Mon 15 Aug 2016
A Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: POWER OF THE PRESS (1943).
Posted by Steve under Films: Drama/Romance , Reviews[5] Comments
POWER OF THE PRESS. Columbia Pictures, 1943. Guy Kibbee, Lee Tracy, Gloria Dickson, Otto Kruger, Victor Jory. Based on a story by Samuel Fuller. Director: Lew Landers.
I’d be lying to you if I said that Power of the Press was anything resembling a great movie. In fact, it’s an extraordinarily dated flag-waving programmer from the Second World War, one that has dialogue at moments that is so artificial, preachy, and stale that it is almost cringe worthy.
So why did I continue to watch until the very end?
First of all, so you don’t have to! Second, at a running time of just over an hour, it’s really not that big a time commitment. More importantly, there are actually some good names attached to the project, not the least of which is Samuel Fuller who, under the name “Sam Fuller” is credited with the story, albeit not the screenplay.
Furthermore, the cast includes two well-known character actors from the era: Guy Kibbee, who portrays a wholesome small town newspaper publisher who takes over a New York City newspaper and Otto Kruger, his nemesis who has been abusing the power of the press to push an isolationist, America First agenda.
As I said before, it’s overall not a particularly good film, but with solid craftsmanship from director Lew Landers, Power of the Press is worth watching as a history lesson, if for no other particular reason. Not every wartime film was nearly as iconic as Casablanca (1942); some were just little programmers like this one meant to rally the American public against fascism. Of interest in that regard is the fact that, after writing the story for this film, Fuller served overseas in the U.S. Army, taking part in beach landings as well as the liberation of a concentration camp.
August 15th, 2016 at 6:14 pm
If it weren’t for the Samuel Fuller connection, this movie would have been long forgotten. But because he was involved, if only as a writer, you can easily obtain a copy on DVD, as part of a set of seven films called
The Samuel Fuller Collection
It Happened In Hollywood, 1937
Adventure In Sahara, 1938
Power Of The Press, 1943
Shockproof, 1949
Scandal Sheet, 1952
The Crimson Kimono, 1959
Underworld U.S.A., 1961
August 15th, 2016 at 7:35 pm
I’d watch that cast in almost anything. Fuller was an ex-reporter and journalism features in many of his best known films and one of his novels.
August 15th, 2016 at 8:10 pm
Agreed David. I would certainly give anything with Guy Kibbee and Lee Tracy a shot. Gloria Dickson was lovely and charming, died too early. And I won’t need an over the top Sam Fuller to seal that deal.
By the way, Lee Tracy’s greatest moment would come in The Best Man, both on Broadway and film, playing a character not at all loosely based on Harry S. Truman.
August 15th, 2016 at 10:29 pm
Re Sam Fuller. Without question he had some talent, but other than what appears to be intense anger, he doesn’t have much more than any other craftsman working in the industry as a storyteller.
August 18th, 2016 at 1:51 pm
Barry,
Agree to some extent on Fuller, who did a few outstanding films and many that didn’t quite accomplish their goal. If you haven’t seen it there is a good documentary on him that reveals the writer was probably always dominating the director, much the same true of Richard Brooks.
Re Tracy in THE BEST MAN, he steals the picture from Fonda and Robertson. It’s a stunningly good performance.
Of course for those on this blog he might be better known for playing Craig Rice’s John J. Malone and the reporter sleuth in the DOCTOR X.