A man is deeply wronged by smart businessmen and acts upon it. He is morally in the right, since the culprit being acted upon would go on with his mayhem if he was not stopped and there was only this way to stop him.I cannot tell much more without Writing a spoiler but I wanted to Review this film because it tells about a moral code that seems lost today. Today everybody in America seems so committed to business that they would not react like the man above because I hear of no such stories although there must be a billion of them around and seemingly nobody is reacting on them.Maybe it will happen some time and then it will come like a big Avalanche and sweep most of it Clean - who knows? If it happens though, it will be the end of all business and the beginning of decency.

Spencer Tracy is a newspaper reporter known as "The Murder Man" in this 1935 drama, also starring Virginia Bruce and Lionel Atwill. James Stewart has a small part as a reporter named Shorty. Two parts of this film are of particular interest, the first being something called a shooting gallery that's not what you think it is. Apparently these carnival/state fair type things where you shoot ducks actually existed along city streets in the '30s. They still do, only today, a shooting gallery is something else entirely. In "The Murder Man," this shooting gallery figures into the plot.The second thing of interest in this film has to do with the very beginning of the movie, which today, gives away the entire plot. For the 1935 audience, it did not. Without using a spoiler, I'll just say - pay careful attention to the telephone call.The plot concerns the death of an investment broker and the subsequent indictment of his partner. The Tracy character is Steve Gray, a top reporter who has some personal demons but nevertheless is on top of the case. It's he who demonstrates to the police that the killer actually was standing at the shooting gallery at the time of the murder. He's therefore able to scoop his competitors.Tracy is very good as the reporter, and Virginia Bruce is lovely as a secretary on the paper who is falling for Steve. It's interesting to see the young Stewart in a minor role, but he fits in well with the ensemble.The dialogue is quick and sharp, but for this viewer, there was no surprise ending. Worth seeing for two great stars before they really hit it big.

This was a great B&W film from the 1930's and the film was full of great veteran actors. Spencer Tracy, (Steve Grey) "Edison" '40 played a hot shot murder reporter for a large newspaper and some times he would go on very long serious drinking bouts. His fellow reporters often wondered why he drank so much, but Steve never revealed what was bothering him. Virginia Bruce,(Mary Shannon), "Strangers When We Meet",'60, worked for the same newspaper as Steve and a small spark of romance started between them, but his drinking kept them a part. Lionel Atwill, (Police Capt. Cole), "House of Frankenstein",'44, gave a great supporting role along with William Demarest,(Red), "My Three Son's",'65 TV series, was a character actor who played a newspaper reporter on another newspaper in town. In real life, Spencer Tracy would often go on drinking bouts and not be seen for weeks during breaks between his filming engagements. This is a great 1935 film and even James Stewart, (Shorty-reporter) made a very brief performance.

I predict that when junk like Big Brother and The Weakest Link are gone and forgotten from our TV screens movies of the vintage and caliber of `The Murder Man' will still be providing us with superb entertainment.I love these old thirties `Newspaper dramas' which probably culminated with the sublime `His Girl Friday' and this one stands up well despite lack of realism. Did New York papers really produce fresh editions all day long? Come to think of it perhaps they did in the days pre-TV.I agree with the many judges who rate Spencer Tracy one of the greatest of all screen actors but feel he goes a bit over the top here, he certainly reined in his performances later. On the other hand James Stewart in his debut (?) appears fully formed with all the shy gawky charm which made him a star for the next fifty years already apparent.`The Murder Man' is an excellent fast-moving film with a twist in the plot that I challenge you to pick. See this one if you can.