From the first frame to the last it’s impossible not to appreciate and marvel at Samuel Fuller’s relentless passion for journalism, it’s potent in every scene and creates such a beautiful tone which I couldn’t help but be charmed by for all of these 85 minutes. The story is relatively simple on the surface but really has a lot going for it, it’s a fictional circulation war between our protagonist’s politically unaffiliated issue dedicated to unbiased truth and the paper of his old boss and rival which he condemns for having the opposite values of his. With that fictional plot being central to the story it also bases itself in some reality by focusing a driving plot of the film on the true story of a local paper raising funds for the construction of the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal, that choice to combine both fiction and nonfiction here really intrigued me and it made for such a great and unique finished product. I obviously don’t know much about late 19th century newspaper production but I can tell it’s all very accurate to this way of life back then, it was so easy for me to get lost in the scenes of the crew bantering while separating the type or in the scenes of the papers circulating through the streets, it’s another testament to the amount of heart Fuller poured into this and I unsurprisingly appreciated that passion to the maximum. Fuller’s actual script is also fantastic and Gene Evans really ran with it at the head of the cast, this is my first time seeing him in anything and I already love him enough as a lead man to add his whole filmography to my watchlist. I also really enjoyed Mary Welch here, maybe I’m crazy but she shared quite the resemblance to one of my favorite modern day actresses, Michelle Williams, I’m sad to see this is her only film role though because she really knocked her one opportunity out of the park with this great performance and I definitely would’ve been checking out her filmography just as I plan to do with Evans. Visually I’m already in love with Samuel Fuller’s eye for shots after only discovering him yesterday with Forty Guns, the most memorable shot to me after wrapping this up was the kiss scene, I loved how the camera swung back and forth during that and it’s a great example of how Fuller’s vision was a very entertainingly unique one. The music was another big highlight of this experience, Paul Dunlap is a composer I’ve never heard of before this but I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for any films with scores of his from now on, technically speaking this was about as sound as it gets in every possible aspect, even the pyrotechnics were great in that one scene, I simply couldn’t have asked for more, especially from an economically lacking production. This has real potential to hit a five someday on a revisit which is a watch I very much look forward to, this year I’m going to do everything I can to take in and learn more about Samuel Fuller’s filmography and vision because over these past two days, experiencing this and Forty Guns, I’ve already fallen in love with what he could bring to the screen as both a writer and director and I desperately need to see more.

From the first frame to the last it’s impossible not to appreciate and marvel at Samuel Fuller’s relentless passion for journalism, it’s potent in every scene and creates such a beautiful tone which I couldn’t help but be charmed by for all of these 85 minutes. The story is relatively simple on the surface but really has a lot going for it, it’s a fictional circulation war between our protagonist’s politically unaffiliated issue dedicated to unbiased truth and the paper of his old boss and rival which he condemns for having the opposite values of his. With that fictional plot being central to the story it also bases itself in some reality by focusing a driving plot of the film on the true story of a local paper raising funds for the construction of the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal, that choice to combine both fiction and nonfiction here really intrigued me and it made for such a great and unique finished product. I obviously don’t know much about late 19th century newspaper production but I can tell it’s all very accurate to this way of life back then, it was so easy for me to get lost in the scenes of the crew bantering while separating the type or in the scenes of the papers circulating through the streets, it’s another testament to the amount of heart Fuller poured into this and I unsurprisingly appreciated that passion to the maximum. Fuller’s actual script is also fantastic and Gene Evans really ran with it at the head of the cast, this is my first time seeing him in anything and I already love him enough as a lead man to add his whole filmography to my watchlist. I also really enjoyed Mary Welch here, maybe I’m crazy but she shared quite the resemblance to one of my favorite modern day actresses, Michelle Williams, I’m sad to see this is her only film role though because she really knocked her one opportunity out of the park with this great performance and I definitely would’ve been checking out her filmography just as I plan to do with Evans. Visually I’m already in love with Samuel Fuller’s eye for shots after only discovering him yesterday with Forty Guns, the most memorable shot to me after wrapping this up was the kiss scene, I loved how the camera swung back and forth during that and it’s a great example of how Fuller’s vision was a very entertainingly unique one. The music was another big highlight of this experience, Paul Dunlap is a composer I’ve never heard of before this but I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for any films with scores of his from now on, technically speaking this was about as sound as it gets in every possible aspect, even the pyrotechnics were great in that one scene, I simply couldn’t have asked for more, especially from an economically lacking production. This has real potential to hit a five someday on a revisit which is a watch I very much look forward to, this year I’m going to do everything I can to take in and learn more about Samuel Fuller’s filmography and vision because over these past two days, experiencing this and Forty Guns, I’ve already fallen in love with what he could bring to the screen as both a writer and director and I desperately need to see more.

Deeply infatuated with the dignity of newspaper publishing, almost to a fault. There are a few points in this film where characters monologue about ideas and journalism in a way that wouldn't feel out of place in a late West Wing episode. I'm not opposed to how much this film reveres the business of news publication but it certainly has been done better. One thing this film really exceeds at is its production design. It's remarkable how a film with this low of a budget pulled off a really stunning street set which feels like peak backlot construction. The costuming and even makeup on some of these characters feel as though they were made with an incredibly close eye for detail and it's these details that make the world feel alive. I love Mary Welch's performance a lot; she plays the film's antagonist as a woman who is determined to maintain her control over Park Row but she's never villainous. There's so much passion for the early days of journalism here and a lot of it works, but it also feels like a movie I won't remember much of in a month or two.

Deeply infatuated with the dignity of newspaper publishing, almost to a fault. There are a few points in this film where characters monologue about ideas and journalism in a way that wouldn't feel out of place in a late West Wing episode. I'm not opposed to how much this film reveres the business of news publication but it certainly has been done better. One thing this film really exceeds at is its production design. It's remarkable how a film with this low of a budget pulled off a really stunning street set which feels like peak backlot construction. The costuming and even makeup on some of these characters feel as though they were made with an incredibly close eye for detail and it's these details that make the world feel alive. I love Mary Welch's performance a lot; she plays the film's antagonist as a woman who is determined to maintain her control over Park Row but she's never villainous. There's so much passion for the early days of journalism here and a lot of it works, but it also feels like a movie I won't remember much of in a month or two.

Here at The Star, we are proud to endorse both Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar for President in 2020!

Here at The Star, we are proud to endorse both Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar for President in 2020!