Murder Man, The

Ace reporter Steve Grey digs up the dirt, pieces together jigsaws of crime, outs killers, and writes the stories that scoop rival newshounds and sell newspapers. His newest investigation helps land a shady financier on Death Row. But is there something about this story that Grey isn't revealing? Spencer Tracy, under contract for the first time with the studio most often linked to his career, portrays hardworking, hard-drinking Grey in a punchy programmer that includes the debut of another Hollywood immortal. Lanky newcomer James Stewart makes his feature-film debut as an eager reporter waggishly called Shorty. "I was all arms and legs," Stewart later said about his performance. Tracy, who became Stewart's lifelong friend, had his own assessment of the rookie: "In his very first scene he showed he had all the good things." Virginia Bruce (The Great Ziegfeld) plays Grey's inamorata, the newspaper's advice columnist.

• crime
• drama
• romance