Now Showing: Journalism's Best Films   

WJR asked a film critic and five academics--all of whom have viewed and studied a wide range of movies portraying journalists – to list their favorite films about the press. The eight that received at least four votes are described below.

Our panelists:

Alex Barris , author of "Stop the Presses! The Newspaperman in American Films" (1976).

Howard Good , author of "Outcasts: The Image of Journalists in Contemporary Film" (1989).

Bill Mahon , public information director at Penn State University.

Brooks Robards , professor of mass communication at Westfield State College in Massachusetts.

Desmond Ryan , film critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Joe Saltzman , a USC broadcast professor who is writing a book about journalists in popular culture.

Their selections:

The Front Page (1931)

"The classic reporter movie of them all," says Mahon. Based on a Broadway play by former reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, the film has been remade three times. The story centers on Chicago reporter Hildy Johnson (Pat O'Brien), who wants to leave "the racket." Instead, Editor Walter Burns (Adolphe Menjou) assigns him to cover the hanging of a shy clerk accused of shooting a cop. The clerk escapes, but Hildy discovers him hiding out in the press room and scores an exclusive that keeps him in the business.

His Girl Friday (1940)

Director Howard Hawks' film includes script and character changes from its "Front Page" parent – most notably, Hildy becomes Hildegarde (Rosalind Russell). Although she's hoping for a new life with insurance salesman Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy), Hildy's snappy comebacks reveal her rougher edge. "A journalist?" she scolds Editor Burns (Cary Grant), her ex-husband. "Now what does that mean? Peeking through keyholes, chasing after fire engines, waking people up in the middle of the night,..stealing pictures of old ladies?"

Citizen Kane (1941)

Orson Welles' epic opens with Charles Foster Kane (Welles) on his deathbed sputtering "Rosebud." A reporter is assigned to find out what the hell the publisher meant with that last word, and Kane's career is subsequently recounted through interviews with a boyhood guardian, two newspaper associates and his wife. All agree that Kane was an egomaniac, but whether he was a villain isn't so clear.

Ace in the Hole (1951)

Kirk Douglas plays a cold-blooded reporter who bribes a sheriff to slow down the rescue of a trapped miner so he can milk the story. Directed by Billy Wilder, who had been a reporter, the film caused such an uproar among journalists that it was withdrawn and later re-released as "The Big Carnival." Still, the film "deserves to be better known," says Ryan. "It's one of the best Douglas outings that nobody ever sees."

Deadline USA (1952)

If you've ever fantasized about Humphrey Bogart yelling such lines as "Break open that front page!" this film is a must-see. Bogart plays Ed Hutcheson, the managing editor of a newspaper about to be sold. As he battles to save it and persuade his ex-wife that he still loves her, he's also working on an exposé about a crime boss. One memorable exchange begins with the mobster asking over the phone, "What's that noise?" to which Hutcheson responds, "It's the press, baby, the press. And there's nothing you can do about it."

All the President's Men (1976)

The panel's only unanimous choice, the film features Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman portraying Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as they pursue the story behind the 1972 Watergate break-in. Although the audience knows that President Nixon was behind it, the film still works as a thriller. The film won five Oscars, including one for best supporting actor to Jason Robards for his portrayal of Post Executive Editor Ben Bradlee.

Absence of Malice (1981)

It's not just that Miami reporter Megan Carter (Sally Field) is annoying in that Flying Nun sort of way; she's so blatantly unethical you wonder if she pays her taxes. Among other breaches, Carter files a story tying Michael Gallagher (Paul Newman) to a crime without asking him for comment. Then, when a friend provides an alibi--Gallagher was with her in Atlanta when she was getting an abortion – Carter promptly trumpets the story on the front page and the woman kills herself.

The Year of Living
Dangerously (1983)

Australian radio reporter Guy Hamilton (Mel Gibson) is sent to cover Indonesia in 1963, where he meets photographer Billy Kwan (a diminutive man played by Linda Hunt). Kwan introduces Hamilton to a British embassy official, Jill Bryant (Sigourney Weaver), who becomes Hamilton's lover and tells him of a huge arms shipment being sent by sympathizers to the rebel Communist forces. She hopes he'll leave the country; instead, Hamilton smells a story.

Honorable Mentions (three votes):

Nothing Sacred (1937): A reporter turns a dying woman into a tragic heroine; too bad she's not really ill.

Under Fire (1983): Three journalists team up in 1979 to cover the civil war in Nicaragua.

Broadcast News (1987): The battle between style and substance in television news rages on. --C.R.