It was always good when a film could bring in a built in audience from another medium. That was the case with Big Town Scandal, one of four films adapted by the Pine-Thomas producing team at Paramount from the radio series Big Town. They actually refer to it as Big Town, not as snazzy a name as Metropolis or Gotham City.
Phillip Reed as crusading newspaper editor Steve Wilson and his star Lois Lane like reporter Hillary Brooke have taken a new interest, this one in juvenile justice. Five kids were caught in a burglary and are paroled in Reed's custody and he gets the nucleus of a basketball team. But there's one if not bad, an easily led apple in Stanley Clements.
After helping with a fur heist he's in deep to racketeer Joe Phillips who wants him to start throwing games. In the end one of the other kids is killed, but Clements redeems himself somewhat.
1948 audiences have an advantage over seeing Big Town Scandal in that they were familiar with the main characters and that covered over a lot of problems. Big Town Scandal is competently made but is hardly Oscar material. Hillary Brooke was better served being a third banana to Bud&Lou.
Phillip Reed as crusading newspaper editor Steve Wilson and his star Lois Lane like reporter Hillary Brooke have taken a new interest, this one in juvenile justice. Five kids were caught in a burglary and are paroled in Reed's custody and he gets the nucleus of a basketball team. But there's one if not bad, an easily led apple in Stanley Clements.
After helping with a fur heist he's in deep to racketeer Joe Phillips who wants him to start throwing games. In the end one of the other kids is killed, but Clements redeems himself somewhat.
1948 audiences have an advantage over seeing Big Town Scandal in that they were familiar with the main characters and that covered over a lot of problems. Big Town Scandal is competently made but is hardly Oscar material. Hillary Brooke was better served being a third banana to Bud&Lou.