MGM Decided late in the Game to start Producing these Types of Street-Level, Contemporary, Crime and Corruption Movies that RKO and WB had been doing quite Effectively for Years. But as was Almost Always the Case, They just didn't have it, in both Style and Tone.This One is not Pure Film-Noir but does have some of the Elements. The Jail Room and Hideout Scenes are the Best. The Actors do give it some Noir Feel, more than most of the Set-Ups and there is Enough Sleaziness to give the Film Gravitas.The Final Act Courtroom Scenes pretty much put an End to the Edginess, Concluding with a Straight Forward and Preachy Blandness. Overall worth a View for the Better Parts but Pales in Comparison to the more Hard-Boiled, Gritty Stuff that was Around at the Time.

A reporter (Walter Pidgeon) happens to go through a county in the countryside. He is pulled over by the cops and arrested--though he'd done nothing. Then, in court, he sees that one by one, innocent folks are being shaken down by a corrupt sheriff and a corrupt judge. So, he makes it his crusade to bring down these crooks. As he digs, Pidgeon sees that this organized crime runs deeper--these 'cops' help run illegal gambling and various vice operations! When he appeals to people higher up in the state government, people are reticent to do anything--after all, that county brings votes to the state party machine. What can be done? Eventually, Pidgeon's articles have an effect and John Hodiak is sent from the state prosecutor's office to investigate. But his case isn't easy--as the reporter has just disappeared and so has his file on the corrupt county.Some time later, Pidgeon returns home--briefly. There's not much of an explanation where he was, he's ready to move to Detroit and he has no interest in following up on his articles on corruption. It's obvious he's scared and has no intention of continuing. Can Hodiak change his mind? He sure needs Pidgeon's help with the investigation.All in all, an exceptional film--tough, exciting and well-acted. My only quibble, and it's a little one, is that the film is a tad preachy at the end. Still, it's a nice film--well worth seeing--especially since the cast was so capable. In addition to Hodiak and Pidgeon, the film has support from Audrey Totter (who plays a great dame), Thomas Gomez (who's almost always the heavy), Everett Sloan, Cameron Mitchell, Whit Bissell, Karl Malden and Frank Cady (Sam Drucker from "Green Acres")--a very impressive list. It was also cool seeing Burt Mustin playing the corrupt judge--the sort of role you wouldn't expect from this fun character actor.

1951, the Kefauver congressional committee on organized crime and corruption is making headlines, and MGM under new head Dore Schary is trying to make that famously big-budget studio relevant to news of the day. The trouble is that the so-called Tiffany of studios just doesn't have the same feel for gritty material as a Warner Bros. or an RKO. Too bad this film doesn't sustain the harrowing feel of the first 15 minutes, when prominent editor Allridge (Pidgeon) is brutalized after a minor traffic infraction by corrupt Sheriff Burke (Gomez). Allridge's ordeal has the feel of a "sudden nightmare" to it, as if he's been abruptly forced into a savage new world where the old civilized rules no longer apply. It's a backwater county run by the sheriff like a private fiefdom and a jailhouse where inmates rule once the cell door slams shut. I like the way we're shown the difficulties state prosecutor Johnson (Hodiak) encounters in trying to rid the county of Burke and his outlaw regime.Still and all, the longer the movie lasts, the more momentum it loses, ending with a final 20 minutes of plodding courtroom procedure. There's still some suspense in the air (why did Allridge skip town), but the initial energy has long since dissipated. At least part of the problem lies with uninspired direction that can't sustain the early sense of tension and evil. Too bad noir maestros like Phil Karlson or Anthony Mann weren't running the show. Those reviewers contrasting this film with Karlson's similar Phenix City Story are right on target. Nonetheless, the movie does have its moments, along with a vibrant turn from the under- rated Audrey Totter who never seemed to get the recognition her talent deserved.

**SPOILERS**A bit over-plotted film about political corruption involving the overstuffed, in his stomach as well as ego, and arrogant Ridgewood Country Sheriff Kellwin C. Burke, Thomas Gomaz, who feels that his word is law in the county.It's when Sheriff Burke tries to put the squeeze on the Daily Intelligencer Newspaper's editor the highly respected and ethical Haven D. Allridge, Walter Pidgon, that he finally took on more then he could swallow. It's when Allridge and his friend, whom he was giving a lift home, Wilfred Johnson, Whit Bissell, were arrested by Burke on trumped up charges-in Allridge not having his drivers license on him-that Burke and his stooges got more then they bargained for.Exposing Burke's corrupt activities in Ridgewood County on the front pages of his newspaper Allridge had Burke & Co. start to play rough with him. Burke had one of the trucks delivering Allridge's paper run off the highway and its driver killed. It was then that both local Ridgewood County police Captain Buck Maxwell, Karl Malden, and Federal Prosecutor Charles "Chick" Johnson, John Hodiak, got on the case. Just when everything was going fine in getting Burke indited on a slew of Federal and local violations of the law, including murder and intimidating witnesses, that all the 55 persons who were willing to testify against him suddenly lost their memories! One of those witnesses included that right and honest as well as crusading editor of the Daily Intelligencer Haven D. Allridge!***SPOILER ALERT*** It's very obvious that Burke and his men got to Alldrige after setting a trap for him and working him over at the Amboy Bar and Grill Nightclub. But the real reason for Allridge turning yellow and attempting to leave town, to Detroit no less, was far more shocking then just a few lumps on his head! It was something very very close to home that if brought out would destroy not only himself, in Allridge not being able to do his job affectively, but his daughter Peggy, Paua Raymond, and her husband Ridgewood County prosecutor Randy Stauton, Cameron Mitchell!The film "The Sellout" shows how political corruption effects all of those that are surrounded by it even if they have to guts, like Haven Allridge, to stand up and fight against it. There's always something that the people of Ridgewood County have hidden in their closet, involving friends and relatives, that if exposed will bring the roof down on their heads. This is what kept Burke in power all these years in knowing these secrets, that in many cases he was involved in, and using them against men like Allridge who dared to stand up to him. It was in the end courageous men like Chick Johnson and Capt. Buck Maxwell who were immune for Burke's blackmailing tactic who finally brought him and his gang of murderous cut throats to the bar of justice.