Exclusive (1937)

After being acquitted by a bribed jury, a mobster (Lloyd Nolan) buys a newspaper with the intention of destroying the competition that exposed his corruption. The other newspaper's editor (Fred MacMurray) is determined to bring the mobster to justice but a lot of innocent people are going to suffer during the battle. Directed by Alexander Hall (HERE COMES MR. JORDAN). A huge miscalculation! The movie attempts to bridge two dissimilar styles and the juxtaposition is jarring. On one hand, it attempts to be a serious drama about ethics in journalism with a narrative that features murder, suicide, corruption and yellow journalism. On the other hand, it attempts to be a brassy newspaper comedy along the lines of THE FRONT PAGE and HIS GIRL FRIDAY! A smoother script and better direction could possibly have married the two comfortably but this effort is clumsy. I liked the dramatic aspects of the film but the comedy is lame. With Frances Farmer, Charles Ruggles, Horace McMahon and Fay Holden.