Take off your mask

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Movie
German title Take off your mask
Original title Deadline - USA
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1952
length 87 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Richard Brooks
script Richard Brooks
production Sol C. Siegel for
20th Century Fox
music Cyril J. Mockridge
camera Milton R. Krasner
cut William B. Murphy
occupation

The Mask Down is an American crime drama directed by Richard Brooks from 1952. The production with Humphrey Bogart in the role of editor-in-chief is often attributed to film noir .

action

Ed Hutcheson is the honest editor-in-chief of The Day , a New York City newspaper with high quality reporting, the owner of which has recently passed away. The property's widow, Margaret Garrison, has been persuaded by her greedy daughters Katherine and Alicia to sell The Day to rival newspaper tycoon Mr. Henry. Hutcheson is aware that this would mean the end of the paper, as Henry only wants to get rid of one competitor with the purchase. The editor-in-chief also has private worries: his wife Nora has left him because he only had the newspaper on his mind. Now she wants to marry a new man with Lewis Schaefer, although she actually still loves Ed.

George Burrows, a reporter for the Day , is working on a dangerous story about the influential and wealthy gangster Rienzi, who is still at large after his crimes have never been proven. Rienzi is believed to be behind the murder of Bessie Schmidt, a young woman whose body was pulled out of the river. However, Burrows is brutally beaten while working on the case. Hutcheson then decides to work with all his might against Rienzi. He hopes that the story will bring increasing readership again and thus prevent the end of the newspaper. Rienzi is angry and threatens Hutcheson, who does not deviate from his course.

The reporters of the day find out that Bessie Schmidt was the mistress of the married Rienzi and that he also financed her maintenance. Bessie's brother Herman was also involved in business with Rienzi. The reporters can track down Herman Schmidt, who is hiding from Rienzi's henchmen and who is extremely nervous. After a few lies, Herman reports that his sister Rienzi cheated out of large sums of money that he had given her to keep. Herman admits that in his fear he had betrayed Bessie's hiding place to Rienzi's people - but he cannot finish his story because fake police officers, who are in fact Rienzi's men, kidnap him from the office of the Day . Herman manages to break free, but falls into a printing press while escaping and dies.

Margaret Garrison is impressed by the story about Rienzi and decides to prevent the newspaper from being sold so that her husband's life's work is not destroyed. However, the majority stake in the newspaper is now owned by her two daughters, who continue to sell to Mr. Henry. At the decisive court hearing, Hutcheson gave a fiery speech in which he pointed out the importance of a diverse newspaper landscape and identified truth and justice as characteristics of a good newspaper like Day . The judge, a longtime reader of the newspaper, agrees with Hutcheson, but ruled that the sale to Henry is legal from a legal point of view. The day is about to end.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Schmidt, the mother of Bessie and Herman who immigrated from Germany, enters the Day's office . Shortly before her murder, Bessie had given her diary, in which she exposed Rienzi, and the stolen money to her mother to keep. Mrs. Schmidt, who as a long-time reader has confidence in the newspaper, is determined to bring Rienzi down with her testimony in court. Nora has since dropped her marriage plans and returns to Ed, who will have to give up his position as editor-in-chief at the foreseeable end of the day and will hopefully have more time for her. An angry Rienzi calls Hutcheson and threatens him with death if he prints Mrs. Schmidt's revelations. Hutcheson is not intimidated and makes the matter on the front page, charges are brought against Rienzi. Meanwhile, the lights go out in the office of the Day .

background

Gregory Peck and Richard Widmark were initially considered favorites for the lead role of Ed Hutcheson . However, director Richard Brooks pleaded for Humphrey Bogart, with whom he had been friends since filming Gangster in Key Largo (1948) - where Bogart was the leading actor and Brooks screenwriter. For Richard Brooks, who had previously only worked as a screenwriter, Deadline USA was only the third film as a director. After long negotiations, Bogart won the leading role, but the filming was not without friction: he had recently shot African Queen under physically tough conditions and looked tired, which was sometimes expressed in unfriendly and arrogant behavior towards the film crew.

Parts of Deadline USA were filmed in New York, for example in Washington Square Park and in the Daily News office . Bogart spent a long time in the Daily News office to get a feel for the inner workings of a newspaper. A still unknown James Dean took on a role as a copier boy lasting only a few seconds.

The newspaper The Day shown in the film has a real model in the New York Sun. The New York Sun was considered one of the serious New York newspapers and had to be discontinued in 1950 after a total of 117 years of newspaper history when it merged with another newspaper. This connection is also indicated by a little play on words in the film: The founder of the New York Sun was named Benjamin Day (1810–1889), just like the newspaper in the film. The end of the New York World newspaper run by Joseph Pulitzer is said to have served as another model for Richard Brooks . Pulitzer's sons did not want to continue running the newspaper after his death, but rather give it to someone else and sell it.

synchronization

The German dubbed version was created for the German cinema premiere in 1952 at Alster Film GmbH, Hamburg, based on dialogue direction and script by Hans Harloff .

role actor German Dubbing voice
Ed Hutcheson, Editor in Chief Humphrey Bogart Erwin Linder
Margaret Garrison Ethel Barrymore Use Bally
Nora Hutcheson Kim Hunter Viola choices
Harry Thompson Paul Stewart Hans Paetsch
Thomas Rienzi Martin Gabel Heinz Klevenow
Andrew Wharton Tom Powers Josef Dahmen
Mr. Henry Willis Bouchey Karl-Heinz Kreienbaum
Commissioner Finlay Clancy Cooper Walter Klam
Attorney Pentriss Alex Gerry Rolf Mamero

Reviews

Deadline USA received mostly positive reviews. The New York Times wrote that really good newspaper films were rarely made. "This one, although melodramatic, does everything right from the ground up." The film was authentically directed by Brooks, but because of its three storylines, it also requires the viewer's attention. Variety praised Humphrey Bogart's performance as "convincing". The Lexicon of International Films wrote: "Dedicated film with an excellent cast, which at times shows the need for an independent press in a somewhat smooth and verbose manner."

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Deadline USA at Turner Classic Movies
  2. ↑ Deadline USA at Turner Classic Movies
  3. ^ Trivia at the Internet Movie Database
  4. ↑ Screenshot by James Dean in Deadline USA
  5. ^ Trivia at the Internet Movie Database
  6. Jump up the mask at the German dubbing index
  7. ^ Deadline USA at the New York Times
  8. ↑ Deadline USA at Variety
  9. ↑ Take off the mask at two thousand and one