Sued for Libel

1939 "A WOMAN SCORNED! A man and girl murdered. A multiple mystery solved!"
6.1| 1h6m| en
Details

A New York City newspaper is sued for libel after reporting the wrong verdict in a murder trial.

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SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."
Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Michael_Elliott Sued for Libel (1939)** (out of 4) Decent mystery about radio broadcaster Steve Lonegan (Kent Taylor) who puts on a radio show dealing with a local trial where Albert Pomeroy (Morgan Conway) is accused of killing his business partner. Lonegan gets the wrong word and announces that Pomeroy has been found guilty, which isn't correct and soon the freed man plans on suing for libel. This doesn't sit too well with Lonegan so he sets out to prove Pomeroy really is guilty. At just 66-minutes this film goes by rather quickly but there are just way too many dry moments that keep it from being more entertaining. The film does manage to have a decent story idea but sadly not enough is done with it especially when you consider a large portion of the running time just has various cast members standing around talking about things that really don't advance the plot or add anything to it. The film does contain an excellent twist at the end, which I won't reveal and this here makes the film worth sitting through. What really keeps the film going are the rather good performances with Taylor leading the way with a strong performance. I also thought Linda Hayes was memorable in her role as a reporter and Lillian Bond is also extremely good as the dead man's widow. Conway is dependable in his part as is Richard Lane who adds some nice comic touches. Keye Luke also has a small role. SUED FOR LIBEL will mainly appeal to those who enjoy watching all those "B" movies that turn up on Turner Classic Movies. This one here is worth watching for fans of the genre but it's doubtful others will find enough here to make it worth sitting through.
wes-connors "Drama in the News" radio host and part-time magician Kent Taylor (as Stephen "Steve" Lonegan) receives a phony tip and broadcasts the wrong verdict in a high profile case. The misinformation starts as a practical joke by attractive Linda Hayes (as Maggie Shane), who is really targeting fast-talking reporter Richard Lane (as Smiley Dugan) for targeting her pretty legs with paper-wads from a slingshot. With his station sued for a million dollars, Mr. Taylor decides to investigate the case. Old and new murders add to the mystery. Morgan Conway (as Albert Pomeroy) squirms and Lilian Bond (as Muriel Webster) schemes...****** Sued for Libel (10/27/39) Leslie Goodwins ~ Kent Taylor, Linda Hayes, Lilian Bond, Richard Lane
Ray Faiola This is a terrific RKO B, directed by sure-footed Leslie Goodwins. Aside from excellent performances (including one of Richard Lane's best as a REALLY fast-talking reporter), this picture has an ace radio dramatist who happens to dabble in magic on the side. Hmmmm...remind you of anybody?? Kent Taylor even shaved off his moustache to further pull off the Welles masquerade. A cute nod to the very popular Mercury Players, who were popular on CBS in 1939. The funny part is that Taylor works for a powerful publisher! Paging Mr. Hearst. Paging Mr. Kane. Talk about shades of things to come. Anyway, all that aside it's a fairly clever mystery and a great chance to see OLD DARK HOUSE's Lillian Bond go totally off her nut. And Thurston Hall has a wonderfully comic bit in the first reel. This is pure B-fluff, but if you enjoy great contract players doing their thing as they can only do it, you'll have fun with SUED FOR LIBEL.
Neal99 The studios cranked out a lot of this type of film in the 1930s and 1940s, and this is an example of how cheap and silly they could be. The film overuses what begins as an interesting plot device - a radio dramatization of the news - so that it becomes flatly ridiculous. The story is way too complicated and progressively harder to follow as the picture progresses. The acting ranges from colorless (Kent Taylor) to hilariously over-the-top (Lilian Bond). In short, this is a real time-waster.