Plot

The editor of an exploitation newspaper commits a murder and assigns his protégé to investigate hoping to divert attention away from himself.

The editor of a New York exploitation newspaper meets the wife he had abandoned years ago, while using another name, at a Lonely Hearts ball sponsored by his newspaper. She threatens to expose him as a wife-deserter, wife-beater and an impostor, and, in anger, he pushes her and accidentally kills her. Later, when her body is found, he assigns his protégé reporter to the story, as a good, exploitable follow-up story to the ball. And, then, he is forced to sit back and watch while the reporter slowly tracks down the killer.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

Ambitious newspaperman Mark Chapman was hired as Editor-in-Chief of the New York Express to turn around its declining fortunes. In the process, he turned what was once a well respected publication into a scandal sheet, any unethical action deemed acceptable in the end goal of getting the story, which does not sit well with some of the long standing Board members. Behind closed door, he has as his primary goal to take over the newspaper in its entirety, which will be assisted if he achieves his "bonus payment" goal of a 750,000 daily distribution, which is over double what it was when he first started and toward which he is inching ever closer. He is bringing along in his path neophyte reporter Steve McCleary, who has the same goal of getting the story at whatever cost. One staffer who does not agree with Mark's approach is more established reporter Julie Allison, arguably Steve's best friend on staff. Above and beyond his day-to-day actions and decisions, Julie doesn't like Mark's treatment of former reporter Charlie Barnes, whose once successful career has been sidelined by his alcoholism. At a public event hosted by the newspaper, Mark is dismayed to see his former wife, Charlotte Grant, who only knew her husband by his former name George Grant which he has has not used in years, and who he left without a word years ago. In their antagonistic reacquaintance, Mark accidentally kills her, his part in her death and of even knowing her which he tries to hide. As Steve gets wind of a story of a dead Jane Doe (Charlotte), whose death was initially deemed accidental by the police but who Steve is able to convince them was possible murder, Mark has to decide how much leeway he will allow Steve in protecting himself and his upward trajectory, the amount of leeway which may change as Steve, with Julie largely by his side, gets seemingly closer and closer to the truth.—Huggo

The editor of a tabloid newspaper that specializes in sensationalistic sex and murder stories assigns a young reporter to discover the identity of the murderer of a young woman. What the reporter doesn't know is that it's the editor himself who is the killer, and he's using the reporter to cover his tracks and divert suspicion away from himself.—frankfob2@yahoo.com

The credits roll over industrial newspaper printers running. The skyline of New York is shown as a police car races toward a crowded tenement. Reporter Steve McCleary (John Derek) and photographer Biddle (Harry Morgan) have tricked the witness, whose sister was murdered by the witness' brother-in-law using a meat ax, into thinking they are the police. The shocked woman gives the story to Steve as Biddle snaps bloody shots of the crime scene. When they reveal that they are reporters, the woman becomes outraged. Biddle snaps a picture of her.

Police Lt. Davis (James Millican) arrives, and the reporters quickly leave the scene. Davis warns the reporters to stop pulling stunts like the above.

Steve calls the editor Mark Chapman (Broderick Crawford) that they are coming in with a bloody story with lots of pictures. Chapman is preparing to meet with the board of directors for the New York Express newspaper.

As Chapman enters the boardroom, a female stockholder is complaining about the once respected newspaper being turned into a scandal sheet by Chapman. Chapman decides to speak for himself. The newspaper publisher hired Chapman to increase the circulation. He points out their framed copy of "Dewey Defeats Truman." He then goes to a chart showing he has raised the circulation from under 400,000 to nearly 700,000 by printing sensational stories. Chapman shows one of his newspaper covers talking about the Grollia killer. See The Return of Doctor X (1939).

Chapman will get a bonus when circulation hits 750,000. When the female stockholder objects to his bonus, Chapman asks if she likes the dividend check she got for the first time in twelve years. A male stockholder complains about the class of people that the planned lonely hearts dance will attract. The paper sponsors the dance and will give prizes to people who get married at the dance. Chapman says they are the people that buy the paper. Chapman has to defend Steve for his unethical actions. Chapman leaves after he tells them he will do it his way or leave the paper.

