Rent Shockproof / Scandal Sheet (1952)
3.5 of 5 from 57 ratings
2h 42min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Double bill of USA classics.
Shockproof (1949)Having served a five year stretch in prison for her part in a murder, Jenny Marsh (Patricia Knight) is released into the custody of parole officer Griff Marat (Cornel Wilde), who offers her the prospect of a new life with his support. One of the conditions of Jenny's parole is that she no longer sees her former boyfriend, Harry Wesson (John Baragrey), a gambler and crook for whom she was willing to go to jail. Still in love with Wesson, Jenny feels bound to continue seeing him, in spite of Marat's warnings that she risks going straight back to prison. Jenny soon finds herself torn between her former lover and Marat, who shows her nothing but kindness and respect. When Wesson threatens to tell Marat of her promise to escape with him, Jenny shoots him in a moment of madness. Unable to turn Jenny over to the police, Marat decides to help her escape across the state border. In doing so, he knows that he himself has become an outlaw. But it is too late to turn back.
Scandal Sheet (1952)
Broderick Crawford plays tabloid editor Mark Chapman, whose burgeoning success is threatened by the arrival of his wife Charlotte (Rosemary DeCamp), whom he deserted 20 years earlier. Hoping to keep Charlotte's mouth shut, Chapman accidentally kills her. He does his best to cover his tracks, but his best is none too good, and another murder follows. Meanwhile, Chapman's star reporter Steve McCleary (John Derek) is busy investigating the still-unsolved murder of Charlotte. Though Steve holds no grudge against his boss, the same cannot be said of feature writer Julie Allison (Donna Reed), who resents Chapman's sensationalist methods. Slowly but surely, the noose tightens around Chapman's neck, thanks to the diligence of McCleary and, indirectly, the inquiries of Julie.- Actors:
- Cornel Wilde, Patricia Knight, John Baragrey, Esther Minciotti, Howard St. John, Russell Collins, Charles Bates, Shirley Adams, Gilbert Barnett, Richard Benedict, Paul Bradley, Argentina Brunetti, Paul Bryar, John Butler, Claire Carleton, Cliff Clark, King Donovan, Al Eben, Virginia Farmer, Frank Ferguson
- Directors:
- Douglas Sirk, Phil Karlson
- Producers:
- Helen Deutsch, S. Sylvan Simon, Edward Small
- Writers:
- Helen Deutsch, Samuel Fuller, Ted Sherdeman, Eugene Ling, James Poe
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Romance, Thrillers
- Collections:
- All the Twos: 1902-62, Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Burt Lancaster, The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Howard Hawks
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 25/06/2018
- Run Time:
- 162 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- (0) All
- Bonus:
- Original Scandal Sheet Trailer
- Image gallery: publicity photography and promotional material for both films
- World Premieres on Blu-ray
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Reviews (2) of Shockproof / Scandal Sheet
Two in One - Shockproof / Scandal Sheet review by Cato
Two super films in this package with Shockproof , directed by the great Douglas Sirk, coming first. The story has the superb Cornel Wilde as a parole officer falling in love with a murderess who is still being followed by her ex boyfriend, and the other film Scandal Sheet gives us a great newspaper story with the main star played by the superb Broderick Crawford. I thought that this was the best film of the two, but to get both films in one package is a real treat.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Review of Scandal Sheet. - Shockproof / Scandal Sheet review by Steve
Short but thrilling film noir set in a news office. It was adapted from a Sam Fuller novel and it punches like his films, with an extrovert swagger and dialogue that sounds like headlines. The star editor (Broderick Crawford) kills the wife he left twenty years earlier when she threatens to expose his past to the rival tabloids, which are as rapaciously unprincipled as his own.
The newsman is conflicted. He wants to hide his crime and his sleazy background, but he can't deny the populist urge to sell papers. So he puts his top reporter (John Derek) on the story of the dead woman and blows it up big. A lavish bonus has been promised to the editor. Sales go through the ceiling but the trail leads right to his desk.
This is a fabulously entertaining film, driven by a lively, hardboiled script and unpretentious direction. It pulses with energy, especially in the fast talking newsroom scenes. The cast lacks a little sparkle in places, with Donna Reed insufficiently sassy, but Derek is effectively sordid and Henry Barnes is memorable as a former Pulitzer prize winner who has drunk his way down to skid row.
The locations are anchored in the New York lowlife, among the drunks and bums, hock-shops, scummy hotels and, well, tabloid newspapers. It's a light satire on the press. Derek finds redemption when he rejects their corrupt methods. Crawford's constant justification for dealing in murder and vice is 'it will sell papers'. In the end, he flogs his own dirty washing and makes his biggest sale. He can't deny his nature.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.