Big Town; Guilty Assignment

2513. GUILTY ASSIGNMENT (Big Town) (1947-USA). With PHILIP REED, HILLARY BROOKE, VEDA ANN BORG. The initial entry in a film series based on the popular radio program “Big Town” is a fast-moving crime melodrama. As the story opens, Steve Wilson (played by debonair Philip Reed) is riding a train to Big Town to accept the job of managing editor of the Illustrated Press. A friend describes Steve as the sort of man “news follows like a lovelorn spinster.” No sooner does he make this observation than their train plows into a freight train. It is a front-page story, and Steve is the only man on hand to get photos. He is one surprised newspaperman when he learns that his new employer decides not to print the pictures. Steve discovers the Illustrated Press is a sleepy and stodgy journal losing a circulation war with the more lively Chronicle. The only spirited member of the paper’s staff is gorgeous blonde reporter Lorelei Kilbourne. Energized by Lorelei’s vision of Big Town, Steve sweats blood to increase circulation and attract advertisers. Then, he begins a series of crime crusades to boost circulation. Are his drastic tactics really just cheap yellow journalism? Steve may be riding for a fall in this crime-packed actioner of the newspaper game. 57 minutes. Crime Mystery Suspense