A copy-boy picks up a story from reporter Julie Allison (Donna Reed). Chapman returns to the writer's room, and Julie gives him the stink eye.

Steve and Biddle return to the office as Chapman makes last-minute decisions about the lonely hearts dance. Steve instructs Biddle on how to use chocolate to fake a bloody ax for a picture. Steve gets up in Julie's space and asks about dinner. They have a bet over whether Chapman will be fired.

Steve talks with his buddy and mentor. Chapman tells Steve he will give him part of the bonus money. Chapman invites Steve to dinner. Steve says Julie will be coming along to pay off her bet. Chapman calls her the "Dutchess of Vasser."

Julie is not happy that Chapman is not leaving. She is miserable that Chapman is coming along. All three have to work the dance later that night.

Outside, they run into a former reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner, Charlie Barnes (Henry O'Neill). He drank himself out of a job. Julie pays the down-and-out fellow for some research. Charlie asks Chapman for a job and is told that something will be worked out.

When the three are out of earshot, Chapman says Charlie is an alcoholic, and the money she gave him may cause him to drink himself to death. Steve agrees with Chapman, who says he would never hire Charlie. Julie wants to tell Charlie, but the two men convince her not to break his hope.

The dance is crowded, with people mostly dancing and looking for love. The newspaper people are watching the crowd to find a story. Julie is not happy with the event. The grand prize for one of the couples that marries at the dance is a bed with a TV in it.

Before 9:30, Steve brings in the first couple that has met and decided to get married. All of the couples at the dance have badges pinned to their lapel. Julie gets discussed and fights with Chapman. He offers her six months away from work with pay.

When the marriage announcement is made from the stage, they spotlight Chapman. Lonely hearter Charlotte Grant (Rosemary DeCamp) stares at Chapman. She pushes through the crowd until she reaches Chapman. She calls him George Grant. They know each other and decide they can talk at her place after the dance.

In her tiny room, she talks about it being 19-20 years since they saw each other. Chapman is pacing and acting generally hostile. Finally, he asks her what she wants. Charlotte asked if he had changed his name after he left her. Chapman wants to bottom line the conversation. She goads him about being in a hurry. He gives her some money from his wallet, and she says it could pay for the doctor's bill. Charlotte then shows that her wrists had been cut in a suicide attempt.

Chapman says his lawyer will contact her, and she will get a divorce with a fair payment. He calls hers his biggest mistake. Charlotte slaps Chapman, and he knocks her to the bed. She says she is going to tell his true story and get revenge.

Chapman tries to stop Charlotte from going out the door, and she scratches his head. He shoves her backwards, and her head smacks into a pipe fitting. Charlotte falls to the floor dead.

Chapman realizes what he has done and decides to stage the scene. Chapman takes her money and finds a pawn ticket. He rips the lonely hearts badge off her dress and steals her wedding ring. Outside, he drops the ring and the torn-up ticket into a sewer grate.

The next day, Julie has breakfast with Charlie at Skinner's Restaurant. He used the money she gave him to go on a drinking bender. Charlie then asks the waiter for a drink. He uses the hair of the hound argument and says he is tapering off. Julie warns Charlie not to trust Chapman. Charlie believes Chapman will come through for him.

Steve joins the pair. Julie is not very happy with Steve. Biddle enters and tells Steve that the police radio reported a dead woman. Chapman had put Charlotte's body in the bathtub. Lt. Davis and the other police have found the hole in the back of Charlotte's head. The police think she banged her head tub faucet.

Steve begins searching the apartment. He pulls her old dress from the closet and mocks her poverty. Steve then sees the torn, lonely hearts badge. He removes the evidence. Steve also notes that she doesn't have a suitcase. The police rule this as an accident.

Outside, Biddle asks Steve why he pinched the lonely hearts badge. Steve then asks Biddle to compare the murdered woman to pictures from the lonely hearts dance. Steve catches a ride to the morgue.

