Park Row.

Review #1790: Park Row.

Cast: 

Gene Evans (Phineas Mitchell), Mary Welch (Charity Hackett), Bela Kovacs (Ottmar Mergenthaler), Herbert Heyes (Josiah Davenport), Tina Pine (Jenny O'Rourke), George O'Hanlon (Steve Brodie), J. M. Kerrigan (Dan O'Rourke), Forrest Taylor (Charles A. Leach), Don Orlando (Mr. Angelo), Neyle Morrow (Thomas Guest), Dick Elliott (Jeff Hudson), Stuart Randall (Mr. Spiro), and Dee Pollock (Rusty) Written, Produced and Directed by Samuel Fuller.

Review: 

"Film is like a battleground ... Love, hate, action, violence, death. In one word, emotion!"

Generally, maverick directors are an interesting breed to consider when it comes to film. Samuel Fuller is no different, even if he had the interesting quirk of directing both studio features and independent features. Born in Massachusetts but later raised in New York, his first job was a copyboy of the New York Journal, doing so at the age of thirteen. He eventually moved to become a crime reporter for the San Diego Sun. He took up writing in the 1930s: Hats Off (1936) was his first screenwriting credit (he co-wrote it with a handful of writers). One of his novels, The Dark Page (written in 1944) was even adapted into a film in Scandal Sheet years later. He served in World War II for the United States Army in the U.S. Army’s 1st Infantry Division that saw him fight in various countries and saw him awarded with the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart. He directed his first film with I Shot Jesse James (1949) at the age of 37. Fuller's films may not have always enjoyed success, but he did receive considerable attention from countries abroad (particularly in France), and he appeared in a handful of films from other directors. He made over two dozen feature films in a career that spanned four decades, for which he did a variety of genres that ranged from war dramas to Westerns to thrillers (studio-based and independent), with notable films such as The Steel Helmet (1951), The Naked Kiss (1964), The Big Red One (1980), and White Dog (1982).

Well, there are some interesting historical tidbits one can find through this film. For one, Park Row refers to the variety of newspapers in the late 19th century that were located in New York City near City Hall, such as The New York Times. Later, newspapers would have early skyscrapers built as headquarters, and newspapers would stay around there until the 20th century. People from history are utilized here in the bridge jumper Steve Brodie (believed to have jumped from the Brooklyn Bridge) along with Ottmar Mergenthaler, inventor of the Linotype machine. A newspaper (New York World, published by Joseph Pulitzer) did indeed help fund the Statue of Liberty (which had begun fundraising in 1882 but did not start construction until 1885), in that it helped raise funds for the pedestal (which had started in 1882) that helped keep the statue in New York that published the names of the contributors in the paper. Park Row was the fifth feature film for Fuller, and he funded it entirely on his own, as one might expect from someone making a clear passion project. In fact, Fuller later stated that this was his favorite film of his. Of course, the film did not do well with audiences, suffering from a lack of big-name stars or even a gimmick to attract enough interest to earn Fuller his money back (dedicating it to the nation's papers did do some publicity, but not quite enough). He persisted in making this an independent feature (as opposed to making at 20th Century Fox, where he had made some of his first few films) as his studio employer suggested making it in color or even as a musical. So, for $200,000 (give or take) and sixteen days to shoot, Fuller did it himself, with most of the budget going to making a replica of the famed Park Row. As a whole, it is a decent movie, one that certainly has pulpy filming methods utilized exactly to what Fuller wants in efficient moviemaking that is meant to pull a useful punch for the craft of news making that succeeds in most of its goals. Granted, its ties to history are a bit fast and loose, but it is the enthusiasm that pulls through more than anything, one that prevents the movie from falling into the trap of becoming history hokum or murky sentimentality. 

Evans first attracted the interest of Fuller he was casting for The Steel Helmet (1950); Fuller threw a rifle at him, and Evans responded by inspecting it like a soldier, which convinced Fuller to want him for the lead role no matter what (which despite demands by producers for others was allowed). He apparently lost over forty pounds to do the film. He certainly seems right for the role, in that he fits the pace of the film with harsh determination. He seems like the kind of hero that Fuller would love to be - one who fights for truth in both print and his fists, for which one will likely appreciate. This was the first and only film appearance of Welch, who was primarily a stage and television actress before her sudden death in 1958. Fuller later described her in his autobiography as "beautiful, self-possessed woman with an inner strength that shone through her personality." He seems apt in his statement, in that she does pretty well with a steely role that eventually shows layers in those sequences paired with Evans, which is interesting. Heyes is the "elder" character, and he does what is needed in a role that could have screamed of pap (such as say, the scene where two characters are reading his "obituary", for example). At any rate, there is enough present in 83 minutes when it comes to its handful of interesting sequences that keep its message of truth on level, whether involving the assembling of the fictional newspaper to be featured in the film or when it comes to scenes with a bit more punch to them (the sequence where Evans punches a man who did a terrible crime to the paper in front of two statues is the showstopper). By the time one gets to the end (one with predictability that you could see coming for a passion project that doesn't look like a depressing time), learning a bit of history within a movie made fast and cheap with dependable character actors and a suitable presence behind the camera results in a decent movie. Whether one sees it as their first Fuller experience or not, Park Row makes a serviceable impression seventy years later.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Next Time: I Bury the Living (1958).