Exclusive Story (1936) User Reviews

Society Prosecutor

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 19 April 2011]

Although the plot of Exclusive Story revolves around a gangster story, the climax of the film was the fire at sea of an ocean liner on a return trip from Havana to New York. Two years earlier the famous Morro Castle disaster occurred and I believe MGM used some of the footage from that infamous tragedy.

Weaving that into the plot, MGM fashioned a story about some gangsters now moving in on different rackets and in this case the numbers racket. Robert Barrat plays a Lucky Luciano type kingpin and Joseph Calleia his murderous chief enforcer. When they move in on grocer J. Farrell MacDonald thinking he's not selling enough chances his daughter goes to a crusading newspaper which has been trying to get evidence on Barrat and his gang. Later on J. Carrol Naish who is a Dutch Schultz type winds up murdered on MacDonald's doorstep.

To cut to the chase reporter Stu Erwin gets his story, but also the counsel for the newspaper, Franchot Tone, gets appointed a Tom Dewey like special prosecutor. And together they start to move on Barrat and the rest. And to top it all off Tone and MacDonald's daughter Virginia Bruce get a nice little romance going.

Even in a gangster film that would have been more a product of Warner Brothers than MGM, Louis B. Mayer just had to get Franchot Tone in white tie and tails. Tone is of course a society lawyer so a scene with formal wear was naturally worked into the plot for him.

The action scenes were well done however and I doubt Tom Dewey ever thought of himself parachuting on to a burning ocean liner to personally save a witness. And Tone of course just came from a big society shindig as well.

I doubt a lot of today's audience will get the significance of the people and events that the audience of 1936 did. Still the dating of the film does not in any way lessen the entertainment value.

at MGM, a "B" movie was more like A-

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 9 August 2017]

MGM manages to pack good production values and fine acting into "Exclusive Story" from 1936, starring Stu Erwin, Madge Evans, Franchot Tone, and Virginia Bruce.

This is more a Warner Brothers gangster story, with Robert Barrat as Werther, a mob boss and Joseph Calleia as Ace, his enforcer. Werther is running a numbers racket, this time a lottery scam. When her father is threatened for not selling enough, Ann Devlin (Evans) appeals to a reporter (Stu Erwin) to go after these guys. He wants to enlist a society attorney (Tone), who demurs but finally agrees to join the fight.

The climax takes place on an ocean liner coming from Havana to New York that is on fire.

To cut to the chase reporter Stu Erwin gets his story, but also the counsel for the newspaper, Franchot Tone, gets appointed a Tom Dewey like special prosecutor. And together they start to move on Barrat and the rest. And to top it all off Tone and MacDonald's daughter Virginia Bruce get a nice little romance going.

Erwin was always good with the wisecracks and fast talk, and Tone is smooth and elegant. The film moves quickly.

A solid film.

Not quite a B-movie...more like a B+!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 17 August 2020]

I noticed that some folks have called this a B-movie. Well, a B is a film designed as a second film in a double-feature. They also had small budgets, lesser-known casts and ran from about 50-70 minutes. Now this one ran a bit longer, had a slightly bigger budget and a few slightly more well-known actors...more like a B+ movie than a true B. Regardless, it is entertaining.

The star of the first portion of the film is clearly Stu Erwin, who plays a crusading reporter who is out to destroy local mobs. Later, a special prosecutor is brought in to investigate the case and as a result, Franchot Tone is more the star of the movie.

The story is about a mob that runs a numbers racket and as you'd expect, they'd use muscle to make sure folks would both cooperate with them and keep their mouths shut. One local businessmen, however, is sick of this and wants to go to the newspapers...and that's how Erwin is introduced into the story. As for the special prosecutor, though, it's not this easy...he really doesn't want to take the case and his fiancee obviously couldn't care less about organized crime. What's next? See the film.

This one works because it's pretty exciting, has some nice acting and never was dull. Not a brilliant film but an enjoyable one.

