Deadline -- U.S.A. (1952)

This Humphrey Bogart vehicle romanticizes the mission of the fourth estate in the US, a poignant topic for me, a former journalist, to watch in this era of failing newspapers and fake news. In the film, the reporters are driven crusaders who seek to print the truth to save their city from gangsterism and to solve the brutal murder of a young woman. Bogart gives an excellent performance as the Editor in Chief of The Day, a long-running daily whose staff of 1500 (!) fights against yellow journalism and the impending sale of their newspaper to the competition. The filmmakers were in love with the printing press, and the many scenes near the giant machines made me nostalgic for my young, starry-eyed reporter self of the early 1990s. Fun trivia: Ethel Barrymore, called "The First Lady of the American Theatre," also starred in this movie. Her scenes with Bogart were electric: two old pros who could give master classes in acting. I really appreciated how they included women reporters in the newsroom scenes. Two thumbs up.