Steve has a good working relationship with Needle Nellie (Ida Moore), who works at the morgue. He asks her about ripping a pin out of a dress. She confirms that most ladies would not take a chance to rip the dress.

Steve then goes to see Doc O'Hanlon (Cliff Clark). He reminds him that he gave him free fight tickets and that he can get World Series tickets if the doctor does an autopsy on Charlotte, even though her death was considered an accident by the police. The Doc agrees to do the autopsy in exchange for the tickets.

Biddle matches the photographs of murdered Charlotte with her pictures from the dance. Steve is ready to pitch the story for a front-page spread. Steve invites Julie out for dinner on the way to Chapman's office.

When Chapman sees the pictures, he has to work hard to not give himself away. Steve says that no one knows who the woman is, and he convinced the police it was murder. They have hair and skin that point to a middle-aged man with brown hair. Steve is on top of the world. Chapman can't let the story pass and calls the crew in for the pitch. Steve decides to call the dead woman Miss. Lonely Heart.

Steve gives a run down on how he thinks the murder was committed, only getting wrong that the killer took her suitcase. Chapman says the paper will pay for the dead woman's funeral. Julie is disgusted by Chapman's crassness.

The paper is printed, with most of it being devoted to Charlotte. Chapman looks at the ticket for Pete's Hock Shop. That night, Chapman heads to the pawnshop. Charlie is drinking across the street and leaves in time to see Chapman pacing back and forth in front of the shop.

Two police officers are shopping for fishing rods in the pawnshop. Charlie accosts Chapman and wants to work on the murder with him. One of Charlie's drinking buddies Bailey (Jay Adler), sees the two men talking, but Charlie shoos him away. Chapman gives a large amount of money to Charlie. Chapman takes a taxi away without going into the pawnshop.

When Charlie looks at the money he got from Chapman, the pawn ticket is among the bills. The cops leave, and Charlie enters the pawnshop. Charlie gives the broker the ticket and gets the suitcase out of hock. Charlie finds a picture of Charlotte on her wedding day, but the man's head is turned. He then finds a picture of Charlotte and Chapman at the beach. Charlie pays the two dollars and takes the suitcase. He has to sign the book before he goes.

Charlie takes the suitcase to his favorite bar. Charlie says he is going to rock the newspaper world. He orders a drink and then calls Julie.

The newspaper is running a tip line. Julie is not happy again. When she gets the call, Charlie says he has the answer to the murder. She says it is Steve's story, and they both need to come. Steve talks to Charlie but doesn't believe the drunk. Steve tells Chapman what Charlie is saying. Chapman decides what he has to do. Charlie says he will take the story to the Daily Leader. Chapman tells Steve to hang up. Steve tells Charlie that Julie has left for the night.

Chapman goes to his office and verifies that the pawn ticket is missing. He then picks up an iron bar he had on his desk. I guess it is a paperweight.

Charlie continues to drink at the bar. He takes the pictures out of the suitcase and puts them in his coat. He leaves the suitcase with the bartender. Charlie heads to the Daily Leader.

Chapman is outside of the Daily Leader, waiting for Charlie to arrive. Chapman confronts Charlie in the alley. Chapman takes the pictures from Charlie. Charlie says this is the story he has been waiting all his life for. He then tries to convince Chapman he won't get away with the murder. Chapman murders Charlie with the iron bar.

Steve and Biddle go to the morgue out of respect for Charlie. Julie is already there. She is mad that Charlie was killed outside of the Daily Leader, and Steve didn't believe his story when he called the night before. She rages at Steve for ignoring Charlie and says he and Chapman should bury Charlie to sell newspapers.

The newspaper owner tells Chapman he has almost obtained his circulation bonus. Steve comes in with Charlotte's suitcase via Charlie and the bar. Steve is now convinced that Charlie had a story and was murdered for it. The suitcase still has half the pawn ticket attached. The only thing of value in the suitcase is the wedding picture where the husband's face is obscured. It also shows that they were married in 1931 in Connecticut. Steve thinks the wedding ring was inscribed, and the husband, who is also the killer, removed it. He also thinks Charlie got the pawn ticket from the killer as well.