Newspaper vs. crooks in solid drama

[csteidler · 6/10 · 15 November 2019]

Madge Evans tracks down a newspaper reporter and asks for help: she overheard a racketeer pressuring her grocer father to sell more numbers - or else. Hard-nosed reporter Stuart Erwin is on the case but newspaper lawyer Franchot Tone thinks it's a lot of fuss over nickel and dime gambling.

Erwin investigates while Evans assists and worries about her father. Tone gradually comes around and joins the fight. It's a predictable plot but this fast-paced crime drama features some solid performances.

J. Farrell MacDonald is sympathetic as Evans's father, the kindly grocer. Joseph Calleia is appropriately nasty as the clever racketeer who threatens MacDonald and leers at Evans. The cast of familiar B movie veterans also includes Robert Barrat as the head mobster, Wade Boteler as a bodyguard, and Raymond Hatton as a newspaper editor.

Erwin has the juiciest role as the hard-working wise guy reporter. In one great shot, he's about to board a flight out of town, coat on, cigarette in mouth. He says goodbye to his wife, takes out his cigarette, kisses her--and then exhales smoke.

Evans and Tone are a little less colorful but both come across as attractive and convincing. Overall it's an enjoyable and fast-moving adventure that is fun as long as you don't think about it too much. (For example: Evans calls up Erwin to report that a man has been murdered on her doorstep. His response: "I'll be right there. Hold everything. And don't call the cops!")

Exclusivity

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 25 October 2022]

Newspaper dramas were all the rage in the 1930s, ever since THE FRONT PAGE was a smash hit. By the time MGM made EXCLUSIVE STORY, these yarns were no longer fresh, and it required a bit more ingenuity to keep the public interested. MGM applies customary gloss to this production, and features one of its more refined leading ladies, Madge Evans, in the lead female role.

Evans is excellent as always, but slightly miscast as the daughter of a working class grocer (J. Farrell MacDonald). There is no mention of what happened to her character's mother, who probably died long ago. Evans helps her pop in the store and cooks meals for him in the apartment upstairs.

We learn that pop is being pressured by a hood (Joseph Calleia) who receives orders from the mob, to sell crooked lottery tickets to people who can barely afford food. Evans thinks this is wrong, and she aims to do something about it.

Meanwhile, a crusading reporter-- is there any other kind?-- played by Stuart Erwin is not eager to do a story on the numbers racket. He was recently reprimanded by his editor for writing an article about construction graft, which although true, could not be backed up with substantial facts.

An attorney (Franchot Tone) reminds Erwin that he needs proof before his muckraking articles are published. So Erwin is hesitant to look into Evans' claims about what Calleia and his cronies are doing.

In some ways this all seems like the sort of movie that Warner Brothers would've made about racketeers. Of course, it's interesting to see how MGM handles it. The finished product is fairly decent with strong performances, good cinematography and scenes that move quickly without any down time.

The most exciting part of the narrative involves MacDonald's character traveling to Havana. After a rival gangster (J. Carrol Naish) has been killed and dumped off at the store, MacDonald decides it's time to get out of business. But he has been duped into selling the place to Calleia's bosses. He takes a trip to Cuba, but doesn't realize he is being used by the people who bought his store...and that he's helping transport illegal chemicals on the ship. Yes, MacDonald is rather naive.

The chemicals cannot be offloaded in Havana, so MacDonald has to bring them back to the U. S. On the way home, the ship catches fire which leads to the deaths of many passengers. This sequence, complete with its roaring inferno and various special effects, feels like a precursor to the disaster films that would later become popular.

Tone and Erwin help rescue MacDonald, but then MacDonald is murdered by Calleia. Evans is understandably upset by the turn of events, and is firmly resolved to bring down the mob once and for all. Tone, who was a bit nonchalant at first, also becomes more committed to helping Evans. Naturally, they are falling in love, despite Tone's engagement to a society gal (Louise Henry).

The ending of the film offers no real surprises. We know that Tone and Evans will head to the altar, after ensuring that her father's killers have been brought to justice. At 73 minutes, the story is told in a compact and satisfying manner. It is not too taxing and there are worse ways to spend one's time.

early franchot tone. stuart erwin, madge evans.

