My dad taught me "what will make you laugh will make you cry." He used to say that to me whenever we'd play cards and I'd take big risks. When they worked I was "laughing." When they didn't work I was "crying."
"The Famous Ferguson Case" (TFFC) is a didactic movie teaching the same lesson about the media. It also has an underlying message denouncing the big city vis-a-vis small towns.
A murder occurred in the small city of Cornwall, New York. It became major news because the man murdered was George M. Ferguson (Purnell Pratt), a big time New York City banker who made his home in upstate New York. A trove of reporters from the Big Apple descended upon Cornwall with pomp, cynicism, and typewriters.
Mrs. Ferguson (Vivienne Osborne) was the most likely suspect, and for good reason. When we first saw her she was in the car with Judd Brooks (Leon Ames) and they were talking like more than just friends. Marcia Ferguson was surprised when her husband came back early from his normal stay in NYC. He didn't see his wife Marcia with Judd and it was clear that she didn't want him to.
Furthermore, on the night of the murder, Marcia had a fantastic story that seemed too unbelievable. She claimed that her husband was killed by a burglar while she was tied up. Mind you, she didn't look like she'd been in any kind of struggle, her retelling of the events were simply too fake looking (and sounding), and she needed a reporter to chime in with the word burglar for her to quickly pounce on that narrative and run with it. Plus, she said she'd fainted so she couldn't say what exactly happened.
All of this could be explained by the fact this movie was filmed in 1932. The fact she looked unmussed after the incident, the fact she sounded like she was acting when telling the story, and the fact she fainted--all normal for women in 1930's films. Still, I wasn't believing it and nor were the police.
The story got out to the big boys in journalism via Bruce Foster (Tom Brown), the reporter for Cornwall's paper and a guy who had "small town" written all over him. Bruce was quickly overshadowed by Robert Parks (Kenneth Thomson), Maizie Dickson (Joan Blondell), and their gang of reporters from the big city. While Bruce wanted to follow the story, Bob Parks wanted to make the story--even if it ruined lives.
I like that the movie wanted to show how injurious the media could be with their shady practices, however I think it was done a whole lot better by the movie "Scandal Sheet" (1931). This one was preachy like "Five Star Final" (1931).
There were a few things that happened in TFFC that were over the top, hence they detracted from the movie.
First, was the behavior of the big city reporters towards the small town officials. They pretty much bullied the D. A. (Clarence Wilson) into doing what they wanted, and they wanted Mrs. Ferguson tried for murder. I don't doubt that public officials make decisions based upon public image, but TFFC made it seem like the D. A. was a total sap who had no backbone whatsoever. Instead of following the law he followed the dictates of Bob Parks, a reporter for the New York Globe, and his posse.
Second, was the reporters making Mrs. Brooks (Miriam Seegar) faint. Oh! How weak the women were in 1932. Bob Parks and crew were peppering her with questions about her husband's whereabouts the night of the murder. Then they sprung it on her that he was arrested (not true) in order to get her to turn on her husband and spill the tea. Instead, she fainted upon that news and hit her head. It's a wonder how women have survived this long with their frequent fainting spells. Good thing they've had strong men to save them.
Mrs. Brooks later died and her husband, Judd Brooks--who wasn't really having an affair with Mrs. Ferguson, but still there was no explanation for his being with her--confronted Bob Parks and told him "you killed my wife" ala a similar scene in "Five Star Final." This whole scenario was drummed up in order to drive home the moral lowliness of some reporters, but I think it could've been illustrated a lot better.
The third, and final, occurrence that was over the top was the obvious-looking guilt of Mrs. Ferguson followed by no explanation of anything. Yes, they found the two burglars (which I thought was ridiculous), but that still didn't explain her relationship with Judd or why her whole appearance, demeanor, and story seemed patently fake. I think it behooved the writers to give the viewer answers to tie up loose ends.
I get it. The media is a double-edged sword. As one of the reporters stated, at times they are a public service and at times they just snoop into people's business. But, as I said in my review of "Five Star Final": we, the readers, viewers, and listeners are just as responsible then. If we ignored the salacious and only gave attention to what is important, then the media would have no choice but to report what matters and what's really news. So, as sanctimonious and preachy this movie wanted to be, they should be preaching about the consumers of media as much as the purveyors of that media.
