarry and abruptly changed her mind.Classic film fans will enjoy seeing Ed Begley and Jim Backus in roles as newspapermen employed by 'The Day'. The mobster being investigated by the paper is portrayed by Martin Gabel. It was with a bit of discomfort watching Bogey's character get into the back seat of Gabel's car to 'go for a ride'. That scene could have gone either way, especially since editor Hutcheson felt compelled to crack wise with a goon who had murder included in his resume. As for the rough stuff, that was generally handled by Tomas Rienzi's main henchman Whitey, Joe Sawyer in an uncredited role, but a Warner Brothers mainstay nonetheless.With the clock running out on the newspaper, and a judge siding with the sellers, Hutcheson gets to the finish line with his page one story with damning evidence of Rienzi's complicity in the death of his hush hush girlfriend and her brother. But the film ends so abruptly, there's no time to reflect on the bittersweet finale, not even a shot of Bogey and his ex getting back together for a feel good moment.If you enjoyed this film, you might want to check out another lesser known Bogart movie titled "Two Against The World", it also goes by "One Fatal Hour". There he finds himself in another media forum running a radio station. Like "Deadline U.S.A." though, it may be difficult to find since neither has been commercially released. You'll have to keep your eyes peeled for a cable presentation, or source it from private collectors.