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 24 September 2020]

Franchot Tone is Barton, big shot lawyer. Tone had only been in the biz for a few years at this point, but got top billing. This was during the organized crime days of the 1930s..... numbers game, racetracks, lottery. Joseph Calleia is the mug who keeps track of the mob's shady rackets. when reporter Higgins' story (Stuart Erwin) makes the mob look bad, they sue, and force the paper to print a retraction. This only makes Higgins work harder to dig up dirt on the mob. With Madge Evans as the love interest. Erwin is the big star in this one, even though Tone is listed as the lead. Erwin never really got top billing, but was supporting in so many films for comedic effect. When a ship at sea is on fire, Higgins covers the story, and of course, an acquaintance is on board. Dick Burton (Tone) really shines in the second half of the film. and this all busts the mob wide open. it's very typical of the crimes going on in the 1930s. Directed by George Seitz, who directed most of the Andy Hardy films. sadly, he died young at age 56. Story by Martin Mooney.. his first script was "Special Agent", for Bette Davis!

Class act from MGM

[MikeMagi · 8/10 · 24 January 2016]

During the 1930s, MGM gave even its "B" movies a touch of class and "Exclusive Story" is typical. Stu Erwin co-stars as a crusading newspaperman attempting to expose the racketeers behind a lottery scam, masterminded by Robert Barratt. He'd like society lawyer Franchot Tone to join him, serving as a special prosecutor. But Tone is having too much fun catering to his upscale clients. Then a mysterious fire aboard a ship bound out of Havana hits Tone personally -- and the mob has met its match. Over at RKO or Universal, this would have been a decent second feature. Here, while it's still a "B," it has style, sumptuous sets and first-rate performances.

Updating George B. Seitz

[JohnHowardReid · 9/10 · 10 October 2014]

I'd like to revise my opinion of George B. Seitz. The same year that he brilliantly directed "Shadow of Doubt", he also made "Exclusive Story" which is almost equally entertaining. Once again, he had the services of a superb cast, this time headed by Franchot Tone, Stuart Erwin, Madge Evans, Joseph Calleia and Robert Barrat. This flick was produced on an extremely lavish budget by Lucien Hubbard who would deliberately write scenes that would expand that budget during production – such as the marvelous ship-on-fire footage. When supervisors complained about Hubbard's spendthrift ways to Louis B. Mayer, the studio chief almost always supported Hubbard – especially in this case in which he agreed that the spectacular footage written and supervised by Hubbard and masterfully directed by Seitz, had lifted a routine "B" offering into the "A" class. The movie was therefore released with a bit of fanfare and several critics even suggested that Calleia be nominated for a Best Supporting Actor award. But that of course didn't happen. Available on an excellent Warner Archive DVD.

MGM Acting Like Warner Bros.

[dougdoepke · 23 August 2017]

The ace production values suggest there should be longer runtime than 70- minutes. But it's MGM, The Tiffany of Studios, so whatever their Andy Hardy proclivities, nothing's done on the cheap. The first half had me wondering why Tone had top billing since he hardly puts in an appearance. Instead, it's third-billed Irwin who gets the screen time. He's all fast- talking, high-energy crime reporter eager to get the goods on a heartless numbers racket. But the kingpins are too tough and slimy to crack. So, uptown lawyer Tone is assigned to get the goods on them, that is, if he can sober up long enough. Thus, Tone gets the movie's second half. Meanwhile, second-billed Evans bridges the halves and wins audience sympathy with a nicely modulated turn as an aggrieved daughter.

The movie's high point is likely the burning ocean liner, some of whose footage appears real life. (Thanks reviewer bkoganbing for the Morro Castle info.) Meanwhile, the medium shots on board the burning vessel are worthy of an A-production. I guess my only gripe is that we don't see more of one of the era's most intimidating actors, Robert Barrat. Here he's a kingpin but would have been better as an enforcer.

All in all, nothing special here, just a good solid slice of thick-ear, with MGM pulling a Warner Bros. to good effect.