This film unveils the power behind having a massive attentive audience at a media person's disposal. Lew Ayres plays Larry Wayne, a reporter/gossip columnist a la Walter Winchell in the 20s, 30s and 40s. Larry is both very smart and incredibly attentive to the pulse of city, as he welcomes all of his acquaintances with the phrase "What d'ya know?" He soaks it all up and ejects the best stories on his radio broadcast, which the whole city listens to.
Larry's secretary/assistant "Barton" (Maureen O'Sullivan) has an obvious crush on him and can't figure out why he rebuffs her advances with "don't go soft on me Barton". However, she keeps trying.
Larry is so in the know that he carries significant sway with not only his newspaper editor but also both the police commissioner and several underworld kingpins. They all fear him, respect him and hate him but will listen to any deals that he proffers.
However, things get really interesting when Larry sticks his neck out to act as a liaison between the cops and the mob in a sensationalistic kidnapping case. Almost anything can (and does) happen.
There is a lot of clever dialogue and witty banter throughout the story and some nice performances from Ayres, O'Sullivan, Louis Calhern, Edward Arnold, Walter Catlett and Alan Dinehart.
I was quite happy to watch this one on the big screen.
