"Clear All Wires!" is another movie about unscrupulous journalism. In this case it wasn't serious like "Scandal Sheet" (1932) or "Five Star Final" (1931). It was silly, it was stupid, it was bad.
The movie starred Lee Tracy which was already a negative. He played a lying, deceptive journalist who fabricated just about every bit of news report he turned in. The only reason he hadn't been found out is that he was an overseas correspondent so there was no other journalist there to fact check him.
I can only take Lee Tracy in small doses. His voice is annoying and his type of comedy is not for me. He played Buckley Joyce Thomas, a reporter for a Chicago newspaper. He could out-talk anyone and it seemed to work; especially on women. He didn't go anywhere without his faithful sidekick Lefty (James Gleason) who'd do anything for him.
***Side bar
Servants and assistants were extremely faithful back then according to Hollywood. Whether their employer could pay them or not they'd stick around, fully vested in the well-being of their employer. They'd even lie, cheat, and steal for them. Why do I find that hard to believe?
***End side bar
Buckley's antics got even worse when he went to Russia to cover the fifteen year anniversary of the Russian revolution. His attempts to make news there were as dangerous as they were brainless. If only it were funny.
Meanwhile, Buckley had at least three women hanging onto his coattail. He had Dolly (Una Merkel), his main squeeze and his boss's sweetheart. There was Eugenie (Lya Lys), a Russian paramour he'd forgotten about. And there was Kate (Benita Hume), the smart, decent woman who he largely ignored, but who would patiently wait until Buckley got around to recognizing she was the best thing for him. Those women are the worst.
Free on Internet Archive.
The movie starred Lee Tracy which was already a negative. He played a lying, deceptive journalist who fabricated just about every bit of news report he turned in. The only reason he hadn't been found out is that he was an overseas correspondent so there was no other journalist there to fact check him.
I can only take Lee Tracy in small doses. His voice is annoying and his type of comedy is not for me. He played Buckley Joyce Thomas, a reporter for a Chicago newspaper. He could out-talk anyone and it seemed to work; especially on women. He didn't go anywhere without his faithful sidekick Lefty (James Gleason) who'd do anything for him.
***Side bar
Servants and assistants were extremely faithful back then according to Hollywood. Whether their employer could pay them or not they'd stick around, fully vested in the well-being of their employer. They'd even lie, cheat, and steal for them. Why do I find that hard to believe?
***End side bar
Buckley's antics got even worse when he went to Russia to cover the fifteen year anniversary of the Russian revolution. His attempts to make news there were as dangerous as they were brainless. If only it were funny.
Meanwhile, Buckley had at least three women hanging onto his coattail. He had Dolly (Una Merkel), his main squeeze and his boss's sweetheart. There was Eugenie (Lya Lys), a Russian paramour he'd forgotten about. And there was Kate (Benita Hume), the smart, decent woman who he largely ignored, but who would patiently wait until Buckley got around to recognizing she was the best thing for him. Those women are the worst.
Free on Internet Archive.