Steve pitches to Chapman that they run the picture from the suitcase on the paper's front page. Chapman falsely adds that Charlie was working undercover for the paper and got too close to the killer. Chapman also adds a $1,000 reward. Steve leaves to check Charlie's haunts.

The paper rolls with the new headline; Lonely Hearts Killer strikes again.

Bar owner Heeney (Charles Cane) has gathered the local booze hounds that knew Charlie into the bar. None of them look happy to see Steve and Biddle. Biddle swears of drinking. Heeney orders them to tell the truth.

Steve starts questioning the men about seeing Charlie on the day of his murder. Most are no help, but Bailey steps up and says he saw Charlie on the street near Pete's Hock Shop. Bailey says he will describe the man for $50, but Steve says he can get the $1,000 reward. Bailey only wants to tell the story to the boss because that is who is paying the reward.

Steve has Bailey wait outside while he goes into Chapman's office. Chapman is on the phone with Lt. Davis. Davis is upset because the paper only gave him the suitcase a half hour before the story ran in the paper. Steve says he has the man that can identify the killer. He calls Bailey into the office. Bailey looks wide-eyed at Chapman as Chapman tries to remain calm. Bailey asks Chapman to stand up and then says the man with Charlie was your height, size, and age. Chapman authorizes Bailey only $5. After the two leave, Chapman whips the sweat off his face.

Steve comes to work, and Julie is missing. Earlier, she had left a resignation letter with Baxter (Pierre Watkin). Steve takes the letter and goes to Julie's apartment. Julie's mother, Mrs. Allison (Katherine Warren), lets Steve inside. Steve pitches to Julie that he wants her to help find the killer of Charlie. Steve says he has wised up. He wants to go and check all the justice of the peaces in Connecticut. Steve gives Julie her resignation letter back. They work out a plan to get leads and plan a two-week trip.

Chapman doesn't like the idea of the trip. Chapman can't find a way to stop Steve without giving himself away. When Steve leaves, Chapman makes a call and tries to find Judge Hacker in Middlebury, Connecticut. There is no listing for that name. The local operator says she has been there for five years and doesn't know anyone by that name.

Steve and Julie work hard to find the official in Connecticut. It is all dead ends. Chapman calls, trying to get the pair to give up after 10 days. Steve says two more days. Steve gets a call from Judge Elroy Hacker (Griff Barnett) in Franklin, Connecticut. Hacker says he has the original picture and knows the correct marriage date. Steve and Julie head to Franklin.

Chapman receives a telegram from Steve saying they have located the person they are looking for. Steve says he expects to be back in the office by 9:00 pm. Chapman is distraught. Even when the owner comes in to talk about bonuses and stock purchases, Chapman can't calm down as the hours' tick past 11:00 pm. The newspaper office is empty except for Chapman. Chapman has a few shots of whiskey. When he hears someone coming, he places a revolver into his pocket.

Steve comes in with Judge Hacker. The judge gives the married couple's names as Charlotte and George Grant. The judge thinks he can identify George Grant even though he is looking at the man. Julie comes in after reporting to Lt. Davis, who is mad about them not bringing the judge to him.

As the judge continues to look at and listen to Chapman, he realizes he is George Grant. Chapman says he will take the judge to a hotel, but the judge refuses and calls him Mr.Grant. The judge also remembers that Grant was a newspaperman. Steve doesn't believe it, but Julie is sure. When Chapman says the judge is a crackpot, Julie says she will call the police about the hair and skin sample. Chapman pulls the revolver on the others.

Steve is brokenhearted by the loss of his hero. Chapman admits that he killed Charlotte and it was an accident. He also says Charlie's life was not worth anything. Steve begins calling the police, and Chapman cocks the gun. Chapman knocks the phone out of Steve's hand, and the two almost fight, but he sees Chapman still has the gun. He won't shoot Steve.

Lt. Davis and another cop come into the office. Chapman writes the headline for the next day's story. Lt. Davis pulls his revolver and tells Chapman to freeze. Chapman points the gun down and fires, causing Lt. Davis to kill him.

The camera pulls away, leaving the crowd in the office.