Surprise Winner of Our Favorite Newspaper Movie Poll!

By: Greg Mitchell It lacks the critical cachet of, say, "Citizen Kane," or the star power of any number of other films, but E&P readers picked "Deadline USA" as their favorite all-time newspaper/journo movie in a vote this week over at the E&P Pub. The runner-up was the more-expected "All the President's Men."

Many others weighed in over at Twitter, but those votes were not counted in this poll.

Finishing third was the Kirk Douglas/Billy Wilder cult classic "Ace in the Hole," followed by "The Paper." Tied for fourth were "Citizen Kane" and "His Girl Friday," followed by "Sweet Smell of Success" and "Absence of Malice." Others getting multiple votes: "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "Scandal Sheet," and the British "Defense of the Realm."

Among those nabbing single votes: "The Quiet American," "The Killing Fields," "The Paperboy," "Libeled Lady," "Broadcast News," "-30-", "Superman," "Between the Lines" (which featured a kind of cameo by E&P Editor Greg Mitchell), "Parallax View," "Kolchak," among many others.

To read the fun and perceptive comments with some of the votes, go now to the Pub via this link.

Here are a few comments.
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"Deadline U.S.A.," starring Humphrey Bogart (1952). It's got an oddball cast - Bogie, Kim Hunter, and mostly a bunch of radio actors - Ed Begley, Joe De Santis, Martin Gabel and Joyce McKenzie to name a few - who have three days to bring down a gangster.

Why is this movie still relevant today? Well at the end, the newspaper is sold and closes.

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"Deadline USA":

"What's that noise?"

"That's the press baby, the press and there is nothing you can do about it....nothing!"
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"The Paper." There's a very quick scene in passing in the newsroom when one reporter annoyingly calls out, "How do you spell ..." and a copy editor turns and yells, "Look it UP!"
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"Ace in the Hole" ? Billy Wilder's 1951 film in which a washed-up big city newsman (Kirk Douglas), now working for a small paper in Albuquerque, tries to regain fame by exploiting a local story about a man trapped in a cave. The whole affair becomes a media-fueled circus, complete with food vendors, a tent city of gawkers, and an amusement park ride. The portrayal of the press and of the public appetite for sensation seem pretty over-the-top, but the film is based on a real event that became a similar media circus.

Great lines:
"... if there's no news, I'll go out and bite a dog."
"Bad news sells best. Cause good news is no news."
"It's a good story today. Tomorrow, they'll wrap a fish in it."