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| Five Star Final Movie Cover |
A headline can ruin lives. This statement stands true throughout the history of Journalism. It can be seen today throughout numerous social media apps, or you can even see it displayed throughout film like in the Five Star Final Film from 1931. A movie many could say was ahead of its time with the message it displays.
The movie scene takes place in New York City, which is considered to be one of the media capitals of the world. It begins in the work place of the New York evening gazette which is a tabloid style newspaper under the order of Joseph Randall (played by Edward G. Robinson).
Desperate to improve the paper and it's revenue, Randall looks in search of any deep story,scandal, or goosip to light a fire. He decides to uncover the 20 year old murder story involving a woman named Nancy Voorhees.
Nancy, was accused of shooting and killing the father of her child, named Jenny. She is now 20 years old when the movie takes place and is to be married very soon to a young man of the name Phillip Weeks. Now, 20 years after Nancy has found a new life as the renamed Nancy Townsend, she is married to Micheal Townsend, who Jenny believes is her father.
Randall sends one of their reporters, T. Vernon Isopod to investigate Nancy and what has become of her life 20 years after the large scandal. Thinking cleverly, Isopod invades their home impersonating as a reverend from the local church.
Manipulating Nancy and her husband, he was able to gain their trust so much so that Nancy confesses the truth about her dark past. Isopod shocked with the news just given stood up in excitement to rush back to report on his findings.
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| The New York Evening Gazette Office (Pictured Characters: Isopod and Randall) |
After reporting back to Randall at the news station, a story was pushed out later on by the name of "Where are They Now?". It covered the Nancy Voorhees scandal of being accused of killing the father of her child and, her now grown child; Jenny, who is soon to be married in the next days.
The next day Nancy is reading the daily paper, when she flips to the next page only to find her worst nightmare has come true. There it is, the Nancy Voorhees story in the Evening Gazette, bringing up the very pain she has swallowed for 20 years. Now the chatter is spreading quickly through town.
Flooded with emotions and a heavy heart Nancy begins to panic. This news will surely further damage her reputation, family, her daughter Jenny, and Jenny's marriage. Then suddenly Nancy's world ends, quite literally.
She feels she has nothing left to do at this point but take her own life. Her husband comes home, finds his wife on the floor, and looses his entire world in that second. He decides he must join his wife and takes his own life as well.
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| New York Evening Gazette Paper with the featured "Nancy Voorhees Story" |
In the movie Yellow Journalism is portrayed as the need to bring more attention to the paper at any cost with out the regard of knowing the full story nor taking Nancy's feelings into account. I also could find a similarity in the movie with todays known "Gossip Columns".
Just like Randalls paper todays gossip columns live on telling invasive stories of those in the public eye. Watching this movie, I think I was a given a good reminder.
Even almost 100 years later after this film with tons of new discoveries and changes in Journalism, I believe that the people are the ones that have the power to use it as a good or bad outlet regardless of how much time has past.
I think its up to your moral values and beliefs as a human to guide your judgement within Journalism, and the Five Star Final is a great movie to learn and understand both sides of the story.
