Five Star Final (1931)
- Directed by
- Mervyn LeRoy
- Genre
- drama film, crime film
- Country
- United States
- Runtime
- 1h 29m
- Rated
- NR
- Rating
- 6.6 of 10 from 48 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
A newspaper publisher pushes his editor to boost circulation by dredging up a forgotten murder case. The editor's relentless pursuit of a story ruins the lives of innocent people caught in the scandal.
tensecynicalfast-paceddarkly comicunsettlingcausticmelodramaticurgent
What happens
Five Star Final is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film about the excesses of tabloid journalism directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Edward G. Robinson, Aline MacMahon (in her screen debut) and Boris Karloff. The screenplay was by Robert Lord and Byron Morgan based on the 1930 play of the same name by Louis Weitzenkorn. The title refers to the practice of newspapers publishing a series of editions throughout the day, with their final-edition front page having five stars printed and the word "Final." "Five Star Final" is also a font introduced during World War I then favored by newspapers for its narrow type. Warner Bros. remade the film in 1936 as Two Against the World, also known as One Fatal Hour, starring Humphrey Bogart in Robinson's part and set in a radio station instead of at a newspaper. The film was nominated at the 5th Academy Awards (1931/1932) for Best Picture, but lost to Grand Hotel. Newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst was greatly offended by the film, which he interpreted as a thinly veiled attack on him and his operation. He retaliated by publishing negative reviews in his papers and pressuring theaters not to show the film. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
Scandal Sheet (1931)
Dance, Fools, Dance (1931)
The Finger Points (1931)
X Marks the Spot (1931)
The Public Enemy (1931)
Scandal for Sale (1932)
A Dangerous Affair (1931)
The Secret Witness (1931)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.