I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Pretty good little programmer. No one expects Oscar bait from Pine-Thomas's budget productions. Still, the cast appears motivated, while the script, though convoluted, has a couple good twists. I'm particularly impressed with an animated Reed who too often delivered wooden performances, but not here. Seems he's playing editor of a city newspaper that's trying to take down the town's gambling casinos. At the same time he's working to keep his staff together while trying to accommodate the boss's ambitious daughter. But things aren't always as they seem, as he eventually finds out. Kudos to director Thomas—half of the Pine-Thomas producing team—who shows skill at directing. I wouldn't be surprised if his presence behind the camera had a lot to do with motivating the cast. My only gripe is with the under-use of the great Hillary Brooke. Her regal presence always adds to movie proceedings. Here, however, she doesn't have much to do after the opening scene.Anyway, nothing memorable here, just a good little time-passer based on a popular radio program of the time.

What starts off as what seems to reporter Philip Reed's attempt to keep resigning reporter Hilary Brooke from leaving by bringing another female reporter on to take her place ends up being a complex crime drama about the goings on behind the scenes in a crooked gambling joint. Sweet Ann Gillis isn't quite whom she seems to be, bringing intrigue and danger into a newspaper office. The lighthearted banter of the first half becomes surprisingly overly complex as details surrounding Gilli's come to light and leads Reed down seriously dangerous trails in his efforts to expose the crooked ring. Almost as witty as the sardonic dialog between Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in "His Girl Friday" ends up on the other side of the spectrum, giving this B entry into the brief "Big Town" series as close a resemblance to film noir as the series would get. It ain't bad, but a few head scratching moments may make you think that you ended up taking the wrong road off the detour.

This was the first movie I watched in a DVD collection of 50 "Crime Classics" from Mill Creek that I found in Movie Stop for $6.99. At about 14 cents per movie, I thought it was a pretty good deal. I was glad to see that this was a good transfer and the black and white detail was sharp.This isn't quite film noir, but one can see a film noir influence. There are lots of night shots, characters who have psychological problems and a near femme fatale in Ann Gillis.This is a B movie with "C" sets and a "B" script. It moves well and has some unexpected and unusual twists. There's nothing to knock your socks off, but the dialogue is sharp enough to get you smiling here and there.Hillary Brook is her usual blonde ice self. She has an ephemeral presence, just floating through her scenes delivery her lines well, but without much thought or emotion.The story is gallant and savvy newspaper reporters battling crooks. Watch for a funny inside reference to the classic newspaper play "The Front Page" at the beginning.I understand from the reviews that there were three other Big Town movies. I am looking forward to seeing them, and looking forward to watching the 45 or so more movies in this collection that I haven't seen.

**SPOILERS** A big smash with her first crime novel the Illustrated Press' ace police reporter Lorelei, who's knows as "Goldie Locks" to her friends, Kilbourne (Hillary Brooks) decides to quit her job at the newspaper and become a full time crime writer. Upset that his star reporter, as well as girlfriend, is leaving managing editor Steve Wilson, Phillip Reed, persuades Lorelei to stay for two more weeks until he finds a suitable replacement for her. In no time at all Wilson is contacted by the newspapers owner Amos Peabody, Charles Arnt, with the proposition of having his 20 year-old niece Susan, Ann Gillis, replace Lorelie.Susan being, by Uncle Amos, put through collage and journalism school is anything but interested in getting a scoop or story for her uncle's newspaper. While her naive Uncle Amos is paying the bills, for her collage car and rent, Susan is partying the night away and getting involved with a number of very shady characters in town most of whom she met, while gambling, at the notorious "Winners Club". Wilson who had since ditched the classy and on the ball Lorelei has been getting romantically involved with Susan who unknown to the love-sick managing editor is taking him to the cleaners and taking him there big time.Through Susan Wilson gets involved with a number of dangerous hoodlums notably the owner of the "Winners Club" Chuck LaRue, Richard Travis, that leads to Susan being disappeared, or kidnapped, by LaRue and held for a $50,000.00 ransom. LaRue is so slick and slippery that he has Susan's Uncle Amos pay him the $50,000.00 for her release by making it look like it's a legitimate stock transaction without Susan's name never being even mentioned!****SPOILER ALERTS****It soon becomes apparent that the sweet and innocent Susan is anything but a crime victim in that she was never kidnapped, by LeRue or anyone else. In fact Susan was laying low while everyone the police Uncle Amos Steve Wilson, as well as the reporter that she replaced Lorelie Kilbourne, where out desperately looking for her. Wilson who got worked over by LaRue and his hoods at the "Winners Club" earlier is now determined to run him out of the state together his sleazy gambling operation that's cheats it's customers out of their hard earned cash.With Amos Peabody, who's very close and friendly with the governor, pushing for the state legislators to pass a bill to put LaRue out of commission LaRue has a "Trojan Horse" placed in his, and the Illustrated Press', home. This spy and traitor is giving LaRue all the inside information on what Amos Peabody is up to and at the same time, this without LaRue's knowledge, screwing him behind his back as well.Wilson finally seeing the light, in what a sucker he was up until then, gets to have himself involved with the LaRue gang by putting his life on the line and forcing LaRue's hand in attempting to murder him. This all played into LaRue's master plan to off not only Wilson but Susan, who it turned out was a lot closer to LaRue then we at first thought, and her secret boyfriend LaRue hood Jake Sabastian, Robert Kent. In the end, when all the dust cleared, Lorelie realized what a mistake she made in quiting her job at the Illustrated Press. It was Lorelie's decision to go solo, as a crime writer, that opened the door to all the damage and destruction that happened with the advent of Susan Peabody suddenly coming on the scene. Wilson also realized what a first class jerk he was by throwing the sincere honest and beautiful Lorelie overboard for the childish sneaky and unstable Susan. Steve Wilson should thank his lucky stars that he not only survived the mess that he put himself into but that Lorelie came back into his life as well as his newspaper.