Courtroom drama about an adulterous pair who is charged with murdering the outraged husband of the cheating woman.Courtroom drama about an adulterous pair who is charged with murdering the outraged husband of the cheating woman.Courtroom drama about an adulterous pair who is charged with murdering the outraged husband of the cheating woman.
Dana Andrews
- Det. Lt. Mark McPherson
- (archive footage)
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Joe Besser
- Gallagher
- (uncredited)
Virginia Carroll
- Police Matron
- (uncredited)
Harry Carter
- Seth - Court Bailiff
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to an article in the May 25, 1959 edition of Daily Variety, Marilyn Monroe was the first choice for the lead.
- GoofsWhile Mrs. Ellis is on the stand, she can be also be clearly seen in the court room audience.
- Quotes
Victor Santini: He's been with the judge twenty minutes. What could he be saying to him?
- ConnectionsReferenced in Martin Scorsese and Baz Luhrmann on 'Gilda' (2010)
- SoundtracksOld Black Joe
(uncredited)
Written by Stephen Foster
Played on the piano and sung by Carol Anne Seflinger
Featured review
courtroom drama written and directed by Clifford Odets
Playwright Clifford Odets wrote and directed the absorbing courtroom drama, "The Story on Page One," starring Rita Hayworth, Tony Franciosa, Gig Young and Mildred Dunnock. Lovers Larry Ellis and Josephine Brown (Hayworth and Young) are accused of killing her sometimes violent and verbally abusive husband (Alfred Ryder). Josephine's mother (Katherine Squire) begs the down and out Harvard law school grad Victor Santini (Franciosa) to take the case. Josephine insists to Victor that the killing was an accident.
You'll never see a movie with such long scenes again. It's a shame, because they were very absorbing, with Franciosa really ratcheting up the fireworks. This is especially true in his cross-examination of Ellis' mother (Dunnock).
As good as the courtroom part of the film is, there are a few problems with the rest of the script. There isn't enough character fleshing out of Franciosa's character - seemingly within minutes, he goes from a broke lawyer with a hangover to this handsome, confident, sharp lawyer in a suit. We learn precious little about Young's character either, for instance, why is he still a mama's boy in his thirties. Strangely we know most about two supporting characters, Ellis' mother and Josephine's husband. Franciosa, Dunnock, Ryder and the well-known drama coach Sanford Meisner, as the prosecuting attorney, hand in the best performances.
Rita Hayworth actually began to show signs of Alzheimer's only a few years after this film and suffered from it for the next 25 years. People who knew her say she was much like the character of Josephine - quiet, shy, insecure and sweet. The sex goddess is gone; in her place is a good-looking woman wearing a frumpy house dress, her hair worn off of her face. Hayworth doesn't exhibit much personality in this, but then, probably the unhappy Josephine wouldn't have either.
One other problem with the script is the killing itself. If in fact Josephine's husband's hand never came off of the revolver, why wouldn't a fingerprint test show that Ellis never touched it? Actually the evidence of the gun is never mentioned, so maybe Josephine got rid of the gun. Also, the wild shot fired while the men were fighting landed somewhere in the kitchen and would at least have helped Ellis' story a little. That isn't mentioned either.
Nonetheless, the courtroom segments make for great drama. Recommended.
You'll never see a movie with such long scenes again. It's a shame, because they were very absorbing, with Franciosa really ratcheting up the fireworks. This is especially true in his cross-examination of Ellis' mother (Dunnock).
As good as the courtroom part of the film is, there are a few problems with the rest of the script. There isn't enough character fleshing out of Franciosa's character - seemingly within minutes, he goes from a broke lawyer with a hangover to this handsome, confident, sharp lawyer in a suit. We learn precious little about Young's character either, for instance, why is he still a mama's boy in his thirties. Strangely we know most about two supporting characters, Ellis' mother and Josephine's husband. Franciosa, Dunnock, Ryder and the well-known drama coach Sanford Meisner, as the prosecuting attorney, hand in the best performances.
Rita Hayworth actually began to show signs of Alzheimer's only a few years after this film and suffered from it for the next 25 years. People who knew her say she was much like the character of Josephine - quiet, shy, insecure and sweet. The sex goddess is gone; in her place is a good-looking woman wearing a frumpy house dress, her hair worn off of her face. Hayworth doesn't exhibit much personality in this, but then, probably the unhappy Josephine wouldn't have either.
One other problem with the script is the killing itself. If in fact Josephine's husband's hand never came off of the revolver, why wouldn't a fingerprint test show that Ellis never touched it? Actually the evidence of the gun is never mentioned, so maybe Josephine got rid of the gun. Also, the wild shot fired while the men were fighting landed somewhere in the kitchen and would at least have helped Ellis' story a little. That isn't mentioned either.
Nonetheless, the courtroom segments make for great drama. Recommended.
helpful•131
- blanche-2
- Feb 2, 2008
- How long is The Story on Page One?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- A Question of Mortality
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,748,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 3 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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