The Story on Page One (film)

For the Family Guy episode, see Family Guy (season 2) § ep26.

The Story On Page One
Directed by	Clifford Odets
Written by	Clifford Odets
Produced by	Jerry Wald
Starring	Rita Hayworth Anthony Franciosa
Cinematography	James Wong Howe
Edited by	Hugh S. Fowler
Music by	Elmer Bernstein
Distributed by	20th Century-Fox
Release dates	December 1959 (premiere) January 13, 1960 (1960-01-13) (New York City)
Running time	123 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1,748,000

The Story on Page One is a 1959 American drama film written and directed by Clifford Odets, and starring Rita Hayworth, Anthony Franciosa, and Gig Young. Shot in CinemaScope, the film was distributed by 20th Century-Fox.

Plot

As the film begins, young Los Angeles lawyer Victor Santini (Franciosa) is hired to defend Josephine "Jo" Morris (Hayworth), who is accused of conspiring with Larry Ellis (Young) to murder her husband Mike Morris (Ryder), a police detective. In flashbacks, it is shown that her marriage to Morris is loveless and dull. She met Ellis a widower, with whom she finds companionship and comfort. The two see each other regularly, and are intimate once. Larry's mother (Dunnock), a righteous, controlling mother, finds out about their relationship. She threatens to expose Jo to her husband unless it stops. Jo tells Larry what had happened, and Larry travels to see her and comfort her.

Believing her husband is asleep, Jo lets Larry into her kitchen to talk. However, Mike discovers them, and pulls out his service revolver and struggles with Larry. It ends with Mike being shot dead. Both are charged with first-degree murder (which at the time carried the death penalty), and a large part of the film consists of their trial.

At the trial, prosecuting attorney Phil Stanley (Meisner) stresses how Jo first told police that a prowler had killed her husband, until a cuff link belonging to Larry was discovered at the scene of the crime. He also notes that an insurance policy was purchased a week before the shooting.

Santini, a Harvard Law School graduate, skillfully erodes the prosecution's case, and includes a devastating cross-examination of Larry's mother. Both defendants are found not guilty and leave the courtroom together, after being individually counseled by the presiding judge in his chambers.

Cast

Actor	Role
Rita Hayworth	Josephine Brown Morris
Anthony Franciosa	Victor Santini
Gig Young	Larry Ellis
Mildred Dunnock	Mrs. Ellis
Hugh Griffith	Judge Edgar Neilsen
Sanford Meisner	Phil Stanley
Robert Burton	District Attorney Nordeau
Alfred Ryder	Lt. Mike Morris
Raymond Greenleaf	Judge Carey
Katherine Squire	Mrs. Hattie Brown
Myrna Fahey	Alice
Leo Penn	Morrie Goetz
Sheridan Comerate	Officer Francis Morris

See also

• List of American films of 1960
• List of American films of 1959

External links

• The Story on Page One at IMDb
• The Story on Page One at the TCM Movie Database
• The Story on Page One at AllMovie