Joseph Randall, city editor of the New York Gazette, is instructed by its owner to revert to sensationalism in order to bolster sales. The revival of coverage of a twenty-year-old murder trial ends in a double suicide and assorted wrecked lives.
From a play by Louis Weitzenkom, Mervyn LeRoy’s Five Star Final is, regrettably, still timely. It alternates between the riveting realism of the newspaper building, including Randall’s office and the always-active newsroom, and the stagebound melodrama of the suicidal couple who want only to obliterate the past and keep their daughter free of its taint. LeRoy makes the most of some scenes and can do nothing with others. In one scene, in Randall’s office, where the film is generally at its strongest, LeRoy errs badly by omitting a reaction, whether visible or, if off-screen, audible, from Randall’s secretary, Miss Taylor, when a phone call to Randall brings the news of the twin tragedies. Miss Taylor has assumed the role of Randall’s carping conscience, and LeRoy’s omission leaves us hanging in anticipation.
But this is a tough, entertaining film, one that is sparked by a motif: Randall’s frequent, compulsive washing his hands in the small restroom attached to his office. LeRoy provides closeups of this activity. We immediately grasp that Randall is trying to wash his hands of the “dirt” that his job plunges them into; but, later, the image seems to carry more weight as the earlier soapiness is replaced by sheer water. Randall seems to be washing his hands for all of us.
Edward G. Robinson is dynamic as Randall; but somewhat stealing the show is spirited Aline MacMahon, who plays Miss Tyler, who never gives up on the man she not-so-secretly loves.
Alas, Boris Karloff is ludicrous as a sleazy reporter.
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FIVE STAR FINAL (Mervyn LeRoy, 1931)
Joseph Randall, city editor of the New York Gazette, is instructed by its owner to revert to sensationalism in order to bolster sales. The revival of coverage of a twenty-year-old murder trial ends in a double suicide and assorted wrecked lives.
From a play by Louis Weitzenkom, Mervyn LeRoy’s Five Star Final is, regrettably, still timely. It alternates between the riveting realism of the newspaper building, including Randall’s office and the always-active newsroom, and the stagebound melodrama of the suicidal couple who want only to obliterate the past and keep their daughter free of its taint. LeRoy makes the most of some scenes and can do nothing with others. In one scene, in Randall’s office, where the film is generally at its strongest, LeRoy errs badly by omitting a reaction, whether visible or, if off-screen, audible, from Randall’s secretary, Miss Taylor, when a phone call to Randall brings the news of the twin tragedies. Miss Taylor has assumed the role of Randall’s carping conscience, and LeRoy’s omission leaves us hanging in anticipation.
But this is a tough, entertaining film, one that is sparked by a motif: Randall’s frequent, compulsive washing his hands in the small restroom attached to his office. LeRoy provides closeups of this activity. We immediately grasp that Randall is trying to wash his hands of the “dirt” that his job plunges them into; but, later, the image seems to carry more weight as the earlier soapiness is replaced by sheer water. Randall seems to be washing his hands for all of us.
Edward G. Robinson is dynamic as Randall; but somewhat stealing the show is spirited Aline MacMahon, who plays Miss Tyler, who never gives up on the man she not-so-secretly loves.
Alas, Boris Karloff is ludicrous as a sleazy reporter.
This entry was posted on September 11, 2007 at 2:16 am and is filed under Formal Capsule Film Comments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.