Free on Internet Archive.
"The Famous Ferguson Case" (TFFC) is a didactic movie teaching the same lesson about the media. It also has an underlying message denouncing the big city vis-a-vis small towns.
A murder occurred in the small city of Cornwall, New York. It became major news because the man murdered was George M. Ferguson (Purnell Pratt), a big time New York City banker who made his home in upstate New York. A trove of reporters from the Big Apple descended upon Cornwall with pomp, cynicism, and typewriters.
Mrs. Ferguson (Vivienne Osborne) was the most likely suspect, and for good reason. When we first saw her she was in the car with Judd Brooks (Leon Ames) and they were talking like more than just friends. Marcia Ferguson was surprised when her husband came back early from his normal stay in NYC. He didn't see his wife Marcia with Judd and it was clear that she didn't want him to.
Furthermore, on the night of the murder, Marcia had a fantastic story that seemed too unbelievable. She claimed that her husband was killed by a burglar while she was tied up. Mind you, she didn't look like she'd been in any kind of struggle, her retelling of the events were simply too fake looking (and sounding), and she needed a reporter to chime in with the word burglar for her to quickly pounce on that narrative and run with it. Plus, she said she'd fainted so she couldn't say what exactly happened.
All of this could be explained by the fact this movie was filmed in 1932. The fact she looked unmussed after the incident, the fact she sounded like she was acting when telling the story, and the fact she fainted--all normal for women in 1930's films. Still, I wasn't believing it and nor were the police.
The story got out to the big boys in journalism via Bruce Foster (Tom Brown), the reporter for Cornwall's paper and a guy who had "small town" written all over him. Bruce was quickly overshadowed by Robert Parks (Kenneth Thomson), Maizie Dickson (Joan Blondell), and their gang of reporters from the big city. While Bruce wanted to follow the story, Bob Parks wanted to make the story--even if it ruined lives.
I like that the movie wanted to show how injurious the media could be with their shady practices, however I think it was done a whole lot better by the movie "Scandal Sheet" (1931). This one was preachy like "Five Star Final" (1931).
There were a few things that happened in TFFC that were over the top, hence they detracted from the movie.
First, was the behavior of the big city reporters towards the small town officials. They pretty much bullied the D. A. (Clarence Wilson) into doing what they wanted, and they wanted Mrs. Ferguson tried for murder. I don't doubt that public officials make decisions based upon public image, but TFFC made it seem like the D. A. was a total sap who had no backbone whatsoever. Instead of following the law he followed the dictates of Bob Parks, a reporter for the New York Globe, and his posse.
Second, was the reporters making Mrs. Brooks (Miriam Seegar) faint. Oh! How weak the women were in 1932. Bob Parks and crew were peppering her with questions about her husband's whereabouts the night of the murder. Then they sprung it on her that he was arrested (not true) in order to get her to turn on her husband and spill the tea. Instead, she fainted upon that news and hit her head. It's a wonder how women have survived this long with their frequent fainting spells. Good thing they've had strong men to save them.
Mrs. Brooks later died and her husband, Judd Brooks--who wasn't really having an affair with Mrs. Ferguson, but still there was no explanation for his being with her--confronted Bob Parks and told him "you killed my wife" ala a similar scene in "Five Star Final." This whole scenario was drummed up in order to drive home the moral lowliness of some reporters, but I think it could've been illustrated a lot better.
The third, and final, occurrence that was over the top was the obvious-looking guilt of Mrs. Ferguson followed by no explanation of anything. Yes, they found the two burglars (which I thought was ridiculous), but that still didn't explain her relationship with Judd or why her whole appearance, demeanor, and story seemed patently fake. I think it behooved the writers to give the viewer answers to tie up loose ends.
I get it. The media is a double-edged sword. As one of the reporters stated, at times they are a public service and at times they just snoop into people's business. But, as I said in my review of "Five Star Final": we, the readers, viewers, and listeners are just as responsible then. If we ignored the salacious and only gave attention to what is important, then the media would have no choice but to report what matters and what's really news. So, as sanctimonious and preachy this movie wanted to be, they should be preaching about the consumers of media as much as the purveyors of that media.
Free on Internet Archive.